Two weeks from Saturday, horse racing's biggest betting event returns to its rightful place on the first Saturday in May. The 2021 Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs is slated for Saturday, May 1 as part of a daily race card filled with a number of exciting graded events.
The prep schedule for this year's Kentucky Derby came to a close last Saturday with Super Stock pulling off a thrilling upset in the 2021 Arkansas Derby at Oaklawn Park. Concert Tour was the odd-on favorite to win but he faded to third behind Caddo River.
Following that race, BetOnline sportsbook updated its Kentucky Derby futures board. The current Top Five contenders to win are:
Essential Quality +300
Rock Your World +600
Known Agenda +700
Concert Tour +1000
Hot Rod Charlie +1000
If you are the type of bettor that likes to go chalk with the favorite, you cannot go wrong with an early wager on Essential Quality. As a champion two-year old, he won both the Breeders' Futurity and the Breeders Cup Juvenile at Keeneland Racecourse.
Trained by Brad Cox, the son of Tapit moved his winning streak to five with victories in the Southwest Stakes at Oaklawn Park and Blue Grass Stakes at Keeneland to start his three-year old campaign. Right now on paper, he is the best colt in the projected 2021 Kentucky Derby field.
With Concert Tour's disappointing run in the Arkansas Derby, trainer Bob Baffert has yet to commit to running him at Churchill on May 1. This is still a quality contender but his stock fell sharply in my book.
Taking his place at the same longer +1000 odds is trainer Doug O'Neill's Hot Rod Charlie. Ever since this Kentucky-bred colt stunned the field at Keenland with a second-place finish in the 2020 Breeders' Cup Juvenile, he has been on my betting radar.
The son of Oxbow saved his best for last during the recent prep season by winning the Louisiana Derby at Fair Grounds in late March. Things may change come Derby Day but I am definitely betting him to win at +1000 on BetOnline's futures board.
With Super Stock's big win at Oaklawn, there is also some solid value in his even longer +2800 odds right now. Moving up in class to beat all the three-year old Thoroughbreds higher on the list would be a tall task but he definitely deserves a spot on my 'watch' list.
As far as the other two colts in the top five, Rock Your World made the list by winning this year's Santa Anita Derby and Known Agenda moved up the board with a victory at Gulfstream Park in the Florida Derby.
No comments:
Post a Comment