Litmus Test gives trainer Bob Baffert 9th win in Los Alamitos Futurity, earns Kentucky Derby points

LOS ALAMITOS, Calif. (AP) — Heavily-favored Litmus Test won the $200,500 Los Alamitos Futurity by 1 1/4 lengths Saturday, giving Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert his ninth win in the race for 2-year-olds.

The colt led a 1-2-3 finish for Baffert. Blacksmith was second and Provenance was third after setting the pace for most of the way.

Ridden by Juan Hernandez, Litmus Test ran 1 1/16 miles in 1:42.38 and paid $3.20 and $2.20 as the 3-5 favorite. There was no show wagering because of the small field. The colt has two wins in five career starts and earnings of $350,168.

“He’s getting better and the way he’s bred he’s going to get better with age,” Baffert said. “He’s a horse we’ve always been very high on.”

Litmus Test was coming off a fourth-place finish in last month’s Breeders’ Cup Juvenile. The colt earned 10 qualifying points for next year’s Kentucky Derby and with 19 points overall, he stands second on the Derby leaderboard.

Blacksmith returned $3.60 as the 4-1 second choice. Provenace was another 3 1/3 lengths back in third.

Acknowledgemeplz, American King and Captivator completed the order of finish.

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AP horse racing: https://apnews.com/hub/horse-racing