Turfway Park 🏇🏾// Sat., Feb. 21, 2026

Happy Saturday & National Sticky Bun Day!

We are back at Turfway Park with a full card of great racing, and the road to the Kentucky Derby continues today. We’ve noted that our rankings do not seem to fit well with this track, and we typically stay away, but we couldn’t resist playing the full card with so much going on in Florence, KY.

We did not have the best night: only two top-pick winners, and we missed the Oaks prep winner last night, so we’re looking to rebound. Today’s card has 10 races, with the featured race coming in the 9th. The John Battaglia Memorial Stakes is a 1 1/16-mile race on the all-weather track at Turfway and will offer a purse of $175k.

This race is limited to three-year-olds and will award 20-10-6-4-2 points to the top finishers toward the Kentucky Derby leaderboard. It has only awarded Derby points since 2021, and none of its winners have hit the board in the Kentucky Derby, with only Tiz the Bomb even making the race.

We have two horses with points on the board already, and the winner could shake up the top 20 today. The three-horse, Maximus Prime, has one point but, with a win, would jump all the way into the top 10 of the leaderboard. The five-horse, Baytown Dreamer, has three points and would also vault into the top 10 with a win, and into the top 15 with a runner-up finish today.

No other horse has earned Derby points thus far, but with a win, any of them would move into a tie for 10th place and have a chance to pick up more down the road and lock in their starting spot on the first weekend in May.

Today’s weather will be cooler than last night, with highs dropping from the low 40s into the upper 30s as we move through the evening. We’re expecting mostly cloudy skies, with no rain or snow in the forecast. This is an all-weather track, so there’s no concern about a long list of scratches due to the conditions.

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🏇Road to the KY Derby and KY Oaks 🏇

"Each year 20 horses have the once in a lifetime chance to run in the Kentucky Derby. To earn a spot in the starting gate, they must travel along the Road to the Kentucky Derby, a series of designated races at tracks across the country and around the world. Points are awarded to the top five finishers in each race. The 20 horses with the most points will earn a spot in the starting gate on the first Saturday in May."

*-From our friends @ kentuckyderby.com

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Need help picking winners? We've got you covered! Our (Always Free) Lundin Line's top picks and best bets are below. We use them to help narrow the field while putting our tickets together. The first post will be here soon, so don't be late -

💰💰💰 It's time to get #InTheMoney! 💰💰💰

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Turfway Park 🏇🏾 // Sat., Feb. 21st, 2026

First Post @ 5:55 ET / 2:55 PT

R1: R13-5-6-7

R2: 6-1-7-4

R3: 5-7-6-4

R4: 7-2-3-11

R5: 13(AE)-4-3-12-6

R6: 4⭑-3-12-8

R7: 2-3-1-8

R8: 2-3-6-9

🏇R9Ⓢ/DP:

Finky: 7-12-4-1

Mr. W: 11-1-7-12

R10: 2-1-14-10

🏇 = Featured Race(s)

⭑Best Bet(s)

R6: Five a Side (#4)

Ⓢtakes Race(s)

🏇R9: John Battaglia Memorial Stakes

1 1/16 Miles on Tapeta for 3 Yrs. Old

Kentucky Derby Prep Pts. = 20=10=6-4-2

The John Battaglia Memorial Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race first run in 1982 at Turfway Park in northern Kentucky. Named in honor of John Battaglia, a prominent local horseman and racing executive, the event is contested each winter or early spring on the track’s all-weather surface (originally dirt, later synthetic) over a distance of 1 1/16 miles for three-year-old horses. For decades it has served as an early stepping stone on the Road to the Kentucky Derby, offering qualifying points and attracting up-and-coming Derby hopefuls looking to begin their campaigns. The Battaglia’s position on the racing calendar and history of competitive fields have made it a respected prep race in the American Triple Crown trail.

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Photo from our friends at National Day Calendar

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/ As always, please forgive any typos and grammatical errors