The 2023 Kentucky Derby trail begins Saturday at the track that will host that event next May.

Echo Again (2-1) is the morning-line favorite for the Grade 3, $300,000 Iroquois Stakes. Post time from Churchill Downs is 4:55 p.m. EDT, with FS2 showing the 1 1/16-mile race for 2-year-olds.

The Iroquois kicks off the series of points-paying preps toward the 149th run for the roses. Points to the top five finishers are awarded on a 10-4-3-2-1 scale.

Despite the Iroquois Stakes’ status as the first stop on the Kentucky Derby trail, the race has never produced a Derby hero.

Echo Again went off the 3-5 favorite in his Saratoga debut Aug. 20 and backed up his bettors by drawing off to a 6 3/4-length win. Jockey Ricardo Santana Jr. was aboard the Gun Runner colt that day, but jockey Joel Rosario now assumes the mount.

Steve Asmussen, who still seeks a Kentucky Derby breakthrough, trains Echo Again for owner-breeder Winchell Thoroughbreds.

Damon’s Mound (5-2) is already a graded-stakes victor, having won the Saratoga Special Stakes (G2) on Aug. 13. That win backed up a 12 1/2-length debut score in July over this same Churchill oval for trainer Michelle Lovell.

The Brad Cox-trained Jace’s Road (7-2) is 1-for-1 after winning at Ellis Park on Aug. 6. Tom Amoss trains Curly Jack (5-1), runner-up Aug. 14 in the Ellis Park Juvenile Stakes. Confidence Game (12-1) scored a second-out maiden win Aug. 13 on Churchill’s Arlington Million (G1) card for trainer Keith Desormeaux.

Here is a look at the field for the 2022 Iroquois Stakes (trainer and jockey in parentheses) with morning-line odds:

1. Hayes Strike (Kenny McPeek, Brian Hernandez Jr.), 12-1

2. Zaici (Ricky Courville, David Cohen), 30-1

3. Damon’s Mound (Michelle Lovell, Gabriel Saez), 5-2

4. Jin Tong (Doug O’Neill, Rafael Bejarano), 15-1

5. Curly Jack (Tom Amoss, Edgar Morales), 5-1

6. Jace’s Road (Brad Cox, Florent Geroux), 7-2

7. Honed (Kenny McPeek, Julien Leparoux), 12-1

8. Confidence Game (Keith Desormeaux, James Graham), 12-1

9. Echo Again (Steve Asmussen, Joel Rosario), 2-1

TimeformUS’ pace projections show Jace’s Road going out to an early lead under jockey Florent Geroux and setting a fast pace, followed closely by favorite Echo Again.

Check out Horse Racing Nation’s free past performances page for more information on Saturday’s Iroquois Stakes and Pocahontas Stakes (G3) from Churchill Downs, plus the Woodbine Mile (G1).

Iroquois links

Matt Shifman offers Iroquois Stakes odds and analysis. He lists Jace’s Road as his top choice and finds some long shots to use underneath.

Laurie Ross and Ashley Tamulonis go head-to-head handicapping the Iroquois.

When Damon’s Mound won the Saratoga Special (G2) last month, it confirmed trainer Michelle Lovell’s claim that his impressive debut win was not a fluke. “He was showing off,” she said of his 12 1/2-length win at Churchill Downs, her home track.

Ron Flatter writes that if the Kentucky Derby prep calendar begins with the equivalent of the NFL preseason, then Saturday’s Iroquois Stakes is akin to the Hall of Fame Game.

Churchill Downs officials have made slight modifications to the road to the Kentucky Derby series. Points will now be awarded to the top five finishing positions in qualifying races, and the significance of the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile and select races traditionally run in late January have been increased.

This week on HorseCenter, hosts Shifman and Brian Zipse offer analysis and top picks for two races with Breeders’ Cup implications, the Woodbine Mile (G1) and the Iroquois Stakes.

Churchill Downs TV analyst Kaitlin Free talks on the Ron Flatter Racing Pod about the opening of the September meet in Kentucky and Saturday’s Iroquois and Pocahontas Stakes (G3), the first points preps for Kentucky Derby 2023 and the Kentucky Oaks.

Handicapper Sara Elbadwi picks out Woodbine Mile and Iroquois Stakes long shots and states her case for why these horses have a good chance to outrun the odds.

Iroquois runners Damon’s Mound and Echo Again are among J. Keeler Johnson’s horses to watch in action this weekend.

Handicappers Ed DeRosa and David Levitch preview racing at Aqueduct and Churchill Downs with a look at trainer stats, shipper stats and 2-year-old success rates.

Other Saturday stakes

Here is a look at other graded stakes taking place Saturday across North America. All post times are EDT.

Related: Saturday Plays: Stakes action at Churchill Downs, Woodbine

4:07 p.m. – $700,000 Jockey Club Oaks Invitational Stakes (G3), 3-year-old fillies, 1 3/8 miles (turf), Aqueduct, FS2

McKulick (4-5) headlines the third leg of the filly division of the New York Racing Association’s Turf Triple series for trainer Chad Brown. Jockey Irad Ortiz Jr. rides the Frankel filly, who won the Belmont Oaks Invitational Stakes (G1) in July before running second Aug. 7 in the Saratoga Oaks Invitational Stakes (G3). Andreas Wohler trains Toskana Belle (7-2), who makes her North American debut after winning the German Oaks (G1) on Aug. 7 at Dusseldorf. Beside Herself (4-1) steps up in class for trainer Todd Pletcher after winning a Saratoga allowance race Aug. 25.

