Category Archives: Horse Racing
2011 Live, Current, and Up To Date Kentucky Derby Odds and Final Predictions
Bookmaker Sportsbook is all set and ready to go with Kentucky Derby betting action on this, the 137th Kentucky Derby! We’re all set to take one last look this morning at the live Kentucky Derby odds, and we’ll make our final free Kentucky Derby picks for the biggest race of the year, as 19 colts are set to take to the track at Churchill Downs!
The biggest development over the course of the last two days is that Uncle Mo, who was scheduled to start out of the No. 18 position, was scratched. This really leaves the door wide open for the big favorite of the race, #8 Dialed In to make a big time run without all that much competition in terms of favorites. Of course, there are a bunch of horses that are going to be trying to gun him down, but we know that this isn’t a horse that we are going to see in the lead at the top of the backstretch. Dialed In is going to try to make his move around the far turn, and for the most part in his career, when he has kicked it into gear, it has been all over but the crying. Thus far in his career, Dialed In has three wins and a second place finish, and he is absolutely the bona fide favorite right now on the live Kentucky Derby odds. If there’s a horse that can become the first Triple Crown winner in decades, Dialed In is the one that can do it.
Wet weather could be in the forecast on Saturday afternoon in “My Old Kentucky Home,” and with that most likely being the case, we are going to be looking for horses that can run in the slop and in the long distances. We know that #17 Soldat has a great history of races both in wet weather and on turf. He ran at Gulfstream Park in the wet conditions in the first race of his career on dirt, and he came away as a big time winner, capturing that particular race by 10 3/4 lengths. Whereas we’re not all that sure whether so many other horses can make the distance or not, we know that Soldat has already run three races at 1 1/8 miles, and there is no doubt that he’ll be able to get through this whole race. The question is whether he’ll be able to get position right out of the blocks from the far outside, which has to be the biggest concern of his Kentucky Derby betting fans, knowing that he is generally an on the pace horse.
The trickiest horse to handicap in this entire field might be #11 Master of Hounds. Here in the States, we really haven’t gotten any looks at this three year old, as he was raised in Great Britain and made a name for himself by running in a number of races on the other side of the pond. He was nosed out at the wire at the UAE Derby in March, his most recent prep race, and he has some decent results aside from that at some relatively longer distances as well. Again, rain isn’t an issue, and neither should the length of the race. Master of Hounds is definitely one to look for.
If there are two other horses that you are going to want to throw into your exotic boxes, they are #9 Derby Kitten and #7 Pants On Fire. Derby Kitten is going to go off as one of the longest shots on the board, and though he has never run at a level like this before, he definitely does have the turf background and the solid distance running to be able to get the job done. Our fear with this horse is that JJ Castallano, the jockey of this colt, has never been aboard him before. Pants On Fire has already built a great rapport with his jockey, Rosie Napravnik, who could become the first female jockey to win a Kentucky Derby if she gets the job done.
In the end, we are looking at a trifecta box and a superfecta box circling around the favorite, Dialed In, and the No. 17, Soldat. Don’t be afraid to put some coin down on Soldat to win, place, and show, knowing if Dialed In ends up off the board, we could see some very, very strong prices when push comes to shove.
Kentucky Derby Predictions: 7-8-9-11-17 Trifecta Box
Live Kentucky Derby Odds (As Of 9:45 AM ET)
#1 Archarcharch 13/1
#2 Brilliant Speed 30/1
#3 Twice The Appeal 7/1
#4 Stay Thirsty 16/1
#5 Decisive Moment 37/1
#6 Comma To The Top 42/1
#7 Pants On Fire 20/1
#8 Dialed In 5/1
#9 Derby Kitten 29/1
#10 Twinspired 21/1
#11 Master Of Hounds 19/1
#12 Santiva 29/1
#13 Mucho Macho Man 12/1
#14 Shackleford 2/1
#15 Midnight Interlude 10/1
#16 Animal Kingdom 23/1
#17 Soldat 17/1
#18 Uncle Mo (Scratch)
#19 Nehro 8/1
#20 Watch Me Go 26/1
2011 Kentucky Derby Preview with Kentucky Derby Current Odds
Bookmaker Sportsbook is back with a slew of Kentucky Derby betting options for you for this, the 137th running of the Kentucky Derby on Saturday afternoon! A wet track is expected for the Run for the Roses this year, and Mother Nature doesn’t end up cooperating, we could end up with some wild results in the biggest race of the season. The road through the Triple Crown starts with us here at Bang the Book, and our expert horse handicappers are diving right into all of the action, as we are analyzing the morning lines for all of the horses in the field!
