Palace Malice’s graded stakes-winning 3-year-old colt drew post 2 in a field of 20 for Saturday’s $3 million Kentucky Derby (G1).
Owned by M Racing Group and trained by Wesley Ward, Like the King won the March 27 Jeff Ruby S. (G3) in his most recent start and is 3-2-1 in six starts, with earnings of $200,680.
“He’s a come-from-behind horse so it really doesn’t matter where he draws,” said Ward following the post draw. “If he had gotten the one post that might have been a problem if they started playing bumper cars out there.”
Like the King sold for $170,000 at the 2019 OBS October Yearling sale and was bred in Kentucky by Horseshoe Racing LLC.
Like the King will be ridden Saturday by Drayden Van Dyke, who was also aboard in the Jeff Ruby. The Derby is race 12 at 6>57 p.m. ET and can be seen on NBC-TV.
Palace Malice is a leading Third-Crop sire of winners this year with 33 to date. In addition to Like the King, he is the sire of Ruthless S. winner Miss Brazil and the stakes-placed colt Royal Number.
