What time is The Kentucky Derby?
The 146th Kentucky Derby will take place today in Churchill Downs, Louisville, Kentucky. The races will start at 2:30 p.m. ET and they will be live on NBC. Post time for the main race is set for approximately 7:01 p.m. ET.
Kentucky Derby Favorite Tiz the Law
The first odds-on favorite in 28 years, and on paper, the 3-5 Tiz the Law is the only horse worth taking seriously. Rarely in the history of the world’s most famous race have so many been given so little chance to defeat one.
Picking against Tiz the Law takes you out of the realm of logic and into the Neverland of Hope Bets. And you know what happens to nearly all those tickets.
Although Tiz the Law got post 17, which never has produced a Derby winner, he did all right with the draw. Just outside him is Authentic, whom John Velazquez will send immediately for the lead.
From 15, Ny Traffic also will be gunned from the gate. Tiz the Law’s sharp young jockey, Manny Franco will be able to play the break, watch the pace develop and react accordingly. Distance will be no problem, because Tiz the Law proved he can excel at 1¼ miles in his Travers runaway.
RELATED: Tiz The Law Team Hoping To Smell The Roses On Delayed Kentucky Derby Day
Kentucky Derby 2020 Horse Racing Expert Prediction
I anticipate a fast pace, which could set up closer Max Player, a 30-1 shot in post 2 who can save ground under Ricardo Santana, Jr. Max Player, a grinder who’s 5-for-5 lifetime in the money, has been training well at Churchill since being transferred from Linda Rice to Steve Asmussen. He ran a respectable third in the Belmont and Travers, and neither runner-up from those races, Dr Post and Caracaro, is in the Derby. Besides Max Player, my pick for second, I’ll throw another deep closer, Enforceable (30-1, post 3), underneath Tiz the Law in an exacta.
If somebody beats Tiz the Law, I won’t be kicking myself for missing something in the past performances. He has to regress significantly while another horse runs the race of his life. Possible, but unlikely.
1 | Finnick the Fierce | SCR | Rey Hernandez | Martin Garcia |
2 | Max Player | 30-1 | Steven M. Asmussen | Ricardo Santana, Jr. |
3 | Enforceable | 30-1 | Mark Casse | Adam Beschizza |
4 | Storm the Court | 50-1 | Peter Eurton | Julien Leparoux |
5 | Major Fed | 50-1 | Greg Foley | James Graham |
6 | King Guillermo | SCR | Juan Carlos Avila | Samy Camacho |
7 | Money Moves | 30-1 | Todd Pletcher | Javier Castellano |
8 | South Bend | 50-1 | Tyler Gaffalione | Bill Mott |
9 | Mr. Big News | 50-1 | Bret Calhoun | Gabriel Saez |
10 | Thousand Words | 15-1 | Bob Baffert | Florent Geroux |
11 | Necker Island | 50-1 | Chris Hartman | Miguel Mena |
12 | Sole Volante | 30-1 | Patrick Biancone | Luca Panici |
13 | Attachment Rate | 50-1 | Dale Romans | Joe Talamo |
14 | Winning Impression | 50-1 | Dallas Stewart | Joe Rocco, Jr. |
15 | NY Traffic | 20-1 | Saffie Joseph, Jr. | Paco Lopez |
16 | Honor A. P. | 5-1 | John A. Shirreffs | Mike Smith |
17 | Tiz the Law | 3-5 | Barclay Tagg | Manny Franco |
18 | Authentic | 8-1 | Bob Baffert | John Velazquez |
Miriam Lee has always been a horse racing fan thanks to trips to the tracks in her home state of Maryland with her father as kid. She owns an OTTB and is an advocate for promoting the sport among her peers. Miriam studies communication arts at Hood College and will receive her master’s degree in 2021, which she plans to use for a career in screenwriting. Her all-time favorite racehorse is Man O War.