1: Archarcharch (10/1) – A horse without a ton of background, Archarcharch is coming off of the biggest race of his life, a win at the Arkansas Derby against some tremendous odds.
2: Brilliant Speed (30/1) – Joel Rosario has only been aboard this colt one time in his career, and it happened to be a huge run at the Blue Grass Stakes in which Brilliant Speed dodged around six horses in the stretch run to nose out a victory at 19/1.
3: Twice the Appeal (20/1) – The one time that Twice the Appeal ran in wet conditions, he romped to the biggest victory of his career. He’s coming off of a win at the Sun Derby, but that was only a G3 race. This is his first shot with the big boys at the G1 level, but he does have legendary jockey, Calvin Borel on his back.
4: Stay Thirsty (20/1) – Ramon Dominguez had a rough ride above Stay Thirsty at the Florida Derby, finishing 16+ lengths off of the pace. He has run in three G1 races in his career, making him one of the most experienced colts at this level, but he has finished at least 14 lengths back in two of those three races.
5: Decisive Moment (30/1) – There have been two runs for Decisive Moment on wet tracks before, a win and a third place finish, and this could be the year that a horse like this one comes out of nowhere to be victorious.
6: Comma to the Top (30/1) – With 13 races under his belt, Comma to the Top is the most experienced horse in this field in terms of races ran. However, what does it say when his jockey for the last six of those races, Corey Nakatani, has elected to run on a different horse in the Derby?
7: Pants On Fire (20/1) – Anna Napravnik can become the first female jockey to win the Run for the Roses with a win. Pants On Fire’s most recent run at the Louisiana Derby proved to be his best, a win by a neck with a whopping 94 speed rating.
8: Dialed In (4/1) – With Uncle Mo in doubt, Trainer Nick Zito has the new Kentucky Derby favorite, especially after that win at the Florida Derby in April. Dialed In is legit and is a huge closer that can make some big time moves at the wire.
9: Derby Kitten (30/1) – The Kentucky Derby odds will probably end up seeing Derby Kitten as one of the longest shots on the board, but JJ Castellano isn’t going to let this two time winner down.
10: Twinspired (30/1) – We are inspired by Twinspired after that great run at the Blue Grass Stake, but we are definitely a bit cautious over the fact that he was beaten by almost two full lengths in the final furlong of the race. He needs to go a quarter mile more than that 1 1/8 mile run in this one on Saturday.
11: Master of Hounds (30/1) – The lone horse that ran in the UAE in this race, Master of Hounds might be more suited to run in the wet weather and the iffy conditions. He is the only horse to run nearly 1 1/4 miles to date, and he came up just short by a nose at the UAE Derby in March. He’s also got some absolutely stunning pedigree, led by Mr. Prospector in his bloodlines.
12: Santiva (30/1) – Though the run at the Breeder’s Cup Juvenile last year had to be considered a big time ‘W’ for Santiva, we are leery of the fact that this is a colt that has already had three different trainers and five different jockeys in just six races in his career.
13: Mucho Macho Man (12/1) – Man are loving what they are seeing in Mucho Macho Man because he has a great Kentucky Derby post position and is coming off of back to back speed ratings in the 90s at the Risen Star and the Louisiana Derby.
14: Shackleford (12/1) – Shacklford was 69/1 at the Florida Derby, and he only ended up losing by a head when push came to shove at the wire against the bona fide favorite on the Kentucky Derby betting lines, Dialed In.
15: Midnight Interlude (10/1) – The Santa Anita Derby winner doesn’t have a heck of a lot of races in his career, but the few that he has run, he has been in the money every single time. This is a rare three year old that didn’t end up running at all as a two year old.
16: Animal Kingdom (30/1) – Jockey Alan Garcia elected to ride Soldat instead of Animal Kingdom, and we never think that it’s good for a horse to deviate from the jockey that he most recently ran with.
17: Soldat (12/1) – The most recent run that Soldat had has to be concerning, as he finished 10+ lengths off of the pace at the Florida Derby, but aside from that, this is a horse that has run incredibly well in his career, especially with jockey, Alan Garcia aboard.
18: Uncle Mo (9/2) – Once figured to be the runaway favorite to win the Derby, Kentucky Derby betting pundits are backing off on Uncle Mo due to his iffy injury status, his recent questionable workout times, and the fact that he was caught at the wire and fell apart at the Wood Memorial in April. Still, it’s hard to ignore that absolute romp at the Breeders Cup Juvenile when he turned in a 4 1/4 lengths win and had a 108 speed rating.
