KENTUCKY DERBY 144 PREVIEW
Good Magic
confident that the Top 2 will be the ones to beat. They seem to be just a little
better than all the rest. That’s not so say that one of the others can’t improve
enough to beat them.
Most people are aware that for a horse to gain admittance to the Kentucky
Derby, they must do so through a points system called Road to the Kentucky
Derby. This point system was established in 2012 for the 2013 Kentucky Derby
and has had several changes over the past few years. This system currently
allows the 18 horses with the most points earned through the designated
races to enter the starting gate on the first Saturday in May. The final two
spots to complete the full field of 20 horses will be filled from the winners
of Japan Road to the Kentucky Derby and European Road to the Kentucky
Derby. The European Road to the Kentucky Derby is new for the 2018 race,
while the Japanese entrant was established in 2017.
The Road to the Kentucky derby is broken up into 2 separate series. The
first is called prep season consisting of 20 races that earn smaller amounts
of points towards gaining a spot in the KY Derby. The second series is called
Kentucky Derby Championship Series. It consists of 16 races that are much
more prestigious, where horses have the opportunity to earn much more
points than the prep series. There are seven races where the winner can earn
100 points. Therefore, owners and trainers can pick their spots carefully as
to find the races that are most beneficial for the combination of earning
points as well as time off between races.
These championship races will be exciting to watch and will be the key
determining factor as to whom I place my win wager on for the Run for the
38 EXTOL SPORTS / MARCH 2018
Roses. If you want to win some money on the Derby, watch these races and
see which horses make steady improvements with every start.
Jeff Nunn bet and won his first Kentucky Derby in 1994. Since then, he
has bet the Kentucky Derby every year, during two of which his Derby horse
scratched and he didn’t get to change my wager. In 18 of the remaining 22
Kentucky Derbys, the horse Jeff wagered on finished in the Top 4. He has
correctly wagered on the winner eight times while hitting the exacta in six
of those years. Luck or expertise? You decide (and take Jeff’s advice at your
own risk). Regardless, always gamble responsibly.
JEFF NUNN’S TOP 10 KENTUCKY DERBY HORSES
Bolt d’Oro
Good Magic
McKinzie
Solomini
Justify
Avery Island
Audible
Vino Rosso
Copper Bullet
Catholic Boy
Other notables to watch: Enticed, Free Drop Billy, Flameaway,
Firenze Fire, Bravazo, Mourinho, Impact Player, Principe
Guiherme, Magnum Moon and Sporting Chance.