On May 3, the nation’s fastest thoroughbreds come to Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky to compete in the 140th edition of the The Kentucky Derby. Which will be draped by roses by the end of the Most Exciting Two Minutes In Sports and bag the first leg of the Triple Crown?
Read on for our preview of the 2014 Kentucky Derby. If it’s high-value picks you’re looking for, check out our predictions of three non-favorites who could easily win it at when the race finally kicks off.
[sc:horses240banner ]One colt that has been the talk of the horseracing world heading into The Run for the Roses is California Chrome. The Art Sherman-trained horse has entered three races this year and has placed first in all of those, including in the recent Santa Anita Derby (Grade I). With another first-place finish, California Chrome pushed overall earnings to $920,000, the second highest among over 29,000 horses in 2014.
Another contender to keep an eye on is the Centennial Farm-owned colt Wicked Strong. The stable’s owner, Don Little Jr. expressed full confidence in his three-year old horse after seeing Wicked Strong shock the competition with a 3½-length win at the Wood Memorial (Grade I). The victory served as a reminder of why Wicked Strong can’t be left out in discussions of top candidates after two disappointing races; finishing ninth in the Holy Bull Stakes (Grade II) in January and just fourth in allowance race last February at Gulfstream Park. So far, Wicked Strong is no. 11 in the earnings standings with $591,610.
High Value: Vicar’s in Trouble, Samraat
After an impressive outing winning the Louisiana Derby, Vicar’s in Trouble is now considered one of the best bets to upstage the early favorites to win at Churchill Downs. Before taking home the top purse in the Louisiana Derby, the Mischief by Vibrant-sired three-year old colt first gained attention by topping the field in the Lecomte.
Jockey Rosie Napravnik then guided Vicar’s in Trouble to a third-place finish in Risen Star last month. One knock on Vicar’s in Trouble is that he hasn’t entered in a Grade I race yet, which should bring his level of competition into question – one thing that can’t be said about Samraat.
Hailing from Leonard Riggio’s My Meadowview Farm, Samraat is coming off a second-place finish in the Wood Memorial, a Grade I Stakes race. Before that, Samraat won back-to-back races at the Aqueduct. The first was on February 1 during Grade III Stakes in Withers, then a month later in the Grade III Gotham Stakes.
Long Shots: General A Rod, Commanding Curve, We Miss Artie
General A Rod greeted the year with a win at Gulfstream Park on January 1. He hasn’t finished off the board this year yet, coming up second in the Grade II Fountain of Youth Stakes in February and ending up third in the Grade I Florida Derby Stakes
Meanwhile, Commanding Curve is currently vying for a spot in the Run for the Roses, but he took a big step towards his goal of cracking the top 20 in the standings by finishing in the money in the Grade II Louisiana Derby.
Lastly, We Miss Artie has turned heads after winning the Grade III Spiral Stakes in March 22. It was a big leap for the horse trained by Todd Pletcher – who won the 2010 Kentucky Derby – after winding up eighth in the Grade II Fountain of Youth Stakes in February 22.
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