Kentucky Derby 2021: Mike Beer's picks and analysis
Daily Racing Form handicapper Mike Beer's picks and analysis for the 147th Kentucky Derby.
Mike BeerApr 30, 2021
Daily Racing Form handicapper Mike Beer's picks and analysis for the 147th Kentucky Derby.
B. Wayne Hughes's Spendthrift Farm already had multiple rooting interests in Saturday's Kentucky Derby, and it has added another. The farm announced Thursday that it has secured the breeding rights to Derby entrant Rock Your World, and will stand the colt upon his eventual retirement.
Todd Pletcher's presence in the Kentucky Derby is as much a rite of spring as baseball, taxes, and the Masters. Starting in 2000, Pletcher has participated in 19 of 20 Kentucky Derbies, winning two. Saturday, Pletcher will participate in his 20th Derby with four runners – Known Agenda, Dynamic One, Bourbonic, and Sainthood.
Non-racing fans may argue otherwise, but nothing says “return to normalcy” louder than a Kentucky Derby on the first Saturday in May. For one set of connections, this Derby will have a particularly euphoric ending. The odds say the blue silks of Godolphin, the iconic racing stable of Sheikh Mohammed al Maktoum, will be in the infield winner's circle shortly after 7 p.m. Eastern, courtesy of Essential Quality, the 2-1 morning-line favorite.
Although the weather should be clear and the track fast on Kentucky Derby Day, such was not the case just 48 hours in advance of the main event, with rain showers and a sloppy racetrack greeting the 20 Derby contenders when they came out to train Thursday morning at Churchill Downs.
Trainer Danny Velazquez was happy to be at Churchill Downs Thursday on a damp, humid morning. Quite frankly, Velazquez is happy to be anywhere.
On Saturday at Churchill Downs, the O'Neill clan will gather as Hot Rod Charlie – the colt Dennis bought, Doug trains, and in whom Patrick is a co-owner – tries to win the Kentucky Derby. It's a family affair.
Horses sent off in the Kentucky Derby at 99-1 or higher have seemingly become extinct despite an expansion from 14 to 20 betting interests in 2001 – which also happened to be the last time any horse was sent away at triple-digit odds.
Bettors sharp enough to back Hot Rod Charlie in some of the earlier pools in the 2021 Kentucky Derby Future Wager bought themselves wagering value ahead of the 147th Derby.
Hot Rod Charlie was the horse perhaps under the greatest scrutiny when he came out for the special Derby-Oaks session Wednesday after doing little more than jog his first two days on the grounds. But any worries about how the Louisiana Derby winner might be doing exiting his impressive work last weekend at Santa Anita were quickly erased by a high-spirited gallop that concluded with a seemingly impromptu mini-blowout down the backstretch.