Handicapping the Kentucky Derby
The 149th running of the Kentucky Derby is Saturday. Here’s everything you need to know.
How to watch
When: Saturday, post time 6:57 p.m. The Kentucky Derby is the 12th race on the Churchill Downs card.
TV/streaming: NBC, NBCSports.com, the NBC Sports app, and Peacock. Coverage begins at noon.
Where: Churchill Downs in Louisville, Ky., has hosted the Derby since its first running in 1875, and the race annually draws more than 150,000 fans.
Horses to watch
Most of the 3-year-olds will be running 1¼ miles for the first time.
Forte: Comes into the Derby on a fiverace winning streak and is a 5-1 cofavorite alongside Tapit Trice. Rallied in the Florida Derby to win by a length after being ninth in the early going. Lost just once in seven career races, as a 2-year-old. Trying to become just the fourth 2-year-old champion since 1980 to go on and win the Derby.
Forte is one of three Derby horses trained by Todd Pletcher, a two-time Derby winner. Jockey Irad Ortiz Jr. knows the colt well, having ridden him in all of his races. Forte is co-owned by Mike Repole, whose Uncle Mo was the early favorite in the 2011 Derby but was scratched the day before because of illness. His other owner is Vincent Viola, who owns the NHL’s Florida Panthers and co-owned Always Dreaming, the 2017 Derby winner trained by Pletcher.
Angel of Empire: Comes off a 4¼-length victory in the Arkansas Derby, where Derby rival Reincarnate finished third. His running style is from off the pace. If he can negotiate heavy traffic in front, he could be a threat in the late going.
One of four Derby horses for trainer Brad Cox, a Louisville native. Flavien Prat will be aboard, the fifth different jockey for the colt. He’s one of three Derby contenders with at least $1 million in earnings. The bay colt is owned by Albaugh Family Stables, based in Des Moines. The outfit also coowns Jace’s Road, who has yet to win as a 3year-old and got into the Derby after another horse dropped out. Would be the third Pennsylvania-bred to win.
Tapit Trice: The Blue Grass Stakes winner is on a four-race winning streak. The gray colt is a powerful late runner and one of trainer Pletcher’s three entries. He didn’t break sharply from the starting gate in his Blue Grass and Tampa Bay Derby victories, but if he can get in position by the top of the stretch, he’ll have a shot to win. Luis Saez has been aboard for the colt’s last three wins.
Derma Sotogake: One of two Japanese horses in the field, along with Mandarin Hero. They’re just the third and fourth Japan-bred entries in Derby history. Derma Sotogake is coming off a wire-to-wire victory by 5½ lengths in the UAE Derby. Owner Hiroyuki Asanuma is a dermatologist in Hokkaido who uses the word “Derma” as the first part of all his horses’ names. “Sotogake” is an outside leg trip in sumo wrestling.
Continuar was scratched Thursday after his trainer said the colt was not in peak physical condition. That opened up a spot for Mandarin Hero, who finished second by a nose in the Santa Anita Derby.
Confidence Game: Coming off a 10week layoff, much longer than most contenders. He won the Rebel Stakes by a length Feb. 25. The dark bay colt was purchased for $25,000, making him the cheapest horse in the field. Perhaps tellingly, his other two career victories came at Churchill Downs as a 2-year-old. His sire is Candy Ride, who also produced 2017 Horse of the Year Gun Runner. Trainer Keith Desormeaux is the brother of Hall of Fame jockey Kent Desormeaux.
Last year
Rich Strike, who did not even get into the Derby until the Friday before the race and had not won anything since a $30,000 maiden claiming race the previous September, went off at 80-1 and pulled off a stunning upset. Rich Strike tracked down favorites Epicenter and Zandon along the rail for the win. Only Donerail in 1913 won the Derby at longer odds.
How to bet
Massachusetts bettors can head to one of the three racing simulcast facilities in the state: Suffolk Downs, Raynham Park, and Plainridge Park. The race will be broadcast in the state’s three casino sportsbooks (Encore Boston Harbor, MGM Springfield, and Plainridge), but Kentucky Derby bets cannot be placed there.
Online, there are two options: FanDuel and DraftKings. FanDuel’s Racing allows users to migrate their FanDuel accounts to its Racing app, while DraftKings’s DK Racing requires setting up a separate account.
Online horse racing betting is also legal in the following states: Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Mexico, New York, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Tennessee, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming.
How do horses qualify?
The Derby is open to 3-year-old thoroughbreds who compile enough points in Road to the Kentucky Derby prep races. The 20 horses with the most points gain entry, though trainers sometimes hold their horses out if they feel the Derby isn’t a good fit or if their horses are injured. In such instances, the four horses on the also-eligible list can move into the field.
How long is the race?
The Kentucky Derby is run at 10 furlongs, or 1¼ miles. That’s one-16th of a mile longer than the Preakness Stakes but a quarter-mile shorter than the Belmont Stakes. The winner completes the race in a little over two minutes.
How much for the winner?
The owner of the Derby winner will receive $1.86 million of the $3 million purse, which is split among only the top five finishers.
Typically, the horse’s owner receives 80 percent of the prize money, with the remaining 20 percent split between the trainer and jockey.