Monthly Archives: February 2014

The pre-Derby circuit has been remarkably compelling over the last few weeks as the horses climb up the points leaderboard.  Let’s take a look at some of the colts in the Kentucky Derby betting news as the annual Run for the Roses draws near.

Tapiture Bests the Rest

There’s a new horse making waves in the world of Kentucky Derby horse racing odds – Tapiture, the Steve Asmussen-trained runner that shot atop the board with a stellar 4 ¼ length victory at the Southwest Stakes at Oaklawn.

Taipture gained 10 vital points at Oaklawn, dominating the $300,000 stakes race and putting a significant distance between himself and second-place finisher Strong Mandate.

Asmussen called the race a “big step forward” for Tapiture while Strong Mandate’s trainer, D. Wayne Lukas, was pleased with how his horse fared in his first start since a third place finish at the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile at the beginning of the campaign.

Lukas acknowledged that Tapiture was the class of the field, saying his run was “exceptional.” But he also reserved some praise for Strong Mandate, noting that his horse was bumped coming out of the gate and forced to run wide the entire race. All things considered, second place was a strong showing.

And if you’re into the whole rivalry thing, it’s expected that Tapiture and Strong Mandate are on a collision course for a rematch at the Rebel Stakes – also at Oaklawn Park – in a month’s time.

With those results from the Southwest Stakes in the book, here is the updated Kentucky Derby leaderboard (shown below in the order of horse, points, trainer):

1. Tapiture, 22, Steve Asmussen
2. Havana, 14, Todd Pletcher
3. Cairo Prince, 14. Kiaran McLaughlin
4. Honor Code, 14, Shug McGaughey
5. Tamarando, 12, Jerry Hollendorfer
6. Midnight Hawk, 12, Bob Baffert
7. Bond Holder, 11, Doug O’Neill
8. Rise Up, 10, Tom Amoss
9. We Miss Artie, 10, Todd Pletcher
10. Candy Boy, 10, John Sadler
11. Samraat, 10, Rick Violette
12. Noble Moon, 10, Leah Gyarmati
13. Ami’s Holiday, 10, Josie Carroll
14. Vicar’s in Trouble, 10, Mike Maker
15. Cleburne, 10, Dale Romans
16. Tanzanite Cat, 10, Cody Autrey
17. Strong Mandate, 6, D. Wayne Lukas
18. Casiguapo, 5, Mario Morales
19. Classic Giacnroll, 5, Lisa Guerrero
20. Ride On Curlin, 5, Billy Gowan

Big Result for Bayern

Though the win didn’t collect the kind of points needed to crack the leaderboard, another horse from the Bob Baffert camp – Bayern – made some noise in the Kentucky Derby betting world recently by winning a $58,000 race at Santa Anita.

The reason it caught people’s attention? Bayern won the race by a whopping 15 lengths – according to jockey Gary Stevens, Bayern “exploded” with speed upon hitting the eighth pole and absolutely dominated the competition from there on out (though, it should be noted, Bayern was a heavy favorite for those who bet on Kentucky Derby.)

Baffert has three Kentucky Derby wins on his resume but none since 2002, when War Emblem bested Proud Citizen. He’s looking to get back into the roses at Churchill Downs with Bayern.

As we move closer and closer to the annual Run for the Roses, horses are steadily stockpiling points in the hopes of cracking the field for the 2014 Kentucky Derby, to be run at Churchill Downs.

One of them, Candy Boy, has emerged as a quality runner and one worth keeping an eye on as the Derby draws near. Let’s take a further look at his recent success.

Candy Boy, A Contender

Led by Hall of Fame jockey Gary Stevens, Candy Boy is riding high lately – especially after a half-length victory over fellow Derby hotshot Chitu in the Robert B. Lewis Stakes at Santa Anita.

Stevens, a three-time Kentucky Derby winner, couldn’t say enough good things about Candy Boy after the horse won his first stakes victory. He said Candy Boy would be his “No. 1 draft choice” in terms of selecting colts to ride this year, thanks in large part to the horse’s 97 BRIS speed figure, which wowed onlookers at Santa Anita.

McGaughey Going Strong

After capturing last year’s Besilu Stables Fountain of Youth Stakes with Orb, Hall of Fame trainer Shug McGaughey will be back this year looking to make it two wins in a row with Top Billing. The horse will fill in for Honor Code, one of the most highly-touted horses in terms of Kentucky Derby horse racing odds.

