Kentucky Derby Archives

The 140th Kentucky Derby race is tomorrow May 3! This famous horse race takes place at Churchill Downs and lasts for only a couple minutes. The winning horse is guaranteed at least $2 million. Post time is 6:24 pm EST, but coverage begins at 4 for you to enjoy on NBC.

The Kentucky Derby is the first of the three Triple Crown races, with the Preakness and Belmont stakes following soon after. It has been 36 years since the last TC winner – Affirmed in 1978. Will we see a Triple Crown winner this year? It is very early to say, so lets take a look at some of this years best KD contenders.

California Chrome

(Wall Street Journal)

California Chrome is the horse to beat this Derby! He is the favorite, and it is reportedly his race to lose. He has won his last four races by a combined total margin of 24 lengths. His odds are doing so well now that if he goes to race with them he will be the biggest favorite to win a derby since Big Brown in 2008. He is an impressive animal, with strength to go and hopefully strength to finish this long and fast paced race. His jockey is Victor Espinoza, who won the Derby in 2002 on War Emblem. He also drew a perfect starting position at position 5. Of course, rarely does a favorite actually win the Derby and moreover it is his first race outside of California. How will California Chrome run in Kentucky?

Wicked Strong

(Boston Magazine)

Wicked Strong comes from Boston and was named in the wake of the Boston Marathon bombing. The name Boston Strong was already taken, so this little guy received the appropriate Wicked Strong. If he wins, his owners will donate 5% of his winnings to The One Fund (which helps those affected by the bombing). What gives him a good chance at the Derby? His last race at the Wood Memorial was a sort of come from behind win, giving him a reputation for being able to rally at the end. Will the spirit and strength of Boston, and some come from behind speed, be the ticket to win this year? I do hope he places well!

Danza

(courier journal)

Danza is the winner of the Arkansas Derby creating quite a buzz for his chances at winning the Derby. Danza entered that race with 40-1 odds because it was the first time he ever ran over 7/8 of a mile and he had spent a few months recovering from a knee injury. He stayed in the leading pack the entire race and pulled off a 4 3/4 lengths win. He is a sprinter, muscular and tough. And yes, he is named after Tony Danza who tweeted with excitement about the horse’s win in Arkansas and plans to attend the Derby. Given such a strong recent performance, and how well he is training at the moment, he is a possible favorite to win.

Intense Holiday

(SB Nation)

Intense Holiday also has very good odds to win this year. He has eight races before this one, impressive given how little many of these horses run before this race. He is good when he has to work to win, keeping back a bit and then making the effort towards the end. He has placed well in his last three races. And while not truly exemplary, his stamina and strength may be just is called for tomorrow.

Samraat

(Kansas City)

Samraat has had an impressive 6 races, coming in second only once to Wicked Strong. He can go the distance, winning even as he raced longer and harder races. He can pace well, and fight well. He could be a good contender to take the win tomorrow from the more favored California Chrome.

And one final horse, one I like for his name:
Uncle Sigh

(Newsday)

Yes, Uncle Sigh is named after Uncle Si on the show Duck Dynasty. Love Uncle Si! So crazy to listen to, the uncle you always wanted to have. Anyways, his name is not spelled correctly because his owner did not want to go through everything you need to do to get the permission to use a living person’s name. Uncle Sigh has not been unimpressive in his races, but he did not place well in the last race he ran because he did not get a great start and was forced to run wide. For the Derby he will be in position 3, so he might actually have a very good chance to run the race the way he excels. Could Crazy Uncle Sigh win this Derby?

Watch the Kentucky Derby tomorrow on NBC!

May 2, 2014

Events fun horses No comments Cola and Fizz

Kentucky Derby Winner

Orb wins the 139th Kentucky Derby!

(yahoo)

Orb’s win today was impressive! He had to deal with the very muddy track and he remained far back in the pack until coming from behind at the end to win.

Golden Soul came in second, followed by Revolutionary, and Normandy Invasion finished finished fourth.

May 5, 2013

horses No comments Cola and Fizz

Kentucky Derby

The 139th Kentucky Derby is tomorrow, May 4th, at Churchill Downs! 20 horses are allowed in the race, with 21 having applied and qualified this year.

However, only 19 horses will race in the Derby tomorrow. Black Onyx was scratched from the race with a bone chip this morning, and while the horse Fear the Kitten was wait listed to race in the place of a scratched opponent the decision came after the 9 am deadline for adding the additional horse.

Who are some of the top contending horses this year?

1. Orb

(AP Photo/Garry Jones)

Orb pulled out of all the horses as the favorite, being on a four race winning streak. He was purchased for only $50,000 and has already won close to $1 million. Orb drew the 16th post out of 20 horses, which places him in the overflow starting gate but is actually a good position to start from. Four horses have won from the 16th post, the most recent being Animal Kingdom two years ago. You can read more about Orb at ESPN.

