Kentucky Derby Picks, Tips, Expert Betting Predictions

My Man Sam Odds to Win the 2016 Kentucky Derby with Picks and Predictions
by Trevor Whenham - 4/14/2016

My Man Sam is looking to become the next Palace Malice. Or Street Sense. Or Louis Quatorze. Or Gato del Sol. All four of those horses, like My Man Sam this year, finished second in the Blue Grass Stakes at Keeneland leading up to their Kentucky Derby appearance. All four then went on to win a Triple Crown race - the Derby for Street Sense and Gato del Sol, a Preakness for Louis Quatorze, and the Belmont for Palace Malice.

2016 Arkansas Derby Picks with Odds and Expert Betting Predictions
by Trevor Whenham - 4/13/2016

From now on the Arkansas Derby will always be known as the last prep race that American Pharoah ran before he went on to win the Triple Crown. It's a worthy distinction for a great race, but it isn't the only thing that has made this race remarkable over the last dozen years or so. Smarty Jones won the race in 2014 then won the Derby and Preakness. The next year Afleet Alex won, inexplicably bombed in the Derby, then won the Preakness and Belmont handily.

Brody's Cause Odds to Win the 2016 Kentucky Derby with Picks and Predictions
by Trevor Whenham - 4/13/2016

For so long the Blue Grass Stakes was a truly great Kentucky Derby prep race. I mean, Northern Dancer won the freaking thing! Recently, though, a synthetic track at Keeneland robbed the race of virtually any meaning at all. The dirt is back, though, and with it, hopefully, the glory of this race. It only makes sense that it should be great - what better place to prep for the Kentucky Derby than just 80 miles down the road. So, will Brody's Cause, the 2016 winner, be the one that turns the tide and makes the race important and legendary again? Or will we still be waiting for another year?

Shagaf Odds to Win the 2016 Kentucky Derby with Picks and Predictions
by Trevor Whenham - 4/13/2016

To type the name Shagaf you don't need to venture beyond the first six letters on the middle row of your keyboard. For a guy who punches a keyboard as much as I do that's a pleasing fact. Irrelevant, but pleasing. How does it affect him heading into the Kentucky Derby? Probably less than not at all. That doesn't mean that our time was wasted talking about it, though.

Outwork Odds to Win the 2016 Kentucky Derby with Picks and Predictions
by Trevor Whenham - 4/12/2016

Todd Pletcher is heading back to the Kentucky Derby with more than one horse. That's hardly a breathtaking revelation - this is the fourth year in a row and the 12th year in the last 13 that he has entered multiple horses in the race. It hasn't always gone well for him, of course - he has just one win over that stretch despite 35 tries. He seems to think that quantity is key, though, and with Outwork's win in the Wood Memorial he has his second horse heading to Churchill Downs, joining Destin.

Mor Spirit Odds to Win the 2016 Kentucky Derby with Picks and Predictions
by Trevor Whenham - 4/11/2016

Bob Baffert is heading back to the Kentucky Derby, but it won't be quite the same as last year. Last year he had the two best horses in the field heading into the race, and one of them went on to win the Triple Crown. He could have two more horses this year, but with respect to Mor Spirit and potentially Cupid, neither is American Pharoah. That's no insult, of course - very few horses in my lifetime have been anything like American Pharoah.

Exaggerator Odds to Win the 2016 Kentucky Derby with Picks and Predictions
by Trevor Whenham - 4/11/2016

Last year was supposed to be the dream year on the Triple Crown for the Desormeaux brothers - trainer Keith and jockey Kent. They had won the 2014 Breeders' Cup Juvenile with Texas Red, and the breeding of the horse made it seem like he had only scratched the surface of what was possible. As is so often the case, though, things didn't work out. The horse struggled with injuries, and another California-based runner won the Triple Crown.

2016 Santa Anita Derby Picks with Odds and Expert Betting Predictions
by Trevor Whenham - 4/7/2016

The Santa Anita Derby has long been a great race. The list of legends that have won this race over the years is remarkable - Triple Crown winner Affirmed, Winning Colors, Sunday Silence, A.P. Indy, Point Given and, more recently, dual Classic winners I'll Have Another and California Chrome. Even last year's winner, Dortmund, did the race proud - and would have done more if it weren't for his generationally talented stablemate American Pharoah.

2016 Blue Grass Stakes Picks with Odds and Expert Betting Predictions
by Trevor Whenham - 4/6/2016

In 1993 Prairie Bayou followed up his win in the Blue Grass Stakes by finishing second in the Kentucky Derby and then winning the Preakness. That was a long time ago. It's relevant, though, because in the 22 editions of the Blue Grass that have been run since, no winner of the race has gone on to win a Triple Crown race. Not one. The race had earlier been a champion factory - Strike the Gold, Summer Squall, Spectacular Bid and Riva Ridge had all won the race - but has since fallen on hard times.

2016 Wood Memorial Picks with Odds and Expert Betting Predictions
by Trevor Whenham - 4/6/2016

The Wood Memorial seems like a cursed Kentucky Derby prep race these days. The winner hasn't gone on to win the Derby since Fusaichi Pegasus did it in 2000. Over the three-year stretch from 2009 to 2011, injuries kept the winner out of the Derby entirely - including two horses, I Want Revenge and Eskendereya, that would have been tough to beat.

