The 149th Kentucky Derby runners are listed in order of title, with comments from The New York Times’ Joe Drape and Melissa Hoppert. Morning his line’s odds were set by Mike His Battaglia at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky, where the race will be held.
Practical Move, Lord Miles and Continuar were scratched on Thursday, allowing Cyclone Mischief, Mandarin Hero and King Russell to race. Skinner suffered an injury on Friday, reducing the field to 19 horses, and the last time four of his competitors were withdrawn from the Derby was in 2015. More than half the horses in the field will be out of post positions that don’t match their program numbers because of scratches.
How to watch: Coverage begins Saturday at noon ET on NBC. It will also air on NBC’s streaming service, Peacock.
Post time: 6:57 p.m.
wallet: $3 million guaranteed
distance: 1¼ miles
achievement: 1:59⅖ (Secretariat, 1973)
weight: 126 pounds
our recommendation
Joe Drape’s winning places show picks: Verification, Reincarnation, Forte
Melissa Hoppert recommends: Tapit Trice, Forte, Angel of Empire
The fields should look like this:
1. Hit show
trainer: Brad Cox Jockey: Manny Franco Odds: 30-1
drape: This gray is a bit wrong, but it draws the No. 1 post. If he’s lucky enough to hit the rails and survive, he’s probably not fast enough to win.
Hoppert: He did well at Aqueduct this year, won the Wizards Stakes in February, and lost by a nose at Wood Memorial last month. But the only time he ran out of money was at Churchill Downs.
2. Verification
trainer: Brad Cox Jockey: Tyler Gafarion Odds: 15-1
drape: He is inconsistent, alternating between glorious and clunky races. Colt has a chance if he shows up at his best.
Hoppert: The quick son of 2018 Triple Crown winner Justify lost last month’s Blue Grass Stakes to a neck injury.
3. Two fills
trainer: Larry Riveri Jockey: Jareth Loveberry Odds: 12-1
drape: An interesting foal that has done well in Virginia, Louisiana, Minnesota and Kentucky. This well-traveled species has big shots.
Hoppert: He won Jeff Ruby in March by an impressive 5.5 lengths, but it was a comprehensive track. Still, he wins in the dirt and Churchill. Question mark, but I’m sure of one thing. His apostrophe is unnecessary.
4. Confidence game
trainer: Keith Desormeaux Jockey: James Graham Odds: 20-1
drape: This foal bought a $25,000 bargain in the basement and earned nearly $800,000. He loves slop, so pray for rain if you bet on him.
Hoppert: He earned a Level S on a lesser track in February and has not raced since, increasing the likelihood of physical problems. However, he is his two-time champion at Churchill and is making headlines during his training.
5. Tapit Trice
trainer: Todd Pletcher Jockey: Luis Saez Odds: 5-1
drape: Whether it misses the start like the Tampa Bay Derby or bounces off other horses like the Bluegrass, all this limp foal does is win.
Hoppert: The gray son of this prolific sire Tapit is on a four-game winning streak. Among them, bluegrass was included, and the come-from-behind run was fully demonstrated. He looked like a million dollars in the morning because his owner paid $1.3 million for him.
6. Kingsbarns
trainer: Todd Pletcher Jockey: Jose Ortiz Odds: 12-1
drape: Like Mage, Kingsbarns are fast and impressive. But he didn’t race in his two years old, so now we get a lot out of him in every race.
Hoppert: He won 3-3, including a Gate to Wire victory in the Louisiana Derby in March. However, his only two horses have won the Derby without starting in 2, one is Justify and he is not Justify.
7. Reincarnation
trainer: Tim Yakteen Jockey: John Velasquez Odds: 50-1
drape: I have a hunch that Reincarnate will run like old souls and run big. It may be that his career started on the lawn and it took him some time to understand foals.
Hoppert: Reincarnate, who finished third in the Arkansas Derby, is freckled gray like his great-grandfather Holy Bull and lives up to his name by finishing in the top three in all seven starts. He’ll be looking for an early lead and Velázquez knows how to win the Derby that way.
8. Mage
trainer: Gustavo Delgado Jockey: Javier Castellano Odds: 15-1
drape: He has not raced at the age of two and lacks the physical and mental foundations. That being said, he nearly beat Forte in the Florida Derby. If you like Forte, you should like him too.
