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Burnham Square qualified for the Kentucky Derby in dramatic fashion on Tuesday with a riveting stretch drive to claim the Blue Grass Stakes at Keeneland in Lexington, Ky.

The winner of the Holy Bull Stakes at Florida’s Gulfstream Park two months ago was last among the field of seven heading into the final turn. However, jockey Brian Fernandez guided the 3-year-old gelding toward the middle of the track. They also had to veer even more to their right entering the final stretch to avoid River Thames as they chased down the field and beat East Avenue, who had dictated the pace throughout the 1 1/8-mile race, by a head in a photo finish. The final time was 1:51.33.

Trained by Ian Wilkes, Burnham Square went off at 4-1, paying $10.48 to win, $5.18 to place and $3.34 to show. East Avenue paid $6.42 and $4.26, with River Thames paying $3.24 for finishing third.

Burnham Square needed to finish first or second in order to ensure he qualified for the May 4 Run for the Roses. With the 100 points earned for the win, the horse now vaults to the top of the standings at 130.

East Avenue, trained by Brenden Walsh, now has 60 thanks to the 50 points awarded to the second-place finisher and is tied for 12th in the standings with Publisher. River Thames is in a four-way tie for 14th with 50 points after getting 25 on Tuesday.

The top 18 eligible U.S. horses by points will earn an entry into the 1 1/4-mile Derby, with slots also available for 3-year-olds from Europe and Japan.

The Blue Grass, pushed back from Saturday due to inclement weather, was the final major Kentucky Derby prep race. The last race offering points is this Saturday’s Lexington Stakes at Keeneland, with 20 points going to the winner.

–Field Level Media