Related: Chad Brown hearing is moved again, now set for Oct. 7 | Jockey Club Oaks: McKulick looms large in field of 6

4:22 p.m. – $500,000 (about U.S. $377,000) Summer Stakes (G1), 2-year-olds, one mile (turf), Woodbine, FanDuel TV

Mysterious Night (6-5) makes a North American debut for trainer Charlie Appleby after winning the Prix Francois Boutin (G3) on Aug. 14 at Deauville. Jockey William Buick crosses the Atlantic to ride the Dark Angel colt in this Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf “win and you’re in” race. Kevin Attard trains Philip My Dear (2-1), 2-for-2 winner of the Soaring Free Stakes on Aug. 20 at Woodbine. Appraise (5-1) was fourth in Saratoga’s Skidmore Stakes on Aug. 19 for Brown.

4:22 p.m. – $400,000 Locust Grove Stakes (G3), 3-and-up fillies and mares, 1 1/16 miles, Churchill Downs, FS2

Crazy Beautiful (9-5), twice a Grade 2 winner for trainer Kenny McPeek, drops in class after finishing fourth Aug. 27 at Saratoga in the Personal Ensign Stakes (G1). Jockey Julien Leparoux get the call on the 4-year-old Liam’s Map filly. Philip Bauer trains Played Hard (2-1), who aims for a stakes breakthrough off an Aug. 4 allowance win at Saratoga. McPeek’s Envoutante (5-2) has won a pair of Grade 2 stakes at Churchill Downs and was third Aug. 19 at Saratoga in the Summer Colony Stakes.

Related: Churchill Downs: Envoutante leads strong field in Locust Grove

4:55 p.m. – $150,000 (about US$113,000) Seaway Stakes (G3), 3-and-up fillies and mares, seven furlongs (all-weather track), Woodbine, FanDuel TV

Lady Speightspeare (2-1) owns four prior graded wins at Woodbine, with the most recent being a Trillium Stakes (G3) score Aug. 13. Jockey Emma-Jayne Wilson will get a leg up on the Grade 1-winning, 4-year-old Speightstown filly for trainer Roger Attfield. Mark Casse trains Souper Sensational (3-1), a Grade 3 victor who was runner-up July 23 at Saratoga in the Caress Stakes (G3). Stakes winner Dreaming of Drew (5-1) finished second to Lady Speightspeare in the Trillium for trainer Barbara Minshall.

5:35 p.m. – $1 million (about US$754,000) Woodbine Mile Stakes (G1), 3-and-up, one mile (turf), Woodbine, FanDuel TV

Modern Games (7-5) makes his first North American start for Appleby since a gate scratch snafu overshadowed his Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf win last November at Del Mar. Buick rides the 3-year-old Dubawi colt, runner-up July 27 in Goodwood’s Sussex Stakes (G1), in this Breeders’ Cup Mile qualifier. Paulo Lobo trains Ivar (4-1), a Grade 1 winner who steps up off a Jonathan B. Schuster Memorial Stakes score July 9 at Horseshoe Indianapolis. Wakanaka (10-1) battles the boys for trainer Bill Mott after winning the local Dance Smartly Stakes (G2) on July 24.

Related: Modern Games leads deep cast set for Woodbine Mile | How to bet the 2022 Woodbine Mile

5:45 p.m. – $1 million Jockey Club Derby Invitational Stakes (G3), 3-year-olds, 1 1/2 miles (turf), Aqueduct, FS2

Nations Pride (1-1) won the Saratoga Derby Invitational Stakes (G1) on Aug. 6 for Appleby after running second July in the Belmont Derby Invitational Stakes (G1). Jockey Frankie Dettori comes stateside to pilot the Teofilo colt. McPeek trains Classic Causeway (2-1), who is set for a rubber match with Nations Pride after winning the Belmont Derby and finishing third in the Saratoga Derby. Ardakan (4-1), a Group 2 winner abroad, makes a first U.S. start off a third-place effort in the Grosser Preis von Berlin (G1) on Aug. 14 at Hoppegarten for trainer Markus Klug.

5:58 p.m. – $300,000 Pocahontas Stakes (G3), 2-year-old fillies, 1 1/16 miles, Churchill Downs, FS2

Justa Warrior (4-1), daughter of 2018 Triple Crown hero Justify, is 2-for-2 for trainer John Ortiz, including an Ellis Park Debutante Stakes win Aug. 14. Jockey Reylu Gutierrez stays aboard in this race that kicks off the 2022-23 Road to the Kentucky Oaks. Steve Asmussen trains Grand Love (9-2), a debut winner by 4 3/4 lengths Aug. 21 at Saratoga. Grade 3 heroine Naughty Gal (5-1) faded to ninth Sept. 4 at Saratoga in the Spinaway Stakes (G1).

6:10 p.m. – $500,000 (about US$377,000) Natalma Stakes (G1), 2-year-old fillies, one mile (turf), Woodbine, FanDuel TV

Cairo Consort (2-1) runs for a “win and you’re in” berth into the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf. Jockey Antonio Gallardo will be up on the 2-year-old Cairo Prince filly, winner of the local Catch A Glimpse Stakes on Aug. 20, for trainer Nathan Squires. Attard trains Wickenheiser (3-1), fifth-place finisher in the Catch A Glimpse. G Laurie (4-1) heads north of the U.S.-Canada border for trainer Graham Motion after winning first out Aug. 23 at Colonial Downs.