Honor Code, who rose to prominence this season with a stellar victory over Cairo Prince at the Remsen Stakes, wasn’t nominated to the Fountain of Youth due to ankle bruising (a significant setback in his training schedule.) As a result, Top Billing – the son of the legendary Curlin – will draw into the field, looking to build upon a stellar performance at the Laurel on December 6, when he scored his first career win.

The Fountain of Youth is a $400,000 stakes race with key points up for grabs on the Kentucky Derby leaderboard. Aside from McGaughey and Top Billing, another trainer-horse combo to watch will be that of Commissioner and Todd Pletcher, who actually defeated Top Billing in the 1 1/8 mile allowance last month.

Pletcher will also be running Intense Holiday (who finished third in the Holy Bull), Havana (a Breeders’ Cup Juvenile runner-up) and We Miss Artie (a Breeders’ Futurity winner) – three to definitely keep an eye on when it comes to online horse odds.

Coach Q in the Limelight

Chicago Blackhawks head coach Joel Quenneville – who guided the ‘Hawks to a pair of Stanley Cup championships in 2010 and 2013 – has an interesting horse in play in Midnight Hawk, who finished third in the Robert B. Lewis Stakes (which, as mentioned above, was won by Candy Boy.)

Trained by the legendary Bob Baffert, Midnight Hawk has run well throughout the Derby points season and should be a factor when it comes to Kentucky Derby betting.  The Robert B. Lewis was just the third race of Midnight Hawk’s career and the first time it hadn’t won, so you know there’s some kind of winning pedigree at play with this colt.

It’s been a busy time as the horse racing world keeps an eye on the field to bet on the Kentucky Derby. Races are being run, points have been grabbed and a number of ponies have already emerged as favorites for the annual Run for the Roses.

Let’s take a look at some of the news makers now.

Samraat Takes the Withers

New York born-and-bred Samraat made some big strides toward receiving top Kentucky Derby horse racing odds when he captured the Withers Stakes at Aqueduct.

The Rick Violette-trained horse looked very good at the $250,000 race, capturing a one-length victory over Uncle Sigh (who raced neck-and-neck with Samraat for the majority of the time).

While the Withers was a six-horse race, Samraat and Uncle Sigh turned it into a two-horse race as the third place finisher, Scotland, finished 10 ¼ lengths back.

With the win, Samraat earned 10 crucial points in qualifying for Churchill Downs standings while Uncle Sigh earned four, Scotland two and Classic Giacnroll one. Violette indicated post-race that Samraat would return to his usual training regime in Florida following the Withers, then consider running in the Wood Memorial – also at Aqueduct – later down the road.

Another Contender for WinStar

In not-so-shocking Kentucky Derby betting news, WinStar Farm is running hot.

The Woodford County farm, which already boasted a leading Derby contender in Commissioner – he beat highly-touted Top Billing at Gulfstream earlier this season – now appears to have another prized horse in the mix with Vinceremos.

Vinceremos gained some crucial Derby bragging rights of his own at Tampa Bay Downs, capturing the 1 1/16 mile Sam F. Davis race over stablemate Harpoon.

Led by Todd Pletcher – the trainer extraordinaire – Vinceremos had a pretty curious run in Tampa, pressing for the lead early before falling back at the far turn, only to rebound extremely well and take the lead in midstretch. Ridden by Hall of Fame jockey Edgar Prado, Vinceremos didn’t actually gain any ground in Derby standings – the Sam F. Davis isn’t a points race this season. However he did position himself well for his next big race, the Tampa Bay Derby.

Honor Code Suffers ‘Minor Setback’

One of the hottest horses in the Derby campaign and points board fixture Honor Code has suffered a minor setback, according to trainer Shug McGaughey.

Honor Code was thought to be in the mix for the Fountain of Youth race at Gulfstream, but will now reportedly skip the event after missing around 10 days of training due to bruising in his hind ankles.

Honor Code burst onto the scene with a stellar win in the 1 1/8 mile Remsen Stakes at Aqueduct early in the season, but hasn’t raced since. That, along with McGaughey’s pedigree – he won his first-ever Derby last year with Orb – has a lot of Kentucky Derby betting enthusiasts keeping their eyes on Honor Code’s health.