Kentucky Derby Picks, Tips, Expert Betting Predictions

2016 Santa Anita Derby Picks with Odds and Expert Betting Predictions
by Trevor Whenham - 4/7/2016

The Santa Anita Derby has long been a great race. The list of legends that have won this race over the years is remarkable - Triple Crown winner Affirmed, Winning Colors, Sunday Silence, A.P. Indy, Point Given and, more recently, dual Classic winners I'll Have Another and California Chrome. Even last year's winner, Dortmund, did the race proud - and would have done more if it weren't for his generationally talented stablemate American Pharoah.

2016 Blue Grass Stakes Picks with Odds and Expert Betting Predictions
by Trevor Whenham - 4/6/2016

In 1993 Prairie Bayou followed up his win in the Blue Grass Stakes by finishing second in the Kentucky Derby and then winning the Preakness. That was a long time ago. It's relevant, though, because in the 22 editions of the Blue Grass that have been run since, no winner of the race has gone on to win a Triple Crown race. Not one. The race had earlier been a champion factory - Strike the Gold, Summer Squall, Spectacular Bid and Riva Ridge had all won the race - but has since fallen on hard times.

2016 Wood Memorial Picks with Odds and Expert Betting Predictions
by Trevor Whenham - 4/6/2016

The Wood Memorial seems like a cursed Kentucky Derby prep race these days. The winner hasn't gone on to win the Derby since Fusaichi Pegasus did it in 2000. Over the three-year stretch from 2009 to 2011, injuries kept the winner out of the Derby entirely - including two horses, I Want Revenge and Eskendereya, that would have been tough to beat.

Mo Tom Odds to Win the 2016 Kentucky Derby with Picks and Predictions
by Trevor Whenham - 4/5/2016

Some guys just have the golden touch. Tom Benson, the owner of the New Orleans Saints and Pelicans, wanted to get back into horse racing in 2014 - a sport he hadn't been a part of since the mid-1980s. He gave three trainers $500,000 each to spend on yearlings as they saw fit. Benson wound up with just seven horses. Remarkably, two of those seven - Mo Tom and Tom's Ready - will be in the starting gate for the Kentucky Derby barring an injury.

Majesto Odds to Win the 2016 Kentucky Derby with Picks and Predictions
by Trevor Whenham - 4/5/2016

There is one thing that is proven year after year on the road to the Kentucky Derby - three-year-old thoroughbreds are not boring or predictable. The latest proof of that came in the Florida Derby. We expected it to be a two-horse showdown between Mohaymen and Nyquist. The other eight horses were afterthoughts. Irrelevant. But then Mohaymen failed to fire and wound up fourth, and suddenly two horses we had thought little of - Majesto and Fellowship - had the points to punch their ticket to the Kentucky Derby.

Fellowship Odds to Win the 2016 Kentucky Derby with Picks and Predictions
by Trevor Whenham - 4/5/2016

Heading into the Florida Derby this year it seemed like we were about to watch two future Kentucky Derby entrants - two year old champion and the undefeated Mohaymen. After an unexpected race that saw Nyquist run away with things and Mohaymen forget to show up and finish a dismal fourth, we now have four horses likely to head to Kentucky. Nyquist is obviously going. Mohaymen will pretend this race never happened and head there, too.

Tom's Ready Odds to Win the 2016 Kentucky Derby with Picks and Predictions
by Trevor Whenham - 4/5/2016

How you feel about the New Orleans Saints or the New Orleans Pelicans could have a big impact on how you feel about both Tom's Ready and Mo Tom in the upcoming Kentucky Derby. The Tom in both of their names is Tom Benson, their owner and the owner of both of New Orleans' major professional teams. Benson had been in the game in the 70s and 80s but had not been involved until 2014 when he again plunged in aggressively. Obviously he bought well, with 10 percent of the likely Derby field coming from his young stable despite the fact he only bought seven yearlings.

Nyquist Odds to Win the 2016 Kentucky Derby with Picks and Predictions
by Trevor Whenham - 4/4/2016

If Nyquist was a person, or even an animal that I ever came within personal contact of, I would owe him an apology. Heading into the Florida Derby I was not particularly kind about his chances in his showdown with Mohaymen. I questioned the wisdom of him heading to Florida, his ability to handle that distance, or his quality when faced with an opponent as strong as Mohaymen. On that day, at least, I was proven wrong. Very wrong.

Mohaymen Odds to Win the 2016 Kentucky Derby with Picks and Predictions
by Trevor Whenham - 4/4/2016

Well, things sure can change in a hurry on the road to the Triple Crown trail. Late Saturday afternoon, Mohaymen, an undefeated colt, was not only the favorite in the upcoming Florida Derby but also the widely-respected favorite to win the Kentucky Derby. He seemed to be an unstoppable force. Two dismal minutes later he had fallen from grace. Hard.

