The New York portion of the Road to the 2024 Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve kicks off its 3-year-old stakes program with Saturday’s running of the $150,000 Jerome Stakes at Aqueduct. The one turn, one-mile race drew a field of five horses and will offer five newly turned 3-year-olds the opportunity to pick up Kentucky Derby qualifying points on a 10-5-3-2-1 basis that will reward at least something to every horse in the short field.

Later races on the New York path toward the first Saturday in May will include the Grade 3 Withers Stakes on Feb. 3, the Grade 3 Gotham Stakes on March 2, and the Grade 2 Wood Memorial Stakes on April 6.

This year’s 2024 edition of the Jerome Stakes will be its 154^th running and the race had some illustrious winners back in the day. Will any of the horses in this year’s field take meaningful strides on the road to the run for the roses? Read onward for a look at the field for the 2024 Jerome from Aqueduct.

1. Drum Roll Please (1-1 morning-line odds): With the exception of his career debut, his three other career races were all promising. His maiden loss on Sept. 1 at Saratoga was a solid second-place finish to Locked, who came back to win the Grade 1 Claiborne Breeders’ Futurity at Keeneland and then was third in the FanDuel Breeders’ Cup Juvenile presented by TAA. Then he won his maiden at this track and distance two races ago, and his most recent outing was back at Aqueduct where tired at a longer distance and ran third behind the highly touted Dornoch in the Grade 2 Remsen Stakes. He’ll get a good stalking setup from a pace standpoint and is back at one mile which perhaps will be a more comfortable distance. Goes out for trainer Brad Cox, one of the best in the business, and gets Javier Castellano aboard as the horse to beat.

Jockey: Javier Castellano; Trainer: Brad Cox

2. Khanate (6-1): Looked like dynamite winning his seven-furlong maiden race at Keeneland two starts ago, but the speed figure for that race came up light and his other three races have been big defeats that were nothing to write home about. Those taking an optimistic approach will note the connections – trainer Todd Pletcher and jockey Manny Franco – warrant respect in a spot such as this.

Jockey: Manny Franco; Trainer: Todd Pletcher

3. Sweet Soddy J (8-1): Newly turned 3-year-old gelding already has eight starts under his belt and is known for taking stakes shots all over the place wherever and whenever he can find them. Has connected a couple times so far, including last time out in the $100,000 Heft Stakes at Laurel Park just a week ago going seven furlongs. All three career wins so far have been between 6 ½ furlongs and seven furlongs and he got drubbed in his only stretchout attempt to a mile when eighth in last fall’s Champagne Stakes. Seems to have shown improvement in November and December, and the trainer means business when he wheels his runners back in a week with 4 wins in his last 13 such attempts (23%).

Jockey: Dylan Davis; Trainer: Raymond Ginter Jr.

4. El Grande O (9-5): He is a model of consistency with the exception of his loss in last fall’s Champagne Stakes and has been in the exacta in six of his seven other races with three wins. Lost a heartbreaker by a head in the Funny Cide Stakes at Saratoga but since has had little trouble disposing of New York-bred competition with victories in both the $125,000 Bertram Bongard Stakes and then last time in the $200,000 Sleepy Hollow Stakes already making him a multiple stakes winner on this track. Proved his mile ability in the Sleepy Hollow, but his Beyer Speed Figure there was not as high as it had been in sprints. Now he must show he can defeat open company for the first time.

Jockey: Kendrick Carmouche; Trainer: Linda Rice

5. Regalo (5-1): Comes into this race off back-to-back wins at Laurel Park including a successful stretchout last time to 1 1/16 miles. This will be his stakes debut, but he’s not just winning his races, he’s winning big, so you can understand why his connections are trying this spot. He’s a gift at his enticing morning-line odds.

Jockey: Sheldon Russell; Trainer: Brittany Russell

THE PICK: Drum Roll Please

LIVE LONGSHOT: Regalo

SUPERFECTA: 1-5-4-3