For 125 years, Daily Racing Form has provided premium and authoritative editorial coverage of the sport of horse racing. With dozens of reporters at racetracks around the country, DRF is the most trusted source of horse racing news and information. Here is a compilation of our editorial coverage of the 145th running of the Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs on Saturday, May 4, 2019. Click here to find a retail location near you to purchase the print edition.

With about $900,000 in the win pool as of 8 p.m. Eastern on Friday, the odds for the 19 entrants for Saturday's Kentucky Derby are taking shape. Everyone has a different take on what makes a horse an underlay or an overlay, but here's one way to view the early prices from the standpoint of value.

In post-position order:

Here are the $1 Kentucky Oaks/Kentucky Derby double will pays with Oaks winner Serengeti Empress ($28):

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – If you don't like the favorite for the Kentucky Derby, wait a minute, it's likely to change.

With morning-line favorite Omaha Beach scratched on Thursday, the wide-open nature of Saturday’s Kentucky Derby is reflected in the early wagering. As of 6:15 p.m. Eastern, and with $749,690 in the win pool, Wood Memorial winner Tacitus ($101,102) was favored by $4 over Arkansas Derby runner-up Improbable ($101,098). Florida Derby winner Maximum Security ($99,983) is the "third" choice. All three horses are 5-1.

In most races, the post-position draw happens out of the public eye. Racing-office officials randomly draw numbers, the starting-gate spot, and match them with the names of entered horses. For some races, tracks try to dress up the draw, making some pomp out of an essentially mundane activity. But if there is one race where the post draw really generates buzz, it’s the Kentucky Derby. With the Derby now annually filled to its 20-horse capacity, who is positioned where can make a tremendous difference in the outcome.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Haikal, the Grade 3 Gotham winner and third-place finisher in the Grade 2 Wood Memorial, will scratch from Saturday’s $3 million Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs due to an abscess on his left front foot, trainer Kiaran McLaughlin said Friday morning.

The late all-stakes pick four Saturday at Churchill Downs – not the late, late pick four which encompasses the last four races on the Derby Day card and is not an all-stakes affair – is a juicy sequence. It starts in race 9 with the American Turf, continues with the Pat Day Mile and the Turf Classic, and concludes with the Kentucky Derby.

Let’s take a look at this sequence, from back to front.

Something new is on the wagering menu for Oaks and Derby Days at Churchill Downs: a two-day pick six that covers all the Grade 1 action. Friday’s races are the La Troienne and Kentucky Oaks, followed by the Humana Distaff, Churchill Downs, Old Forester, and Kentucky Derby on Saturday.

The wager, with a $250,000-guaranteed pool, has a 15 percent takeout and mandatory payout, though the $2 minimum is unkind to budget-minded players, making spreading in contentious races rather expensive. I’ll take a stab with a small ticket, singling a couple of runners to keep the cost down.

CHURCHILL DOWNS
Thursday, May 2
Weather: Cloudy
Temperature: 63
Track: Fast

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The complexion of this year’s Kentucky Derby may have changed immensely overnight with the news that likely favorite Omaha Beach was out of the race, but it was still business as usual for the rest of the field during training hours Thursday morning at Churchill Downs.

Assessing the pace situation in any race is a critical element of the puzzle known as handicapping, but it’s especially important in a race like the Kentucky Derby. Over the years, many horses with tactical speed have put themselves in ideal positions to sit and pounce before prevailing against their 3-year-old counterparts, but a stalking running style isn’t a prerequisite for Derby glory.