Kentucky Derby Preview: Wet weather, wide-open field provide plenty of intrigue
How to Watch
When: 6:34 p.m. (post time)
Where: Churchill Downs, Louisville, Ky.
TV: U.S.: NBC, 2:30 p.m.; Canada: TSN 1/4, 4 p.m.
The forecast for the 143rd running of the Kentucky Derby - both the race and the weather - might best be summed up in three words: wet and wild.
With rain expected to fall throughout the day Saturday, an already wide-open field could see unexpected challengers emerge in the first jewel of the 2017 Triple Crown. Twenty horses will line up at the gate for the 6:34 p.m. ET start time, with Always Dreaming as a tepid favorite. Here are the odds for the field (as of Friday at 1:30 p.m. ET):
| POSITION | HORSE | ODDS |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lookin At Lee | 25-1 |
| 2 | Thunder Snow | 18-1 |
| 3 | Fast and Accurate | 34-1 |
| 4 | Untrapped | 67-1 |
| 5 | Always Dreaming | 4-1 |
| 6 | State of Honor | 54-1 |
| 7 | Girvin | 18-1 |
| 8 | Hence | 15-1 |
| 9 | Irap | 42-1 |
| 10 | Gunnevera | 9-1 |
| 11 | Battle of Midway | 42-1 |
| 12 | Sonneteer | 40-1 |
| 13 | J Boys Echo | 25-1 |
| 14 | Classic Empire | 6-1 |
| 15 | McCraken | 5-1 |
| 16 | Tapwrit | 35-1 |
| 17 | Irish War Cry | 6-1 |
| 18 | Gormley | 25-1 |
| 19 | Practical Joke | 33-1 |
| 20 | Patch | 15-1 |
No horse in the Derby is without holes in its resume or questions that need to be answered, making this one of the toughest Derby races to handicap in recent memory. None of the horses have run the demanding 1 1/4-mile distance - and that isn't the only intriguing factor in play Saturday. Here are three storylines to watch as the Run for the Roses approaches:
(Photo courtesy: Getty Images)
Mudders in the Making
Only half of the 20-horse field has competed in the mud - a list that does not include top contenders Irish War Cry, Always Dreaming, McCraken, and Girvin.
Give Classic Empire the edge here, after it prevailed in the slop at Churchill Downs just over a year ago. Tapwrit, Gormley, Hence, and Battle of Midway have all triumphed over a wet track. The Derby has been contested seven times in wet conditions - most recently in 2013 when Orb, a first-time mudder, powered down the waterlogged stretch to win.
An old horseman’s adage is that greys thrive on a muddy track. If that’s the case, consider the aforementioned Tapwrit and longshot Fast and Accurate.
(Photo courtesy: Action Images)
Thunderstruck
There isn’t anything Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum doesn’t have - except for a Kentucky Derby win.
The ruler of Dubai, whose blue-chip horses run under the name of Godolphin Stables, has tried 10 times, his best result a fourth in 2015 with Frosted. This year, he looks to end the drought with Thunder Snow, who might represent his owner's best shot at a victory.
Thunder Snow has never raced in the United States; he qualified for the Derby by winning the UAE Derby in Dubai. But the colt, who has a great impression this week at Churchill Downs, comes into the Kentucky Derby on a three-race winning streak. Perhaps this is Dubai’s year.
(Photo courtesy: Action Images)
Fan Favorite
Everything about Gunnevera’s path to the Derby is uplifting.
He’s a blue-collar colt, orphaned at birth, who consistently punched above his weight to get to Churchill Downs on Saturday. His trainer, Antonio Sano, was a legendary horseman in his native Venezuela before he was kidnapped by a gang in 2009 and held for ransom for 36 harrowing days. Gunnevera’s owners, also Venezuelan, helped raise money to free Sano.
Jockey Javier Castellano, who will be inducted into the hall of fame this summer, is also from Venezuela. With protests and riots erupting in the streets of Caracas, there is little doubt that a win by Gunnevera on Saturday will be a welcome distraction for a country desperate for some good news.