Sizing up the field
1 Mo Donegal
Trainer: Todd Pletcher
Jockey: Irad Ortiz Jr.
Odds: 10-1
Drape: This colt was my pick until he got the No. 1 hole. It is extremely difficult to navigate a clean trip from this spot, especially for a closer like Mo.
Hoppert: He has finished in the money in all five starts and turned heads with an impressive rally in the Wood Memorial. He’s also a son of Uncle Mo, who has already produced a Derby winner (Nyquist in 2016) and who has a leading jockey on his back.
2 Happy Jack
Trainer: Doug O’neill
Jockey: Rafael Bejarano
Odds: 30-1
Drape: My son’s name is Jack, and he is happy. He can do what he wants with his allowance.
Hoppert: The Calumet homebred finished third in two Santa Anita prep races but was never a factor. He won’t be at the Derby, either.
3 Epicenter
Trainer: Steve Asmussen
Jockey: Joel Rosario
Odds: 7-2
Drape: Here’s your likely post-time favorite, and I cannot blame anyone who bets on him. But he is not a lock.
Hoppert: I’ll take my chances. This winner of four of six races, including three preps in Louisiana, has a lot going for him: a versatile running style, a top jockey and a Hall of Fame trainer who is long overdue in adding the Run for the Roses to his resume.
4 Summer Is Tomorrow
Trainer: Bhupat Seemar
Jockey: Mickael Barzalona
Odds: 30-1
Drape: He has two wins in Dubai. This race is a big step up from those.
Hoppert: The second-place finisher in the UAE Derby was bred by former Kentucky Gov. Brereton C. Jones. He’ll come out running Saturday, but he won’t be around at the finish.
5
Trainer: Kenny Mcpeek
Jockey: Corey Lanerie
Odds: 20-1
Drape: He won here as a 2-year-old, and Mcpeek knows how to point them at big races. My pick.
Hoppert: He turned heads during his 2-year-old season, but he has finished second in two starts this year. A real question mark. 6
Smile Happy Messier
Trainer: Tim Yakteen
Jockey: John Velazquez
Odds: 8-1
Drape: A seasoned sort who was beaten by his stablemate Taiba in the Santa Anita Derby.
Hoppert: You know what they say: Never count out a
Bob Baffert — er, Tim Yakteen — horse. (Yakteen is Baffert’s former assistant.) Messier has finished first or second in all six of his starts and has a solid chance to become only the third Canada-bred to win The Derby. I’m chalking up his Santa Anita Derby showing to the two months between races.
7 Crown Pride
Trainer: Koichi Shintani
Jockey: Christophe Lemaire
Odds: 20-1
Drape: Japanese horses have won big races in Saudi Arabia and Dubai, so why not here? This one has been touting himself training in the morning.
Hoppert: The first-place finisher in the UAE Derby is definitely the buzz horse on the backside, and not only for his lightning-fast works: He warms up by prancing in circles like a dressage horse.
8 Charge It
Trainer: Todd Pletcher
Jockey: Luis Saez
Odds: 20-1
Drape: A lightly raced and talented gray. Looks like Pletcher is sitting on a good one.
Hoppert: The runner-up in the Florida Derby has raced only three times, but he has shown promise, and with a clean trip can improve.
9 Tiz The Bomb
Trainer: Kenny Mcpeek
Jockey: Brian Hernandez Jr.
Odds: 30-1
Drape: He has won five of eight, but his best running has been done on a synthetic surface.
Hoppert: The last time he ran on dirt he finished seventh, and with rain in the forecast, you should look elsewhere. 10
Zandon
Trainer: Chad Brown
Jockey: Flavien Prat
Odds: 3-1
Drape: He runs from the back, a style that has not paid off in recent editions.
Hoppert: You can’t miss this nearly jet-black horse on the racetrack, and you shouldn’t overlook him at the betting window, either. Paired with a red-hot jockey, this speedy Blue Grass Stakes winner gives his successful trainer his best chance yet to notch a Derby victory.