Fair Meadows Juvenile winner Royal Bloodline will headline the opening trial $125,000-added BOCO Futurity at Sandy Ridge Wednesday.

© Jack Coady Photography

By Louanne Wainscott, StallioneSearch

ASHLAND, KY–AUGUST 17, 2026–The gates will spring open Wednesday afternoon for the 2026 Sandy Ridge racing season, launching an eight-day meet featuring an 11-race card packed with promising juveniles and accomplished sophomores. First post is set for 1:00 p.m., with the opening-day program highlighted by six trials for the BOCO Futurity and four for the Bluegrass Derby.

The BOCO Futurity Trials have drawn 60 two-year-olds across races two through seven. Each field will run 350 yards in pursuit of one of the ten fastest qualifying times and a return trip to the $125,000-added BOCO Futurity final on September 5.

Royal Bloodline headlines the opening trial of the second race. The gelding has won two of four starts, earning $26,539, with his best performance in the $25,000 Fair Meadows Juvenile Stakes. Royal Bloodline broke sharply, controlled the race from the start, and drew clear to win by a length, posting a 107-speed index.

Owner Julio Contreras purchased Royal Bloodline for $26,000 at the Heritage Place Yearling Sale. The son of FDD Dynasty is out of the Corona Cartel mare Royal Wicked Witch and was bred in Oklahoma by Jose M. Mendoza. Samuel E. Valdivia trains the gelding, who will break from post six with jockey Roman Cruz aboard.

Stablemate JC Perseus will step into the spotlight in the third race, the second BOCO Futurity trial. The colt brings consistency to Wednesday's assignment, having finished in the top three in each of his six career starts and earned $27,293. His competitive record gives him an opportunity to make an immediate impression when he arrives in Kentucky for his first start at Sandy Ridge.

Julio Contreras' Oklahoma homebred is by Ajs Tres Of Paint and out of the Im A Fancy Pyc mare, Fancy Creole Queen. Samuel E. Valdivia will saddle JC Perseus from post six, with Juan Pulido aboard.

Following the juvenile trials, attention will shift to the three-year-olds, as 33 sophomores contest four Bluegrass Derby trials in races eight through eleven. Each trial will be run at 400 yards, with the ten fastest qualifiers advancing to the $100,000-added Bluegrass Derby final on September 5.

One of the most accomplished horses on Wednesday's card, Aj Remember Me, will headline the tenth race and the third Derby trial as the 1-1 morning-line favorite. The colt opened his sophomore campaign with consecutive victories, highlighted by a half-length win in the Grade 3 $260,000 Oklahoma Derby.

Aj Remember Me established himself among the nation's leading juveniles last season, finishing second in the Grade 1 Los Alamitos Two Million Futurity and third in the Grade 3 Ruidoso Futurity. Through nine career starts, he has recorded five wins, two seconds, and two thirds, never finishing off the board, and has banked $559,232 for owner Corinna Sosa. The talented colt was a $120,000 purchase at the Heritage Place Yearling Sale.

Bred in California by Rancho El Cabresto, Inc., Aj Remember Me is by Apollitical Jess and out of the Tres Seis mare Remember Robyn. Trainer Waylon Melton will send him from the inside post with Juan Pulido aboard as he pursues another major Derby final.

The Derby action will begin in race eight, where Wr Hott Shott has been installed as the 2-1 morning-line favorite in the opening trial. The gelding enters off a third-place finish in the Horseshoe Indianapolis QHRAI Derby, where he overcame a troubled start and narrowly missed second. His nine-race career includes three victories, four runner-up finishes, and one third, earning $146,878 for owner and breeder Raymond A. Whitmire.

The Oklahoma-bred son of One Famous Eagle is out of the American Runaway mare Kontemporary. Tim Eggleston trains Wr Hott Shott, who will break from post one under jockey Luis E. Luna Diaz.

Wednesday's trials will set the tone for a Sandy Ridge meet featuring eight action-packed days of racing and approximately $3 million in purses. With places in two lucrative September 5 finals immediately on the line, the road to the BOCO Futurity and Bluegrass Derby championships begins on opening day.

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