Byron King's 2019 Kentucky Derby analysis
Byron King's 2019 Kentucky Derby analysis.
Byron KingApr 30, 2019
Byron King's 2019 Kentucky Derby analysis.
Mike Welsch's 2019 Kentucky Derby analysis.
Last fall, trainer Danny Gargan took Tax for $50,000, believing he might be getting turf horse. Instead, Tax has brought Gargan back to his old Kentucky home for the country's biggest horse race, Saturday's 145th Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs.
They're the rookies, the new recruits, the incoming class. They're the fortunate few about to experience the thrill of their first Kentucky Derby starter.
When the 20 horses enter the starting gate for Saturday’s Kentucky Derby, only one of them will have a Beyer Speed Figure of 100 or more - Florida Derby winner Maximum Security who actually has two. But half of the rest of the field will have earned figures of between 95 and 99 this year, making this an especially difficult Beyer Speed Figure puzzle.
The first local appearances of Japan’s Master Fencer and New York invaders Tax and Haikal were among the highlights during the Oaks/Derby training session that took place under ideal conditions Tuesday morning at Churchill Downs.
It was a tumultuous winter in Southern California, but if two noted oddsmakers are correct, the public will deem the first four choices in the Kentucky Derby on Saturday colts who did the bulk of their training out there.
Japanese invader Master Fencer is a mystery horse for handicappers in Saturday’s Kentucky Derby, though he is now less of an uncertainty to his jockey, Julien Leparoux, after he became acquainted with the colt during training on Tuesday at Churchill Downs.
The heavy lifting is now over for the 22 horses still under consideration for this year's Kentucky Derby, the final major works turned in at both Churchill Downs and in South Florida on Monday morning.
As the Kentucky Derby approaches on Saturday at Churchill Downs, the most serious conversations have been bouncing around among Roadster, Omaha Beach, Game Winner, Tacitus, Improbable, and Maximum Security, and none of their people would trade places with any of the others.