Kentucky Derby Preview
Do we call it the Todd Pletcher Derby? Pletcher represents 25% of the field, as he will send five of the twenty runners in the 133rd edition of the Kentucky Derby on Saturday. Pletcher has never won the Derby despite having saddled 14 runners since 2000. Pletcher is the most prominent coach in the country, and if you look at his daily participants across the country, most of those runners are favorites. No matter what track they run on and no matter who is riding the horse, if Pletcher’s name appears as the trainer, then the public automatically assumes that the horse has a chance. With that in mind, one would assume that Pletcher’s horses attract a lot of money at the Derby. In fact, the opposite is true. He has never saddled a favorite, and 10 of his 14 running backs came out against 11-1 and even 58-1. Bluegrass Cat, a horse that ran for Pletcher last year, finished second with a 30-1 odds.
Pletcher’s five-horse contingent this year consists of $ 2 million purchases, Cowtown Cat and Any Given Saturday; Scat Daddy and Circular Quay race for owner Michael B Tabor, who has the deepest pockets in the game, and Sam P., who is owned by John and Laurie Wolf, who also owned Pletcher’s best horse to date, Ahado, a filly that was sold for a world. record of 9 million dollars. It is no secret why Pletcher has five participants in this derby. He trains for wealthy owners capable of buying the best of the best in each and every sale.
Pletcher seems to be very confident this year: “We have horses that are ahead of the curve in terms of experience. We have horses that are legitimately bred to get the distance. I feel very comfortable with the horses that we are bringing in this year. They are prospects for a mile and a quarter. I would say without a doubt that right now we are in the strongest position we’ve ever been in. ” On Cowtown Cat in post 6: “We felt there were two options, post 6 or 12.” On Scat Daddy in post 14: “Most of his wins were when he was abroad.” On Circular Quay in 16th place: “Probably for him the position of the position mattered less, but John Velázquez preferred the outside.” On Sam P. at 13th: “Jack Wolf wanted 13th.” Any Saturday in post 18: “We didn’t want to go inside.”
Pletcher isn’t the only coach to send more than one running back on Saturday. In fact, four other coaches will send two participants each. Doug O’Neill, who resides on the west coast and is a first-time Derby coach, has Cash and a Big Hunter. On liquidity in post 9: “I think everyone wants to be out of place and not on the inside. There are probably about 15 slot machines that really aren’t that bad and the other five are a bit shaky.” On Great Hunter at 20th: “You’ll need a little extra luck at the 20th hole, but then you’ll need luck to win anyway.”
Texas-based coach Steve “Cash” Asmussen will send Curlin, the likely Derby favorite, along with his stablemate, Zanjero. About Curlin in post 2. “A horse his size can take his position, but we would have preferred to be further out.” About Zanjero in post 3: “Things have been mentioned.”
Also a first-time Derby coach, Darrin Miller sends two, Sedgefield and Dominican, who will run as separate entities despite both being owned by Silverton Hill. On Sedgefield at No. 1. “We needed Sedgefield on the inside.” On Dominican at 19th place. “He’ll take cover behind the horses, so we’re fine with that.”
Wllliam Kaplan, who has been training since 1979, completes the multiple coaches joining the betting with Storm in May and Imawildandcrazyguy. On Imawildandcrazyguy at post 5: “Imawildandcrazyguy will go back and forth from behind. On Storm in May at post 4:” Storm in May will be about midpack. I kept them together because I know ‘Crazyguy’ breaks down. This is especially significant because Storm in May is blind in his right eye and his stablemate will break on the outside. Everything is coming together, from getting the top pick yesterday to keeping these two guys at the door together. “
In total, five trainers will make up 65% of the 20-horse field. But don’t overlook the other coaches. Some have already won the Derby; Carl Nafzger (Unbridled in 1990) second-choice Street Sense coach, Barclay Tagg (Funny Cide in 2003) who has Nobiz Like Shobiz, and John Sherriffs (Giacomo in 2005) who will send Tiago. Larry Jones (# 8 Hard Spun), Jamie Sanders (# 10 Teuflesberg), Jerry Hollendorfer (# 11 Bwana Bull) and William Currin (# 17 Stormello) round out the coaching roster for the 2007 Kentucky Derby.
Keep in mind that coaches are like coaches in the sense that they answer media questions with the most obvious and clichéd answers. As sports handicappers, our job is to read between the lines to gain an advantage in the point difference. Handicapped horses are no different, especially when you look at America’s most recognizable race, the Kentucky Derby. Attendance at the Derby typically exceeds 140,000, and the amount of money staked by these unsophisticated players on the track and others around the world makes this race a rare overlap. Those of us who follow the sport year-round have a decided advantage over the general public, and when the media exaggerates certain contenders, our advantage increases even further. Good luck with your Derby bets.
Matty Baiungo article.
Born and raised in Boston, Matty B is a horse racing expert and is considered one of the biggest young names in the sports betting industry. Since then, he has moved to Las Vegas to beat the sportsbooks and sportsbooks on a daily basis.