Last November, Jaxon Traveler traveled in the fast lane of Kentucky Derby prospects. At 60/1, he kept double-digit futures odds company with the likes of 45/1 Highly Motivated, 50/1 Hot Rod Charlie, 75/1 Midnight Bourbon and 75/1 Keepmeinmind. Jaxon Traveler’s odds were lower than Hidden Stash and Super Stock (both […]
One of the first questions many novice horseplayers asked when the news of Kentucky Derby winner Medina Spirit’s positive drug test for excessive amounts of an anti-inflammatory medication was: “If he’s DQed, can I cash my Mandaloun ticket?” The answer is an emphatic “no.” Bettors holding Mandaloun tickets deserve props […]
Horse racing and the face of horse racing – Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert – took two more punches to their collective integrity Sunday when Kentucky Derby-winning horse Medina Spirit tested positive for an anti-inflammatory drug, betamethasone. Baffert confirmed the test to reporters in an impromptu press conference at […]
Despite the Preakness Stakes providing Brad Cox’s entrée into the Triple Crown’s rarefied air, the trainer announced on Thursday that Mandaloun and Caddo River will bypass the May 15 race. The pair join stablemate Essential Quality on the sidelines for the 1 3/16-mile second jewel of the Triple Crown. Cox […]
As Brad Cox ponders his Preakness plans with Kentucky Derby runner-up Mandaloun and fourth-place finisher Essential Quality, the Preakness field is taking shape around him. Maryland Jockey Club stakes coordinator Trish Bowman put out a preliminary list of prospects for the May 15 second leg of the Triple Crown. That […]
Less than a day after Medina Spirit’s remarkable Kentucky Derby victory, trainer Bob Baffert said he’s on track for the May 15 Preakness Stakes at Pimlico. Tentatively. “He came out of it well. It takes about a week to determine, so I’m going to come back next weekend and see,” […]
The primary lesson coming out of the 2021 Kentucky Derby is as simple as it is frustrating for everyone not named Bob Baffert. Even when Baffert brings his third-string horse to Churchill Downs, he wins Derbies. That would be Medina Spirit, who gave Baffert his seventh Derby victory Saturday, passing […]
Welcome to the 2021 Kentucky Derby. And welcome back to what a normal Kentucky Derby looks like. Almost. The crowds? Well, they’re back – about 40,000. That’s a quarter of what normally turns Churchill Downs into a sporting bacchanalia. But there’s people in the stands. We’ll take it. The horses? […]
Doug O’Neill already has two of these Kentucky Derbies on the mantle, both with colts he planned on taking to Churchill Downs — I’ll Have Another and Nyquist. But when Hot Rod Charlie came to his Santa Anita Park barn as a $110,000 yearling purchase, the trainer looked at his […]
As expected, Essential Quality checked in as the 2/1 morning-line favorite for the 147th Kentucky Derby. And Tuesday’s post-position Derby draw sends the undefeated colt and his favorite status into post 14 for Saturday’s 2021 Triple Crown opener. As he watched the posts fill up on Tuesday morning, this put […]
Essential Quality opened Pool 4 of the Kentucky Derby Future Wager as the favorite. Now, the undefeated Tapit colt opens the fifth and final KDFW pool as the 3/1 favorite. Pool 5 of Churchill Downs’ plunge into the Derby futures market opens Friday at 9 am PT and closes Sunday […]
Yes, the Grade 2 Louisiana Derby has a familiar look to it that goes beyond bringing us familiar names like Mandaloun, Midnight Bourbon, Proxy – and yes, California import Hot Rod Charlie. It’s those first three that give the first of the 170-point Kentucky Derby preps that déjà vu look. […]
It clearly illustrates the betting public’s thirst for trendy Kentucky Derby picks that Prevalence seized center stage last week for winning a one-mile allowance optional claiming event at Gulfstream Park. Prevalence’s three-length win over the one-turn mile earned him an 86 Beyer Speed Figure. By contrast, Concert Tour’s 4 1/4-length […]
When it comes to Kentucky Derby futures, Mandaloun and Rombauer illustrated the differences in weight books and bettors give to various Derby prep races. And Life Is Good illustrated that, if you’re a Bob Baffert product, you don’t even have to run to watch your odds shrink. After finishing third […]
The Risen Star Stakes is, to paraphrase Drew Carey from the old “Whose Line Is It Anyway?” improv show, the race where the points begin to matter. Saturday’s 1 1/8-mile Grade 2 Risen Star at Fair Grounds is the season’s first Kentucky Derby prep offering 50-20-10-5 qualifying points to the […]
While Life Is Good yielded his favorite status in at least one Las Vegas future book, he holds down 6/1 individual favorite status in Pool 2 of Churchill Downs’ Kentucky Derby Future Wager (KDFW) pool. At the same time, the Derby field of “All Other 3-Year-Olds” is the overall 9/5 […]
The Lecomte Stakes takes center stage this week because it’s a Kentucky Derby prep, it’s a Kentucky Derby prep run in mid-January, and because there are some interesting candidates among its 11-horse field. Eventually, the wheat separates from the chaff, and races like the Grade 3 Lecomte start the Derby […]
Keepmeinmind entered the mind of bettors this past weekend when he won the Grade 2 Kentucky Jockey Club at Churchill Downs. That plunged his future odds in William Hill Nevada’s latest Kentucky Derby Futures Board to 50/1 from 75/1. On the futures front, however, it’s worth keeping in mind that […]
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