Kentucky Derby 2019 odds, top contenders,
lineup: Legendary expert who nailed Triple Crown races unveils picks
How loaded is the 2019 Kentucky Derby? The lone unbeaten horse in the
2019 Kentucky Derby field and the points leader in the Derby qualifying
series aren’t among the top three on the odds board. The 145th Run for
the Roses takes place Saturday at Churchill Downs, with a post time of
6:46 p.m. ET.
The 2019 Kentucky Derby lineup was
trimmed to 19 on Friday with news that Haikal (30-1) will scratch with a
foot injury. Maximum Security will be the 29th undefeated horse to
enter the Run for the Roses, and he’s 8-1 in the current 2019 Kentucky
Derby odds. Tacitus, the points leader in the Derby qualifying series,
is also 8-1, down from 10-1 after race favorite Omaha Beach scratched
with an entrapped epiglottis. But the 2019 Kentucky Derby favorite is
Bob Baffert trainee Game Winner (9-2). Then there’s Mike Smith, who
chose Omaha Beach over Roadster (5-1) and was briefly without a ride in
horse racing’s biggest event. However, on Friday, news broke that Smith
will ride Cutting Humor (30-1). Before locking in any 2019 Kentucky
Derby picks of your own, you’ll want to see the predictions from one of
the legendary handicappers of the horse racing world, Hammerin’ Hank
Goldberg.
A legendary prognosticator and current
CBS Sports expert, Goldberg couldn’t have been more dead-on about the
2018 Kentucky Derby. He picked Justify to win, saying he excelled in the
slop. The result: Justify sloshed to victory over Good Magic in the
rain and mud by two-and-a-half lengths.
The reason Goldberg has been so
successful: He goes straight to the source. Last year at the Kentucky
Derby, for example, Goldberg chatted up Gary Young, who timed workouts
in California and had watched Justify race. “Justify kept getting bigger
and stronger,” Goldberg told SportsLine. “I also talked to Baffert’s
camp. They know how to train a competitive horse. I knew Justify would
win the Derby and Preakness.”
The year before, he chatted up Chad
Brown, the trainer for Cloud Computing, before the Preakness. “He was
training off the charts, was Chad’s top horse all year, and had a tough
trip in the Wood Memorial,” Goldberg said. “Brown skipped him for the
Kentucky Derby, rested him, and trained him up for the Preakness.” When
Goldberg learned Javier Castellano was getting off Gunnevera to ride
Cloud Computing, the Hammer pounced on the 14-1 longshot to win and put
him on top of his exacta, trifecta, and superfecta bets. The result:
Cloud Computing beat Classic Empire in one of the most thrilling Triple
Crown races ever.
Goldberg has gotten the 2019 season off
to a strong start by nailing the winning horse in the Pegasus World Cup,
the richest horse race in North America. He also nailed the exacta at
the Gotham Stakes, Rebel Stakes and Arkansas Derby. Anyone who has
followed Goldberg’s lead is way up.
Now with the Run for the Roses quickly approaching, Goldberg is releasing his 2019 Kentucky Derby picks over at SportsLine.
We can tell you Goldberg is high on By My
Standards, a long shot at 15-1 Kentucky Derby odds. He took part in
just one Kentucky Derby prep race, the Louisiana Derby, where he beat
fellow 2019 Kentucky Derby contenders Spinoff, Country House and race
favorite War of Will for the victory.
By My Standards comes in well-rested,
with more than a month since the race at the Fair Grounds, and he’s
turned heads with his training times at Churchill Downs over the last
week. Goldberg also believes his No. 3 post, which he drew on Tuesday,
will benefit his stalking style. “He’s been getting plenty of talk
because he’s training so well and his post position benefits him,”
Goldberg told SportsLine. “By My Standards has a strong chance to hit
the board and he’ll have a very appealing price at the Kentucky Derby
2019.”
Another shocker: Goldberg is fading
Maximum Security, one of the top favorites in the Kentucky Derby 2019 at
8-1. Maximum Security is the only unbeaten colt in the field at a
perfect 4-0, capped by a 3.5-length win at the Florida Derby over fellow
2019 Kentucky Derby contenders Bodexpress and Code of Honor. Two of the
last three Derby champs, Justify (2018) and Nyquist (2016), won the
race as an undefeated colt.
But Maximum Security’s “strength of
schedule” isn’t the caliber of other 2019 Kentucky Derby horses. The
Florida Derby is the only race longer than seven furlongs he’s
participated in – the 2019 Kentucky Derby length is 10 furlongs, or 1
1/4 miles – and he hasn’t faced any of the other favorites. Meanwhile,
Roadster (5-1), Game Winner (9-2) and Improbable (5-1) have all been
battling other top contenders and each other
No comments:
Post a Comment