Kentucky Derby Contender: Journalism

Updated profiles, with post positions and track odds for the 20 3-year-olds entered for the 151st running of the $5 million Kentucky Derby (G1) at  Churchill Downs is Saturday (May 3).

Kentucky Derby Contender: Journalism

Don't waste your time looking for holes in Journalism's form or pedigree because you won't find any. Trainer Michael McCarthy's young star is 3-for-3 in graded stakes, 4-for-4 around two turns, and his bloodlines are impeccable (sired by Curlin out of an Uncle Mo Mare).

Journalism. Renee Torbit/Coady Photo.

He was the 5-1 favorite in the final Derby future wager pool, and his odds should be less than half that May 3 at Churchill Downs. Journalism's performance April 5 in the Santa Anita Derby, where he and rider Umberto Rispoli overcame a troubled trip to win going away by three-quarters of a length, guaranteed that.

“He hit a roadblock at the three-eighths pole and really got stopped cold," co-owner Aron Wellman said. "It takes a superior horse to be able to gather himself, shrug that off, and regain his momentum.”

The Kentucky Derby is often a rough rodeo, and Journalism's traffic problems at Santa Anita prepared him well.

“I'm glad he got the education he got today,” Wellman said. “Small field (five) but lots of trouble, so he's got the appropriate seasoning going into what really has been the ultimate goal all along. And stamina is one of Journalism's strong suits, among many.”

Kentucky Derby Betting Advice

If price is no object and you're OK with settling for 2-1 or so, send it in on “Journalism”. He's clearly the horse to beat and one of the strongest pre-race Kentucky Derby contenders in recent memory.

Contender Information Card

  • Post position: 8
  • Odds: 3-1
  • Jockey: Umberto Rispoli
  • Trainer: Michael McCarthy
  • Owners: Bridlewood Farm, Don Alberto Stable, Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners, Elayne Stables, Robert LaPenta, Mrs. John Magnier, Derrick Smith, Michael Tabor
  • Career record: 5-4-0-1
  • Career earnings: $638,880
  • Last race: Santa Anita Derby (G1), April 5, 1st
  • Derby points: 122.5 (3rd)
  • Top Equibase speed figure: 110
  • Pedigree: Curlin-Mopotism, by Uncle Mo
  • Color: Bay
  • Running style: Stalker
  • Notes: The low-key McCarthy, 54, spent 11 years as an assistant for Todd Pletcher before leaving on his own in 2014. The Ohio native's only Triple Crown victory came with Rombauer in the 2021 Preakness, and he also won the 2018 Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile with City of Light. Rispoli, 36, moved his tack from Hong Kong to Southern California in December 2019. A two-time champion in his native Italy, he rode Group 1 winners there and in France, Japan, and Hong Kong ... Rispoli's take on Journalism: "He's just like Michael McCarthy. He doesn't want to talk to anyone, just wants to go out there and do his job."
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