The 152nd Running of the Kentucky Derby, Preview/Prediction
Brad H. Cox has two of the favorites running at Churchill Downs, Commandment and Further Ado. (Photo courtesy of Twinspires).
Today at 5:57 Central/6:57 East is post time for the 152nd running of the American Classic/Epic, Kentucky Derby. NBC and Peacock will broadcast.
It’s a wide open field. There have been some scratches, as usual, one being a favorite in the race, The Puma. Bama Golf was high on this thoroughbred. Bama’ll adjust. Here’s a look at the field including the horses, its odds, the trainers and the jockeys in that order. It’s an all star cast of trainers and jockeys with the best in the business competing. Below that, I’ll pick the winner of the Derby along with my trifecta pick.
1. Renegade, 5/1, Todd Pletcher (going for his third Derby), Irad Ortiz Jr.
2. Albus, 50/1, Riley Mott, Manny Franco.
3. Intrepido, 55/1, Jeff Mullins, Hector Berrios
4. Litmus Test, 34/1, Bob Baffert (five time Derby winner), Martin Garcia
5. Right to Party, scratched
6. Commandment, 7/1, Brad H. Cox, Luis Saez
7.Danon Bourbon, 14/1, Manabu Ikezoe, Atsuya Nishimura, Japanese horse
8. So Happy, 6/1, Mark Glatt, Mike Smith
9. The Puma, scratched
10. Wonder Dean, 20/1, Yoshinari Yamamoto, Daisuke Takayanagi, Japanese horse
11. Incredibolt, 27/1, Riley Mott, Jaime Torres
12. Chief Wallabee, 9/1, William Mott, Junior Alvarado
13. Silent Tactic, scratched
Horses moved up in posts due to Silent Tactic withdrawal. Significant for one of the favorites.
13. Potente, 23/1, Bob Baffert, Juan Hernandez
14. Emerging Market, 11/1, Chad Brown, Flavien Prat
15. Pavlovian, 52/1, Doug O’Neill, Edwin Maldonado
16. Six Speed, 40/1, Bhupat Seemar, Brian Hernandez Jr.
17. Further Ado, 7/1, Brad H. Cox, John Valazquez, the 17 post has never won a Derby, 0 for 46
18. Golden Tempo, 36/1, Cherie DeVaux, Jose Ortiz
19. Fulleffort, scratched
20. Great White, 29/1, John Ennis, Alex Achard
21. Ocelli, 50/1, D. Whitworth Beckman, Tyler Gaffalione
22. Robusta, 50/1, Doug O’Neill, Christian Torres
Winner/ Predictions
Commandment is a really good horse and in a solid post position at 6. He won the Florida Derby, making Brombey a happy man. That’s a pretty good indicator of Derby success as several Florida Derby winners have gone on to win the Kentucky Derby. Further Ado, another Brad H. Cox horse, is a terrific runner, but has the dreaded post 17 where a horse has never won a Derby. There’s always a first. Renegade is the favorite, but has a tough post position at No.1. The inside rail is tough to emerge victorious from.Emerging Market is a horse to look out
But I’m going to take 53 year old trainer Mark Glatt, an Auburn, Washington native, whose wife passed away in February due to heart failure. They had been married 25 years. And the great 60 year old Mike Smith is on this pony’s ride. Smith won the Derby in 2005, and in 2018. In ’18, he won it on Justify and went on to win the Triple Crown on Justify. He has also won two Preaknesses (1993, 2018) and three Belmonts (2010, 2013, 2018). Give me this team and their horse, the Santa Anita Derby winner.
So Happy