Destin Odds to Win the 2016 Kentucky Derby with Picks and Predictions
by Trevor Whenham - 4/4/2016

Todd Pletcher is probably the best trainer in the United States. He is consistently excellent. Except, of course, on the first Saturday in May. I have taken great pleasure in pointing that out and, very profitably, picking against him over the years. It's only fair, then, that I give him a little credit for mixing things up a bit, applying some lessons, and trying to get a better result. What's that saying - insanity is trying the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result?

Oscar Nominated Odds to Win the 2016 Kentucky Derby with Picks and Predictions
by Trevor Whenham - 4/4/2016

The current system of earning points to make it into the Kentucky Derby field is a relatively new one. It's a solid system but not a perfect one. No horse this year will more expose the issues with the system than Oscar Nominated. No matter how he does in the Derby - and I don't expect him to do well - you will never convince me that he really belongs here. He has found a back door into the field, and it could be at the expense of a horse that is more deserving.

Gun Runner Odds to Win the 2016 Kentucky Derby with Picks and Predictions
by Trevor Whenham - 3/31/2016

The first of the major Kentucky Derby prep races on the calendar is the Louisiana Derby, so it makes sense that the winner of that race becomes the first confirmed North American-based starter for the Kentucky Derby. That horse, in pretty impressive fashion, is Gun Runner. Now, with six weeks off between races, the connections need to focus on keeping the horse healthy and fresh and ready to have his best day at Churchill Downs.

Lani Odds to Win the 2016 Kentucky Derby with Picks and Predictions
by Trevor Whenham - 3/31/2016

On the morning of March 26 we got our first Kentucky Derby horse of the year. There are plenty who are planning to run in Louisville on the first Saturday of May, of course, but Lani became the first to have the points to make the field and to have no more races to run. All that is left for him is some training and some luck. By winning the U.A.E. Derby on the undercard of the Dubai World Cup, this horse wrapped up his ticket and his shot at the roses.

2015 Kentucky Derby Post Positions and Expert Betting Tips
by Robert Ferringo - 4/30/2015

I’m not sure what they are feeding horses these days (HGH?), but it seems as if each year the Kentucky Derby field is getting better and better. Last year’s field was one of the fastest that I recall leading up to Derby Day. And this year’s crop of three-year-old horses may be the deepest that we’ve seen in the past decade.

2015 Kentucky Derby Predictions
by Trevor Whenham - 4/30/2015

We are almost there. After six months of rampant speculation, countless hours of pondering, and decades of dreaming of Triple Crown glory, the Kentucky Derby is now so close that we can measure the time to the start in hours. I don’t know about you, but I couldn’t be more excited. Most years the Derby is the most anticipated minutes on my sporting calendar. This year that anticipation has been ratcheted up about six notches. We have a potentially legendary group of horses — the most impressive in memory — and what will happen remains a thrilling mystery.

Kentucky Derby Prop Bet Odds and Betting Picks
by Dave Schwab - 4/30/2015

The 141st Kentucky Derby will be run this Saturday, May 2, at Churchill Downs in Louisville. This race officially kicks off the start of the 2015 Triple Crown horse racing season for the country’s best three-year-old thoroughbreds that also includes the Preakness and the Belmont Stakes.

Frammento Odds to Win the 2015 Kentucky Derby with Picks and Predictions
by Trevor Whenham - 4/30/2015

On Thursday Todd Pletcher made a pretty wise decision. He scratched Stanford from the Kentucky Derby. The horse had not been working great and did not have much of a chance in the race even if he was at his best. That opened up a spot in the gate, and the first also-eligible who is poised to step up and grab it is Frammento. It would be a great story if he were to wear the roses after only barely making the race.

2015 Kentucky Derby Pace Scenario and Expert Handicapping
by Trevor Whenham - 4/30/2015

Most years, spending time figuring out the potential pace in the Derby, and what it means for the horses involved, is the best use of a handicapper’s time and effort. There are exceptions, of course. Last year, for example, no amount of pace study could have told you that California Chrome was going to get an impossibly perfect trip. Hopefully things will be more predictable this year. The problem here, though, is that, for a number of reasons, it’s very tough to predict just what is going to happen with the pace this year.

2015 Kentucky Derby Betting Advice: Expert Offers Live Long Shots
by Trevor Whenham - 4/29/2015

When you have two horses like American Pharoah and Dortmund in the same race — not to mention Carpe Diem, Mubtaahij, and others — you have a very top-heavy race. The good news, though, is that the public is going to throw their cash at those top horses in bulk. That means that there are going to be a lot of horses going off at very high prices. The challenge for bettors is to determine which ones of those fat prices actually offers some value. In that quest, here are three live long shots in the Derby field:

2015 Kentucky Derby: Handicapping the Jockeys
by Trevor Whenham - 4/29/2015

In horse racing the littlest guys are often both the most important and the most interesting. A good ride by a jockey can make a good horse a great one, and a bad ride can throw away a race — and your investment, too. You would think that any jockey that rides in the Kentucky Derby would be a great rider. After all, there are only 20 spots in the starting gate, and there are hundreds of professional jockeys in North America.