Hoppert: His name means magician — his stallion is Good Magic — and while he’s improving despite consistent trouble getting out of the gate, it takes some magic to come out victorious. is required.
11. Disarm
trainer: Steve Asmussen Jockey: Joel Rosario Odds: 30-1
drape: He was one of the last qualifiers for the points, but the slow runner was bred to run long and would overtake horses in one fell swoop.
Hoppert: He was runner-up in the Lexington Stakes, the last ditch to score Derby points. There’s a reason his only two horses pulled away from the Lexington-Derby double.
12. Jace’s Way
trainer: Brad Cox Jockey: Florent Geroux Odds: 50-1
drape: This Son of Quality Road seems a little too deep. However, my buddy’s second son is named Jace and will be sending some money from Manhattan.
Hoppert: Finishing 3rd in the Louisiana Derby, Jace’s Road closes in on the lead early on, but isn’t fast enough to finish.
13. Sun Thunder
trainer: Kenny McPeak Jockey: Brian Hernandez Jr. Odds: 30-1
drape: Like last year’s Rich Strike, the late runner has one win. There is a horse racer’s saying, “If you missed the wedding, why are you going to the funeral?” Staying home is the best.
Hoppert: 4th place bluegrass finisher added A blinker after a few troubled trips.
14. Angel of Empire
trainer: Brad Cox Jockey: Flavian Pratt Odds: 8-1
drape: Arkansas Derby winner receives money. But Pennsylvania-bred foals have never faced fields this deep. Career effort is required.
Hoppert: This well-performing foal is arguably the cheapest of the four Coxs. He needs the perfect trip to showcase his powerful finishing his kicks, which is no easy feat in a field of 20 horses.
15. Forte
trainer: Todd Pletcher Jockey: Irad Ortiz Jr. Odds: 3-1
drape: He was 6 of 7 and was a two-year-old champion. This colt is a natural favorite, and when he’s past Saturday, we’ll probably see him at Belmont Park trying to complete his Triple Crown sweep.
Hoppert: He has won five in a row and has done nothing wrong aside from winning the Florida Derby by a narrow margin and giving bettors an excuse to seek value elsewhere.
16. Raise Cain
trainer: Ben Colebrook Jockey: Gerardo Corrales Odds: 50-1
drape: Another person going up the muddy road. He appeared to be on skis while winning the Gotham Stakes by 7.5 lengths in wet conditions in New York.
Hoppert: He didn’t even hit the board in his final race, Bluegrass, which could have distance limitations. Passed.
17. Derma hanger
trainer: Hidetaka Otonashi Jockey: Christophe Lemaire Odds: 10-1
drape: I would love to like this Japanese challenger, but (as he was) the horse from the UAE Derby is 18-0 in the Derby. And his position does him no favors.
Hoppert: I’m shocked that Drape doesn’t jump on the usual international bandwagon. But he makes a good point, despite Colt’s gate-to-wire runaway in the United Arab Emirates, where Japan swept the top four.
18. Rocket Can
trainer: Bill Mott Jockey: Junior Alvarado Odds: 50-1
drape: Like Shirreff, Mott never shows up with a horse he doesn’t believe in.
Hoppert: He won the Holy Bull, then was overtaken by Forte at the Fountain of Youth and didn’t even hit the board in the Arkansas Derby. but it may be too late to cause an upset.
21. Cyclone Prank
trainer: Dale Romans Jockey: Corey Llanelli Odds: 30-1
drape: This Roman colt continues to fall short.
Hoppert: He finished third in both the Fountain of Youth and the Florida Derby. His third place finish at Churchill Downs is a miracle.
22. Mandarin Hero
trainer: Terunobu Fujita Jockey: Kazushi Kimura Odds: 20-1
drape: If you like Practical Move, use this. He nearly passed him in the Santa Anita Derby.
Hoppert: This is also the qualified person I was waiting to pull in. He gives the Japanese his second contender and another great shot of his to take the race from America’s biggest dirt race to the world’s dirt race.
23. King Russell
trainer: Ron Mockett Jockey: Rafael Bejarano Odds: 50-1
drape: Breaking out late gives this late-running foal a ticket to the big show.
Hoppert: He finished second in the Arkansas Derby with 58-1 shooting. He won’t be so lucky here.
