The pre-Derby circuit has been remarkably compelling over the last few weeks as the horses climb up the points leaderboard. Let’s take a look at some of the colts in the Kentucky Derby betting news as the annual Run for the Roses draws near.
Tapiture Bests the Rest
There’s a new horse making waves in the world of Kentucky Derby horse racing odds – Tapiture, the Steve Asmussen-trained runner that shot atop the board with a stellar 4 ¼ length victory at the Southwest Stakes at Oaklawn.
Taipture gained 10 vital points at Oaklawn, dominating the $300,000 stakes race and putting a significant distance between himself and second-place finisher Strong Mandate.
Asmussen called the race a “big step forward” for Tapiture while Strong Mandate’s trainer, D. Wayne Lukas, was pleased with how his horse fared in his first start since a third place finish at the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile at the beginning of the campaign.
Lukas acknowledged that Tapiture was the class of the field, saying his run was “exceptional.” But he also reserved some praise for Strong Mandate, noting that his horse was bumped coming out of the gate and forced to run wide the entire race. All things considered, second place was a strong showing.
And if you’re into the whole rivalry thing, it’s expected that Tapiture and Strong Mandate are on a collision course for a rematch at the Rebel Stakes – also at Oaklawn Park – in a month’s time.
With those results from the Southwest Stakes in the book, here is the updated Kentucky Derby leaderboard (shown below in the order of horse, points, trainer):
1. Tapiture, 22, Steve Asmussen
2. Havana, 14, Todd Pletcher
3. Cairo Prince, 14. Kiaran McLaughlin
4. Honor Code, 14, Shug McGaughey
5. Tamarando, 12, Jerry Hollendorfer
6. Midnight Hawk, 12, Bob Baffert
7. Bond Holder, 11, Doug O’Neill
8. Rise Up, 10, Tom Amoss
9. We Miss Artie, 10, Todd Pletcher
10. Candy Boy, 10, John Sadler
11. Samraat, 10, Rick Violette
12. Noble Moon, 10, Leah Gyarmati
13. Ami’s Holiday, 10, Josie Carroll
14. Vicar’s in Trouble, 10, Mike Maker
15. Cleburne, 10, Dale Romans
16. Tanzanite Cat, 10, Cody Autrey
17. Strong Mandate, 6, D. Wayne Lukas
18. Casiguapo, 5, Mario Morales
19. Classic Giacnroll, 5, Lisa Guerrero
20. Ride On Curlin, 5, Billy Gowan
Big Result for Bayern
Though the win didn’t collect the kind of points needed to crack the leaderboard, another horse from the Bob Baffert camp – Bayern – made some noise in the Kentucky Derby betting world recently by winning a $58,000 race at Santa Anita.
The reason it caught people’s attention? Bayern won the race by a whopping 15 lengths – according to jockey Gary Stevens, Bayern “exploded” with speed upon hitting the eighth pole and absolutely dominated the competition from there on out (though, it should be noted, Bayern was a heavy favorite for those who bet on Kentucky Derby.)
Baffert has three Kentucky Derby wins on his resume but none since 2002, when War Emblem bested Proud Citizen. He’s looking to get back into the roses at Churchill Downs with Bayern.