2. Verrazano

(USA Today)

Verrazano is in a close second for favorite for the race tomorrow, and has a very good chance of winning. Verrazano is 4 for 4, unbeaten in his racing career. He will break from post 14, very close to Orb but from the actual (rather than auxiliary) starting gate. He never ran as a 2 year old, and if he won would only be the second winner of the Derby ever to claim that after Apollo in 1882. Will he have the stamina to win without the benefits of a few more races and more months of training that most of the other contenders have had?

3. Overanalyze

(SB Nation)

Overanalyze is owned by Mike Repole who’s company created Vitamin Water (sold to Coke-a-Cola in 2007). This horse has shown good versatility in running style for the length of this race, but has been sort of inconsistent in previous races. But with the wins he has pulled off recently he might just have what it takes to win the Derby.

4. Goldencents

(washington post)

Goldencents is a horse to watch not only for his ability to win, but for what that win would mean for his owner and trainer. Goldencents is owned by Rick Pitino, the University of Louisville basketball coach who just won the national championship. A win in the Derby coupled with that win would be unprecedented. The trainer, Doug O’Neill won the Derby last year with horse I’ll Have Another. To have this horse win the Derby for a second year would more than prove O’Neill’s horse skills.

About that ability to win? Goldencents has shown as much skill as the other major contenders and has only been getting faster as he runs longer races. He has a fast start, but has also shown an ability to pick up speed later in the race. It is unknown whether he can last such a distance as this race, but we won’t know until he tries.

5. Revolutionary

Revolutionary has won three consecutive races, and his odds are fairly good for this race. The most outstanding factor for this horse? Why his jockey, of course. Calvin Borel rides Revolutionary, and he has won the Kentucky Derby three times! Borel is one of the most decorated jockeys in the history of horse racing, and much of that success has only happened in the past 6 years aboard a few different horses. Given Borel’s record for handling horses, Revolutionary has a really good chance given his and his jockey’s skills. Will that be enough?

Honorable Mention:

Mylute

(SB Nation)

While Mylute has not won a graded stakes race, he managed to qualify for the Derby. His full potential is unknown and he might just have the sprinting speed to win. He also has a female jockey, Rosie Napravnik, who is the only female jockey running this year and a win would be the first for a female jockey ever at the Derby.

Watch the Derby tomorrow from 4 to 7 pm on NBC and I will post the results when available.

May 3, 2013

horses No comments Cola and Fizz

No Triple Crown This Year

I’ll Have Another has been scratched from tomorrow’s Belmont Stakes race due to a leg injury. Thus ends the possibility of a Triple Crown winner this year.There is a press conference scheduled for 1 pm today to address the scratch and reasons behind it. Only two other horses have won both the Kentucky Derby and Preakness, and then not run in the Belmont – but that was before the Triple Crown title was such a prestigious goal.

This is an incredibly disappointing turn of events for horse racing, I’ll Have Another really had a chance. Maybe next year…

(Mark Lennihan/AP)

June 8, 2012

horses No comments Cola and Fizz

Kentucky Derby Winner

I’ll Have Another has won the 138th Kentucky Derby! It was amazing to watch, he came from the pack in the final stretch and run very well. It was a first time win for post position number 19, and a first time derby win for his jockey. The horse is named for what his owner says when his wife offers him another cookie.

(found here)

May 5, 2012

horses No comments Cola and Fizz

Kentucky Derby 2012

Today is the 138th Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs! It is warm today, around 84 degrees, and dispite rain yesterday the track has dried and been rated as fast. Only for three year old horses, these athletes have only one chance in their lives to win this race. These two minutes mean a lot in the horse racing world!

While there are many promising horses the current favorite is Union Rags, who starts in the fourth spot:

(found here)

Union Rags’ owner has a wonderful story – she sold him as a colt and repurchased him for much more than he was original sold for when he went to auction. He has turned out to be a champion so far, will he be able to pull off a big win?

There are a couple others horses that I want to highlight before the race.

Hansen – a beautiful all white horse that is drawing a lot of attention to himself. A bit of controversy surrounds his owner Dr. Hansen who has used the horse to seemingly bring himself publicity. He wanted to dye part of Hansen’s tail blue for the last race he ran, even with threats to scratch the animal over the issue. The tail was dyed back by the trainer to prevent any problems at the anger of Dr. Hansen – Hansen placed second in that race. He has done well thus far, can he pull off a win today?

(found here)

Bodemeister – Has a lot of potential to win this race by the very nature of his speed. He won the Arkansas Derby by 9 1/2 lengths. However, he has not been raced that many times (never as a two year old) and new situations could come up that will startle him and impact his performance. Maybe he can pull off such a wonderful win today.

(found here)

Gemologist – So far undefeated, and the only horse in the field to be so, Gemologist has great potential and good odds to take the Derby.

(found here)

Take Charge Indy – He has won in a couple major races but has not gotten much publicity like other derby favorites. However, he will have three time derby winning jockey Calvin Borel – so only time will tell if this combination will take it all today.

(found here)

Creative Cause – Has had good winnings thus far and I think he is a beautiful animal:

Another horse that I like just for the name: Rousing Sermon

(found here)

Creative, and I am not sure that many people would name a horse something like this. So I am interested in seeing how he runs. Also great names: I’ll Have Another and Daddy Long Legs.