The field for the 2018 Kentucky Derby may be better defined, or better, or just plain hotter off the mark than in years past, but this year's top two favorites, Justify, the Californian, trained by Bob Baffert, and Mendelssohn, brought to us via Europe and the United Arab Emirates by Aidan O'Brien and the people at Coolmore, also bring a big whiff of mystery to the Derby's 144th running. Which is an exhilarating spice for any horse race, especially for the Derby. But the questions are still kind of sticky. The player can actually be staring at those two horses' past performances, and still want to ask, wait, how did they get here, again? They raced where? Even in full view, these horses are scarily unknown.
It's but small solace for the player that Kentucky's own Jennifer Lawrence, who is reported to be something of a film actress, put in an appearance on the "orange carpet" out at Churchill over the weekend for a charity benefit, so we can at least report that Derby Week is off to a fine, sparkly start. But! Despite the local Hollywood royalty putting her imprimatur on the proceedings, the 144th Kentucky Derby is going to require some razor-sharp, heart-wrenching betting later this week, as the post position draw happens on Tuesday and the track's morning line is set. The draw will inevitably cause the week's first big spike in Vegas, at the track, and beyond. But before we bring in our estimable Kentucky horseman, Bluegrass Wise Man ™, to help us read through those and other unknowns – such as the extremely interesting past lives of those mysterious top two faves – first, a bit of information about accessing the Derby, and the latest Vegas odds.
The 2018 Kentucky Derby will be televised and streamed by NBC Sports, with a post time of 6:50 pm ET on race day, May 5th, but Saturday's broadcast will begin hours earlier, at 2:30 pm ET. Both the Derby's and the Kentucky Oaks' post-position draws will be livestreamed on Facebook and Twitter by @KentuckyDerby, aka, Churchill Downs. The Derby's draw will be livestreamed on May 1, at 11 a.m. ET. The Oaks post position draw will be livestreamed at 11 a.m ET today, April 30.
Herewith, the latest Vegas odds on the prospects. Obviously, a number of these twenty-six prospective entries will fall away by Tuesday's draw.
(Horse, Fractional Odds)
Mendelssohn, 4-1
Justify, 4-1
Audible, 5-1
Magnum Moon, 8-1
Bolt d'Oro, 9-1
Good Magic, 11-1
Hofburg, 16-1
Vino Rosso, 16-1
Noble Indy, 20-1
My Boy Jack, 22-1
Solomini, 22-1
Enticed, 25-1
Promises Fulfilled, 33-1
Free Drop Billy, 33-1
Flameaway, 33-1
Firenze Fire, 40-1
Combatant, 40-1
Bravazo, 50-1
Restoring Hope, 50-1
Snapper Sinclair, 50-1
Lone Sailor, 50-1
Instilled Regard, 50-1
Reride, 50-1
Sporting Chance, 66-1
Dream Baby Dream, 100-1
Givemeaminut, 100-1
(Source: , April 30)
Let's hit Mendelssohn first. Odd, isn't it, that both of Justify and Mendelssohn come from different ends of the earth and meet here as the favorites. At least for the minute.
Bluegrass Wise Man ™: Unless something happens, I suspect they'll stay the favorites. I'll agree that from the outside there might seem to be some mysterious quotient to those two. Take Mendelssohn, who seems to come the furthest. He's actually very American, if you study his pedigree, and by that I mean he was born here, in Kentucky. The only difference is, Coolmore took him to Europe, and then to Dubai, and I guess nobody knew what he could do, but his wins in Dubai have been so commanding that they brought him here. The Coolmore people are pros, they've done this before. His trainer Aidan (O'Brien) doesn't mess around, so there's an awful good set of reasons that they brought him here. Nobody's thinking when they start out, 'Hey, we're gonna have the favorite in the Derby.' Most cases, the horses bring you here. This horse brought them here.
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It's but small solace for the player that Kentucky's own Jennifer Lawrence, who is reported to be something of a film actress, put in an appearance on the "orange carpet" out at Churchill over the weekend for a charity benefit, so we can at least report that Derby Week is off to a fine, sparkly start. But! Despite the local Hollywood royalty putting her imprimatur on the proceedings, the 144th Kentucky Derby is going to require some razor-sharp, heart-wrenching betting later this week, as the post position draw happens on Tuesday and the track's morning line is set. The draw will inevitably cause the week's first big spike in Vegas, at the track, and beyond. But before we bring in our estimable Kentucky horseman, Bluegrass Wise Man ™, to help us read through those and other unknowns – such as the extremely interesting past lives of those mysterious top two faves – first, a bit of information about accessing the Derby, and the latest Vegas odds.
The 2018 Kentucky Derby will be televised and streamed by NBC Sports, with a post time of 6:50 pm ET on race day, May 5th, but Saturday's broadcast will begin hours earlier, at 2:30 pm ET. Both the Derby's and the Kentucky Oaks' post-position draws will be livestreamed on Facebook and Twitter by @KentuckyDerby, aka, Churchill Downs. The Derby's draw will be livestreamed on May 1, at 11 a.m. ET. The Oaks post position draw will be livestreamed at 11 a.m ET today, April 30.
Herewith, the latest Vegas odds on the prospects. Obviously, a number of these twenty-six prospective entries will fall away by Tuesday's draw.
(Horse, Fractional Odds)
Mendelssohn, 4-1
Justify, 4-1
Audible, 5-1
Magnum Moon, 8-1
Bolt d'Oro, 9-1
Good Magic, 11-1
Hofburg, 16-1
Vino Rosso, 16-1
Noble Indy, 20-1
My Boy Jack, 22-1
Solomini, 22-1
Enticed, 25-1
Promises Fulfilled, 33-1
Free Drop Billy, 33-1
Flameaway, 33-1
Firenze Fire, 40-1
Combatant, 40-1
Bravazo, 50-1
Restoring Hope, 50-1
Snapper Sinclair, 50-1
Lone Sailor, 50-1
Instilled Regard, 50-1
Reride, 50-1
Sporting Chance, 66-1
Dream Baby Dream, 100-1
Givemeaminut, 100-1
(Source: , April 30)
Let's hit Mendelssohn first. Odd, isn't it, that both of Justify and Mendelssohn come from different ends of the earth and meet here as the favorites. At least for the minute.
Bluegrass Wise Man ™: Unless something happens, I suspect they'll stay the favorites. I'll agree that from the outside there might seem to be some mysterious quotient to those two. Take Mendelssohn, who seems to come the furthest. He's actually very American, if you study his pedigree, and by that I mean he was born here, in Kentucky. The only difference is, Coolmore took him to Europe, and then to Dubai, and I guess nobody knew what he could do, but his wins in Dubai have been so commanding that they brought him here. The Coolmore people are pros, they've done this before. His trainer Aidan (O'Brien) doesn't mess around, so there's an awful good set of reasons that they brought him here. Nobody's thinking when they start out, 'Hey, we're gonna have the favorite in the Derby.' Most cases, the horses bring you here. This horse brought them here.
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