2008 Kentucky Derby Contenders
Written April 21, 2008 by Jack Jones
The Kentucky Derby is quickly sneaking up on us, and in less than two weeks we will be watching the race itself. The Kentucky Derby is the first leg of the Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing. The race will take place at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky. So with the one and a quarter mile race set to get underway on Saturday May 3rd, millions of fans will be glued to their TV to watch what many call “The most exciting two minutes in sports.” For the many of us that don’t follow the sport with great detail, here is a look at the top contenders for this year’s race.
This is your odds on favorite to take home the first of the three big horse races this season. Big Brown comes in unbeaten, and is currently 2-0 in his races as a 3-year-old thoroughbred. His first win came as a 2 year-old back in September 3, 2007 at the race at Saratoga. His wins as a three year old have came at the race at Gulfstream Park and most recently at the Florida Derby. There are few things that are worth questioning about this horse. He is inexperienced having only raced in 3 times, and his durability is a big question coming into the race. We don’t think there will be many problems for this horse when as soon as he gets out of the gates, there is a reason that the odds makers made this guy the horse to beat.
Colonel John +400 at BodogLife
Colonel John has the 2nd best odds in the field and comes in with some pretty good odds to go along with it. Colonel John has jumped back into a real threat to win this race after his impressive stretch run that carried him to victory in the Santa Anita Derby. Colonel John is a little more experienced having 6 races under his belt winning 4 of those races. So while many people had Big Brown locked up to win, there has been a big shift to Colonel John as of late. One thing that has people second-guessing is that this horse has yet to race on real dirt, as all of his races have been on synthetic dirt tracks. Either way Colonel John is a real threat to take home the win and enjoy the roses.
This is the last big name that has a real shot at winning the Kentucky Derby. Pryo comes in as a legitimate threat to win at Churchill downs. Pryo has had some impressive performances winning the Risen Star and the Louisiana Derby and looked as though he was on his way to being the favorite here at the Derby. Pryo then headed to the Bluegrass stakes and just needed to finish close, but ended up in 10th and had many people wondering what happened. This has caused some people to rethink placing their bet on Pryo, but if you still think he is the horse to beat you are getting a lot better odds on your bet so it could end up being a blessing in disguise.
Here is a look at the other horses with respectable odds and an outside chance of surprising everyone at the Kentucky Derby.
Gayego +1400
Behindatthebar +1500
Monba +1500
So here is a good look at the big names that you will be hearing a lot about in the next couple of weeks leading up to the race. Head over to BodogLife to get signed up and place your bet on your favorite horse to win the Kentucky Derby. It might only be a two-minute race, but there is no better feeling than picking the winner in this race.