19: Nehro (6/1) – Jockey Corey Nakatani could have had his pick of the litter for horses in this race. He hasn’t been able to get Nehro to the winner’s circle quite yet, as he was beaten by a neck at the Arkansas Derby and was just short at the Louisiana Derby, but regardless, this is still a colt that has a ton of potential in this race.
20: Watch Me Go (50/1) – Poor Watch Me Go probably didn’t stand much of a chance with Luis Garcia riding him, but now that he has had to switch jockeys and has to start from the far outside, we really can’t see his chances being anything notable, especially after finishing 17 lengths out in the Illinois Derby.
Horse Racing; Kauto Star Targets Cheltenham Gold Cup
Beaten King George VI Chase favorite Kauto Star is to target victory in the Cheltenham Gold Cup it has been confirmed.
Speculation had mounted over the future of Kauto after he only managed third in a race in which he almost fell and did not finish.
However his owner and trainer Paul Nicholls had conceded that the most successful horse currently running had not been at his best.
“Kauto Star fine today. Have to report that he did have a small bleed after the race. Will go straight for the Gold Cup now,” Nicholls said on Twitter.
Nicholls added in his Betfair column: “I can tell you now that reports of his demise are somewhat exaggerated, and there is no talk of retirement here.
“[The King George] now gives us a bit of challenge with the horse – and hopefully we, and most importantly, the horse will rise to it.
“He will be prepared for a tilt at a third Gold Cup victory in March – different ground, different track, different day – and we would like to aim him for a third victory at Down Royal in the autumn, too.
“As long as he is enjoying his racing and running well, then he will continue – he is 11, not 13.
“[The King George] was undoubtedly a big disappointment. He was never travelling or jumping with any real fluency, but it wasn’t as if he ran a poor race. Without his blunder at the second last, he probably would have been a fair second to a very good horse.
“But that clearly wasn’t his best form. I am not making excuses but I can reveal that when he got back last night and stuck his head in the water bucket, he bled from both nostrils. He has never done it before, and will probably never do it again.
“It wasn’t a big bleed but it indicates that he probably bled during the race (possibly after his mistake at the second last, which meant he had to dig deep to get home), which would not have aided his cause.
“So it is up to me and my team here at Ditcheat to get him right for Cheltenham and we will relish the challenge.”
Stablemate Denman, 2010 winner Imperial Commander and Long Run are all set to run next in steeplechasing’s blue riband event.
Long Run would be attempting to be the first six-year-old since Mill House in 1963 to win the big Cheltenham race.
He is also entered for the shorter Ryanair Chase but owner Robert Waley-Cohen admits the Gold Cup has to be a real possibility now.
“I would think we would find it hard to resist going for the Gold Cup. He probably won’t run again before then,” said Waley-Cohen.
Long Run odds have shortened dramatically for the Gold Cup following victory at the King George VI Chase from 25/1 to just 7/1. Imperial Commander heads into Cheltenham the favourite at 7/2 with Denman at 8/1 and Kauto Star at 9/1.
Tony McCoy to ride Kauto Star Boxing day at Kempton
Champion Jokey Tony McCoy has confirmed he will ride Kauto Star in the King George VI at Kempton after Noel Fehily withdrew from the race due to injury.
The news comes off the back of an exciting week for McCoy who recently won the BBC sports personality of the year award. Kauto Star’s trainer Paul Nicholls is said to have spoken with Kauto’s owner Clive Smith before calling McCoy with the offer. Having agreed to race, McCoy said it was every jockeys dream to ride the great Kauto Star who has won this event 4 times.
McCoy isn’t thought to be a natural fit to Kauto but that will only add a little extra excitement to the race which, snow permitting will run on Boxing day.
Washington Bridge To Win the Bayakoa Handicap
Washington Bridge gathered from family in the final eighth of a mile to win the $ 150,000 Bayakoa Handicap at Hollywood Park.
Mounted by Rafael Bejarano, ran 1 January Washington Bridge to 16 miles on Cushion Track synthetic 1:44:25 ET paid $ 12, $ 6.40 and $ 4.40. It was the third straight win for the filly three years, training and co-owned by Jerry Hollendorfer.
Sister Dawn, led by 2 1 / 2 lengths with an go Furlong Sunday, returning $ 13.40 and $ 7 Zardari, the rate of 2-1 favorite and defending champion, was another length back in third countries and paid $ 3.20 to show.
Trainer Bob Baffert saddled the winner of its 2000 th Hall of Fame career when freedom Pourin won the third race.