Kentucky Derby alumni update: Sept. 20, 2021

Autumn racing is getting underway, and many Kentucky Derby and Kentucky Oaks runners are heading into their final preps for the Breeders' Cup over the next few weeks. A few hit the track this past weekend. And, the upcoming week is a busy one for this year's Kentucky Derby and Kentucky Oaks runners, with late-season three-year-old racing at both Parx and Remington.

Let's check in with the Kentucky Derby/Oaks alumni in action:

• Shedaresthedevil (1st, 2020 Kentucky Oaks) had to work for it in the Locust Grove (G3) on Sept. 18. She set the early pace and felt the cavalry charging at her down the lane, but dug deep to deny a game Crystal Ball by a neck. That extends this Oaks winner's record at Churchill Downs to a perfect 5-for-5.
• Roadster (15th, 2019 Kentucky Derby), returning for his first start since finishing fourth in the Alysheba (G2) on the Kentucky Oaks undercard, contested the Polynesian S. at Laurel on Sept. 18. Making the early pace before dueling with eventual winner Captain Bombastic, he flattened out to fourth, though was placed third after second-place Cordmaker was taken down to sixth for interfering with another foe.

• Parx has its biggest day of the year on Sept. 25. Their flagship race, the Pennsylvania Derby (G1), perennially draws a host of Kentucky Derby alumni. This year's edition is no different. 2021 Kentucky Derby alumni entered in this $1 million race include Medina Spirit (crossed wire 1st), Hot Rod Charlie (3rd), Midnight Bourbon (6th), Keepmeinmind (7th), Bourbonic (13th).
• The Oklahoma Derby (G3), set for Sept. 26 at Remington, drew another Kentucky Derby alumnus. Arkansas Derby (G1) winner Super Stock (16th, 2021 Kentucky Derby) has entered to make his first start since a victory in the Ellis Park Derby on Aug. 15. In a field of eight, he breaks from post 1.

• The Sept. 25 card at Parx also features the Cotillion (G1), a $1 million race for three-year-old fillies. 2021 Kentucky Oaks alumni entered in the Cotillion include Will's Secret (3rd), Clairiere (4th), and Maracuja (7th).
• The Remington Park Oaks (G3) on Sept. 26 drew one familiar face from the 2021 Kentucky Oaks. Pauline's Pearl (8th), making her first start since running second in the Charles Town Oaks (G3) on Aug. 27, drew the rail in a field of seven.
• Long Range Toddy (16th, 2019 Kentucky Derby), reinvented as a sprinter this year, also races at Remington Sept. 26. Returning after a sixth-place finish in the Chesapeake S. at Colonial Downs on Aug. 23, Long Range Toddy will break from post 4 of 9 in the six-furlong David M. Vance Stakes.