Kentucky Derby - Gate Positions & Odds

The Kentucky Derby seemingly will have a full starting gate of twenty colts on Saturday afternoon at Churchill Downs.  Only twenty are allowed to race, but there are two alternate entries waiting on the sidelines in case of illness or injury.    Here are the drawn post positions, with morning line betting odds, and the jockeys that I recognize.

1.     Trojan Nation                   50 to 1     Aaron Gryder
2.     Suddenbreakingnews       20 to 1
3.     Creator                             10 to 1
4.     Mo Tom                           20 to 1
5.     Gun Runner                     10 to 1     Florent Geroux
6.     My Man Sam                  20 to 1
7.     Oscar Nominated            50 to 1      Julien Leparoux
8.     Lani                                 30 to 1     Yutaka Take
9.     Destin                              15 to 1     Javier Castellano
10.   Whitmore                         20 to 1    Victor Espinoza
11.   Exaggerator                       8 to 1     Kent Desormeoux
12.   Tom's Ready                     30 to 1  
13.   Nyquist                              3 to 1
14.   Mohaymen                       10 to 1   Junior Alvarado
15.   Outwork                          15 to 1    John Velasquez
16.   Shagaf                             20 to 1    Joel Rosario
17.   Mor Spirit                        12 to 1    Gary Stevens
18.   Majesto                            30 to 1
19.   Brody's Cause                  12 to 1
20.   Danzing Candy                15 to 1    Mike Smith
****  Stand-bys in case of a scratch/es   ****
21.   Laoban                             50 to 1    Cornelio Velasquez
22.   Cherry Wine                    30 to 1     Robby Albarado


Information on the two stand-bys:    Laoban was born on 31 January, in Kentucky, a bay son of Tapit.  He is trained by Eric Guillot.
      Cherry Wine  was born on 13 February, also in Kentucky.  The grey son of Paddy O'Prado is trained by Dale Romans.

If any horse scratches for the Derby, the horses in the starting gate to the outside of that starting position will all move over one slot, until the stand-by entrant is standing in post 20.    Now I don't want to jinx anyone...  but say that post 12 horse is a scratch; all horses from post 13 to 20 would move one slot to the left (posts 12 through 19), and the first stand-by entry would go into gate 20....  Hope that explains how that works...

Good luck in your handicapping and betting!

Kentucky Derby Is One Week Away!

Well, with the Kentucky Derby one week away, there are other interesting happenings in the world of thoroughbred racing, also....   Today, in South Africa, Abashiri became the winner of the South African Triple Crown, with his win the the South African Derby.  The handsome bay gelding is by American-bred Go Deputy, and out of Donya by Elliodor.  Abashiri had won the first two legs of the Triple Crown, being the Gauteng Guineas and the South African Classic.
  Flamboyant Frankie Dettorri rode Galileo Gold, a son of Paco Boy, to the winner's circle at Newmarket in the first Grade I of the season in Great Britain, the 2000 Guineas.  The betting favorite for the Guineas was Air Force Blue, who finished twelfth of thirteen.  Massaat followed Galileo Gold, with Ribchester in third.  Two American-breds, Air Vice Marshal and Kentuckyconnection ended up in fourth and fifth place.
  It seems that the 2016 Kentucky Derby will have a full starting gate of 20 contenders again this year.  After the withdrawal of Cupid, due to a breathing problem, trainer Bob Baffert has only one entry in the Derby, Mor Spirit.  Pedigree analyzers are commenting on the fact there are three entrants each for two stallions in the top 20 entries: Tapit, the grey son of Pulpit, is standing his twelfth season at stud; while Uncle Mo has only two crops of offspring on the track.  The unsung son of Indian Charlie is siring a lot of good horses early in his career.  Tapit's sons in the Kentucky Derby are: Creator, Lani, and Mohaymen. Uncle Mo's sons are Nyquist, Outwork, and Mo Tom.
   You can be sure I'll be writing about the Derby during this week.  In the meantime, here is a list of the top 25 qualifiers for running in the Kentucky Derby.  They are listed by the number of points earned; please take notice that numbers 18 and 19 are actually tied in their point numbers.
1.    Gun Runner
2.    Nyquist
3.    Exaggerator
4.    Outwork
5.    Brody's Cause
6.    Creator
7.    Lani
8.    Mor Spirit
9.    Mohaymen
10.  Danzing Candy
11.  Destin
12.  Suddenbreakingnews
13.  Oscar Nominated
14.  Shagaf
15.  Whitmore
16.  Tom's Ready
17.  My Man Sam
18.  Majesto
19.  Trojan Nation
20.  Mo Tom
21.  Fellowship
22.  Adventist
23.  Laoban
24.  Dazzling Gem
25.  Uncle Lino
     I have listed the top 25 point earners while there are only 20 starting gate spaces.  If you've ever loved, owned, or spent time around horses and/or ponies, you know that strange things can occur.  In the case of these thoroughbreds, a fever, a swelling, a bad step, colic, even a spider bite, can wipe out that horse's one and only chance to be a Kentucky Derby contender.  I do not want to cause bad luck to any horse, rider, trainer, jockey, stable, barn or owner by pointing these possibilities out to the racing public.  I hope that the top twenty horses are all fine and fit, and race well on Derby Day - with no injuries to anyone (equine or human).