Kentucky Derby Field To Be Finalized This Weekend

Wednesday, 21 April 2010 06:00

The Kentucky Derby is now less than two weeks away but plenty of questions remain about which horses will make up the field for the 136th ‘run for the roses’. Many of these questions will be answered this coming weekend after the $200,000 Grade 3 Derby Trial scheduled for Saturday’s opening day at Churchill Downs. Eightyfiveinafifty and Pleasant Prince wouldn’t be likely to make the Derby field unless they pull off a win in the Derby Trial as the $200,000 top prize would vault them into the top twenty money earner list.

All of the drama is due to the 20 entry limit placed on the Kentucky Derby field. If more than 20 entries are received, the field is determined by earnings in graded stakes races. With as many as 30 horses considered to be potential Derby entrants, it’s very likely that the field will end up being determined in this manner. Further clouding the picture is the fact that several top jockeys and trainers are not finalizing their plans until they see how everything plays out.

Human athletes aren’t the only ones who can be listed as ‘doubtful’ for a competition, and a couple of horses have been so designated for the Kentucky Derby. Noble's Promise was considered one of the top prospects for the race earlier in the year, but following a disappointing 5th place finish in the Arkansas Derby and a subsequent lung infection has left his participation in doubt. Noble’s Promise trainer Ken McPeek didn’t sound particularly optimistic when he noted on Monday that "we still have a few more hoops to jump through" in order to run in the Derby.

Todd Pletcher already has several horses entered in the Derby including race favorite Eskendereya. He’s also got a couple of potential entries that he’s leaning against running. Interactif and Lexington Stakes winner Exhi will train at Churchill Downs, but are not expected to run in the race. Pletcher has stated that if Interactif trained well on the dirt at Churchill, his entry is a remote possibility.

After this weekend all of the pieces are expected to fall into place, with jockeys and trainers making their plans known. At that point, the excitement over Kentucky Derby betting can begin in earnest and barring a mammoth performance from one of the horses entered in the Derby Prep this weekend there’s every reason to expect that Eskendereya will remain the wagering favorite until post time.

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Kentucky Derby Field To Be Finalized This Weekend

Kentucky Derby Field To Be Finalized This Weekend

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