Every year I choose a horse, and if I were to actually wage a bet at the track, I would never pick the favorite. The reason being is I want a large return on my "investment", plus it's rare the favorite actually wins. So, this year my pick for the win is Oxbow (pictured above). Two legends, jockey Gary Stevens and trainer D. Wayne Lukas, make a pretty powerful combination, and in a race where experience counts, these two bring a lot. Lukas has two horses in the race, which will make his 46th and 47th Derby starts, and has won the Kentucky Derby four times. He being 77 years old, combined with his last Derby win being in 1999, D. Wayne Lukas is due for a win! Stevens has mounted eighteen Kentucky starts, two of which were with Lukas. Not to mention Stevens came out of retirement just to ride Oxbow!
Now if you want to play it safe, be my guest. The line up is deep. The favorites, Verrazano, Orb, Goldencents and Revolutionary, all have looked good in races before the Kentucky Derby, but the truth is it's any horse's race. My pick to place is Verrazano and Revolutionary to show (for those who don't speak "horse talk," win=first place; place=second place; and show=third place). It might be a good idea to put a bet on one of trainer Todd Pletcher's horses. He only has an unprecedented five horses in the race, which makes up roughly 25% of the line up. His high numbers combined with him being way overdue for a win just might make it his year to wear the roses.
Another prospect is Goldencents, trained by Doug O'neill, who trained last year's winner, Ill Have Another. It would be a neat thing if O'neill were to win again this year. Only seven trainers have won the Derby back to back. The last years back to back wins occurred was in 1997 and 1998 when Bob Baffert won with Silver Charm and Real Quiet. Sadly, Bob Baffert, as of yesterday, has pulled his two horses, Governor Charlie and Code West.
Pre race coverage will be on NBC Sports Network from 11-4 with actual race coverage from 4-7 on NBC. Who will your pick be?