Here’s a look at the latest Kentucky Derby betting odds.
Verrazano, 9/2
One of the six horses from the Todd Pletcher stable, Verrazano has been a pre-Derby favorite for what feels like forever – but, as the race draws closer, there are some questions being asked of his form.
Though Verrazano has yet to lose a prep race, there are a couple of historical benchmarks that aren’t working in his favor. The first is that he didn’t race as a 2-year-old – and in the history of the Kentucky Derby, only one horse won the Run for the Roses without running as a two year old: Apollo, who did it way back in 1882.
There are also the Beyer Speed Figures. Verrazano’s decreasing Beyer in the Tampa Bay and Wood races leads many to believe he could fatigue over the Derby’s 1 1/4-mile track.
Of course, all these questions are akin to someone watching a four-year star in college – the longer you get a look at him, the more opportunities you have to poke holes in his game.
That was the attitude taken by Chad Brown, who trains Normandy Invasion, another Derby favorite. Brown had nothing but good things to say about Verrazano as the race drew closer.
“He looks like a special horse,” Brown told USA Today. “I would not be writing that horse off that he can’t go a mile and a quarter.”
Orb, 5/1
By now, you’re all probably familiar with the story regarding Orb and his Hall-of-Fame trainer, Shug McGaughey.
McGaughey has never won the Derby, and after being around the horseracing game for so long, feels he’s got a legit candidate for a win in Orb.
Orb has returned to favor of late by running like the wind, becoming a hot name in the world of Kentucky Derby live betting.
The latest example of this came in a pre-race training session at Churchill Downs. Orb completed the half-mile drill in 47.80 seconds, an impressive feat given the lackluster conditions on the day.
It was the latest in a string of performances that has McGaughey thinking big for the Derby.
“I thought it was great,” McGaughey told the Associated Press of Orb’s training run. “I thought he finished up really well. He’s getting over this racetrack really well, which is important.
“I’m happy to be sitting here.”
Revolutionary, 7/1
Revolutionary is looking to become the first horse since Grindstone in 1996 to win the Louisiana and Kentucky Derby in the same year.
A winner of three-straight races, Revolutionary is the second of Pletcher’s horses to be right near the top of the Kentucky Derby odds list. What people like most about this horse is that he’s being ridden by a former Derby winner, Calvin Borel, who rode Pletcher’s Super Saver to victory in 2010.
Now that Pletcher and Borel have reunited to saddle another horse, many are expecting history to repeat itself.
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