Tag: O Besos

Olympiad, seen here winning a January Gulfstream Park allowance, is the tepid 3/1 favorite in Saturday's Grade 3 Mineshaft Stakes at Fair Grounds. (Image: Coglianese Photos/G. Sonny Hughes)

Somebody Will Dig Up An Elusive Stakes Win in the Mineshaft

- 3 min read

Lost in the Fair Grounds wash of Saturday’s Grade 2 Risen Star and Rachel Alexandra, two respectable preps for the Kentucky Derby and Kentucky Oaks, respectively, is an intriguing Grade 3 race featuring several familiar names — the Mineshaft Stakes. Wondering what happened to Derby dark-horse O Besos? He’s here. […]

Tampa Bay Derby winner Helium finished eighth in the Kentucky Derby. He's one of the favorites for Saturday's Grade 3 Matt Winn Stakes at Churchill Downs. (Image: Churchill Downs/Coady Photography)

Do These Two Derby Runners Look Familiar, Matt Winn Bettors?

- 3 min read

The natural thing to do looking at the field for Saturday’s Grade 3 Matt Winn Stakes at Churchill Downs is to fix your eyes on two familiar names that leap off the page at you. O Besos and Helium. Look familiar, do they? Well, they should, considering both finished in […]

The Kentucky Derby is only Rock Your World's second start on dirt. He is the fastest horse in the field based on speed figures. (Image: Churchill Downs/Coady Photography)

Almost Back to Normalcy: Breaking Down the 2021 Kentucky Derby

- 12 min read

Welcome to the 2021 Kentucky Derby. And welcome back to what a normal Kentucky Derby looks like. Almost. The crowds? Well, they’re back – about 40,000. That’s a quarter of what normally turns Churchill Downs into a sporting bacchanalia. But there’s people in the stands. We’ll take it. The horses? […]

O Besos has never been the lone speed in a race. But the live Kentucky Derby long shot was during a predawn Thursday workout at Churchill Downs. (Image: Churchill Downs/Coady Photography)

Looking for a Derby Down-Ticket Dark Horse? Say ‘Hello’ to O Besos

- 4 min read

Let’s be clear about O Besos and his Kentucky Derby victory prospects upfront. This is not a victory endorsement for a closer in a race where closers’ victory hopes routinely die painfully short on the Churchill Downs stretch. O Besos has minimal tactical speed, one run in him, and an […]

Rombauer won't run the May 1 Kentucky Derby. But expect to see him two weeks later in the Preakness Stakes at Pimlico. (Image: Zoe Metz Photography)

Panadol, Rombauer Become Latest Kentucky Derby Defectors

- 2 min read

Kentucky Derby watchers can scratch Panadol and Rombauer off their proposed tickets, after connections for the two horses said they won’t run the May 1 Derby. Both horses had guaranteed spots. Panadol had 40 points and the supplemental Triple Crown fee behind him. Rombauer was originally outside the initial 40-point […]

Sporting blinkers and a 98 Beyer Speed Figure, Mandaloun held off Proxy to win Saturday's Risen Star Stakes at Fair Grounds. That depressed his odds in this week's Kentucky Derby futures boards. (Image: Hodges Photography)

Kentucky Derby Futures: Where You Earn Points Matters to Bettors

- 4 min read

When it comes to Kentucky Derby futures, Mandaloun and Rombauer illustrated the differences in weight books and bettors give to various Derby prep races. And Life Is Good illustrated that, if you’re a Bob Baffert product, you don’t even have to run to watch your odds shrink. After finishing third […]