Kentucky Derby: Time to look away from the favorite

Kentucky Derby: Time to look away from the favorite The start of the 2008 Kentucky Derby is just a day away and it's time we take a look at the contenders with less than favorite odds to win. Big Brown, Colonel John and Pyro are still sited as the top three contenders for the Kentucky Derby at the online bookmaker BodogSports, but the big money is certainly in rest of the 3-year-olds on the Churchill Downs track Saturday. Big Brown is holding favorite odds 3/1 to win the Kentucky Derby, but despite his three victories in three lifetime starts Big Brown remains somewhat inexperienced, and as a few experts say - a loss is overdue. Meanwhile Colonel John, odds 4/1 at BodogSports, has a great record on synthetic surfaces, but the Kentucky Derby will be the first time Colonel John has set hoof on dirt, which although close, "is not a cigar". Pyro has been slightly upgraded to odds 6/1 fro the earlier 7/1 and looks the perfect contender to pay out on a win, remember Street Sense at the last year's Kentucky Derby? But then the disastrous finish on PolyTrack in the Blue Grass Stakes has left a bitter taste with the punters.

So what is a punter to do before tomorrow's Kentucky Derby start? A side bet on any other contender means a big payout. The closest odds to Pyro's 6/1 start at 15/1 all the way up to the underdog Big Truck at 50/1. Tale of Ekati, Monba and even Eight Belles look like they have what it takes to win and with the exception of Eight Belles with 20/1 odds, the rest pay out on 15/1, i.e. a $100 wager would pay out $1,500 on top, if any of them win the Kentucky Derby. Although Monba's ability to handle dirt could come to question by some, his stamina will be able to handle 1 1/4 miles without a problem. Todd Pletcher is way overdue for a Kentucky Derby win, although damp track could affect Monba negatively. Tale of Ekati, trained by Barclay Tagg, also has the pedigree to win the Kentucky Derby, although a mixed performance in the past few races set the odds at 15/1. And Eight Belles, trying to become the fourth member of her gender to win the Kentucky Derby, has as good of a chance as the rest of them, considering she is 4 out of 4, entering the Derby. Matched statistically to Big Brown, Eight Belles has better chances of becoming the fourth filly to win the Kentucky Derby than Big Brown becoming the second contender to win the Derby from No.20 post position.

So before the start of the 2008 Kentucky Derby tomorrow, make sure you have looked at all options before placing your bets. And for those in the U.K., it pays to shop around - the British online bookmaker Bet 365 offers 10/1 on Court Vision, while BodogSports is giving odds of 20/1 to this 3-year-old Kentucky Derby contender.

Published on 05/02/2008