Santa Anita Derby Sets Stage for Kentucky Derby Favorite

We are less than a month away from Kentucky Derby 151. This weekend was supposed to serve as the grand finale for the prep trail that leads the ponies to the starting gate at Churchill Downs, but Mother Nature had other plans.

As you’re well aware by now, it’s raining all across Kentucky. Inches of rain aren’t suitable for racing world-class horses at Keeneland, causing the track to delay its first two days of the spring meet until Monday and Tuesday. That means we’ll have to wait a few more days to watch the Blue Grass Stakes. It’s not just one of the final tests for top 3-year-olds, it’s the most competitive field from top-to-bottom.

We’re missing out on a deep race, but we’ll still get to see two of the best in a top-heavy showdown.

The California horse racing circuit is in trouble, but it still has a knack for producing Kentucky Derby favorites. Bob Baffert is a big reason why. The only modern Triple Crown-winning trainer sets up shop out west and typically gets 3-5 of the best ten 3-year-olds in the world. What makes this year different is that Baffert isn’t completely dominating the races at Santa Anita Park.

Journalism, trained by Mike McCarthy, looks like the top contender to win Kentucky Derby 151. He produced a 108 Beyer Speed Figure in the San Felipe Stakes, scoring wins over two other Baffert Derby contenders, Barnes and Rodriguez. Neither are Baffert’s best. We’ll see him race against that horse on Saturday.

Citizen Bull is the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Champion who has finished first in four of five career starts. Only one of those starts has been as a 3-year-old, a casual three-length win in a one-mile race.

It’s only a five-horse field in the Santa Anita Derby, essentially making it a match race between the top two Kentucky Derby contenders. Watch it all unfold by tuning into CNBC Saturday night at 7:00 PM EST.

Santa Anita Derby Odds

Horse	Trainer	Jockey	Odds
Journalism	Michael McCarthy	Umberto Rispoli	6-5
Citizen Bull	Bob Baffert	Martin Garcia	9-5
Westwood	John Shirreffs	Tiago Pereira	20-1
Barnes	Bob Baffert	Juan Hernandez	3-1
Baeza	John Shirreffs	Hector Berrios	6-1

One More Kentucky Derby Prep

The Wood Memorial has a bigger field, creating better value for bettors, but New York’s top Kentucky Derby prep fails to regularly produce winners on the first Saturday in May. The prep race has not produced a Kentucky Derby winner since 2000, and only two of the last ten have gone on to win a Triple Crown or Breeders’ Cup race.

Rick Dutrow might create an exception to that rule with Captain Cook, the favorite who has not lost since he arrived in Dutrow’s barn last fall. If he is able to beat Baffert’s shipper, Captain Cook will attract some fans at Churchill Downs next month.

Hill Road is another horse to keep an eye on. He’s only raced once since the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile. Expect Chad Brown to get the most out of this 3-year-old in its second start off the long layoff.

Horse	Trainer	Jockey	Odds
Rodriguez	Bob Baffert	Mike E. Smith	4-1
Captain Cook	Richard E. Dutrow, Jr.	Manuel Franco	4-1
Tiger Twenty Four	William I. Mott	Javier Castellano	15-1
My Mitole	Carlos F. Martin	Luis R. Rivera, Jr.	20-1
Sand Devil	Linda Rice	Jose Lezcano	8-1
Hill Road	Chad C. Brown	Joel Rosario	6-1
Grande	Todd A. Pletcher	Dylan Davis	7-2
Passion Rules	Brad H. Cox	Kendrick Carmouche	8-1
Bear Claw Necklace	Saffie A. Joseph, Jr.	Romero Ramsay Maragh	30-1
McAfee	Richard E. Dutrow, Jr.	Eric Cancel	30-1
Statesman	Claude R. McGaughey III	Samuel Marin	15-1
Omaha Omaha	Michael E. Gorham	Raul E. Mena	20-1

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