Mo Tom Odds to Win the 2016 Kentucky Derby with Picks and Predictions
by Trevor Whenham - 4/5/2016

Some guys just have the golden touch. Tom Benson, the owner of the New Orleans Saints and Pelicans, wanted to get back into horse racing in 2014 - a sport he hadn't been a part of since the mid-1980s. He gave three trainers $500,000 each to spend on yearlings as they saw fit. Benson wound up with just seven horses. Remarkably, two of those seven - Mo Tom and Tom's Ready - will be in the starting gate for the Kentucky Derby barring an injury.

Majesto Odds to Win the 2016 Kentucky Derby with Picks and Predictions
by Trevor Whenham - 4/5/2016

There is one thing that is proven year after year on the road to the Kentucky Derby - three-year-old thoroughbreds are not boring or predictable. The latest proof of that came in the Florida Derby. We expected it to be a two-horse showdown between Mohaymen and Nyquist. The other eight horses were afterthoughts. Irrelevant. But then Mohaymen failed to fire and wound up fourth, and suddenly two horses we had thought little of - Majesto and Fellowship - had the points to punch their ticket to the Kentucky Derby.

Fellowship Odds to Win the 2016 Kentucky Derby with Picks and Predictions
by Trevor Whenham - 4/5/2016

Heading into the Florida Derby this year it seemed like we were about to watch two future Kentucky Derby entrants - two year old champion and the undefeated Mohaymen. After an unexpected race that saw Nyquist run away with things and Mohaymen forget to show up and finish a dismal fourth, we now have four horses likely to head to Kentucky. Nyquist is obviously going. Mohaymen will pretend this race never happened and head there, too.

Tom's Ready Odds to Win the 2016 Kentucky Derby with Picks and Predictions
by Trevor Whenham - 4/5/2016

How you feel about the New Orleans Saints or the New Orleans Pelicans could have a big impact on how you feel about both Tom's Ready and Mo Tom in the upcoming Kentucky Derby. The Tom in both of their names is Tom Benson, their owner and the owner of both of New Orleans' major professional teams. Benson had been in the game in the 70s and 80s but had not been involved until 2014 when he again plunged in aggressively. Obviously he bought well, with 10 percent of the likely Derby field coming from his young stable despite the fact he only bought seven yearlings.

Nyquist Odds to Win the 2016 Kentucky Derby with Picks and Predictions
by Trevor Whenham - 4/4/2016

If Nyquist was a person, or even an animal that I ever came within personal contact of, I would owe him an apology. Heading into the Florida Derby I was not particularly kind about his chances in his showdown with Mohaymen. I questioned the wisdom of him heading to Florida, his ability to handle that distance, or his quality when faced with an opponent as strong as Mohaymen. On that day, at least, I was proven wrong. Very wrong.

Mohaymen Odds to Win the 2016 Kentucky Derby with Picks and Predictions
by Trevor Whenham - 4/4/2016

Well, things sure can change in a hurry on the road to the Triple Crown trail. Late Saturday afternoon, Mohaymen, an undefeated colt, was not only the favorite in the upcoming Florida Derby but also the widely-respected favorite to win the Kentucky Derby. He seemed to be an unstoppable force. Two dismal minutes later he had fallen from grace. Hard.

Destin Odds to Win the 2016 Kentucky Derby with Picks and Predictions
by Trevor Whenham - 4/4/2016

Todd Pletcher is probably the best trainer in the United States. He is consistently excellent. Except, of course, on the first Saturday in May. I have taken great pleasure in pointing that out and, very profitably, picking against him over the years. It's only fair, then, that I give him a little credit for mixing things up a bit, applying some lessons, and trying to get a better result. What's that saying - insanity is trying the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result?

Oscar Nominated Odds to Win the 2016 Kentucky Derby with Picks and Predictions
by Trevor Whenham - 4/4/2016

The current system of earning points to make it into the Kentucky Derby field is a relatively new one. It's a solid system but not a perfect one. No horse this year will more expose the issues with the system than Oscar Nominated. No matter how he does in the Derby - and I don't expect him to do well - you will never convince me that he really belongs here. He has found a back door into the field, and it could be at the expense of a horse that is more deserving.

Gun Runner Odds to Win the 2016 Kentucky Derby with Picks and Predictions
by Trevor Whenham - 3/31/2016

The first of the major Kentucky Derby prep races on the calendar is the Louisiana Derby, so it makes sense that the winner of that race becomes the first confirmed North American-based starter for the Kentucky Derby. That horse, in pretty impressive fashion, is Gun Runner. Now, with six weeks off between races, the connections need to focus on keeping the horse healthy and fresh and ready to have his best day at Churchill Downs.

Lani Odds to Win the 2016 Kentucky Derby with Picks and Predictions
by Trevor Whenham - 3/31/2016

On the morning of March 26 we got our first Kentucky Derby horse of the year. There are plenty who are planning to run in Louisville on the first Saturday of May, of course, but Lani became the first to have the points to make the field and to have no more races to run. All that is left for him is some training and some luck. By winning the U.A.E. Derby on the undercard of the Dubai World Cup, this horse wrapped up his ticket and his shot at the roses.