The first Saturday in May has arrived and racing fans have spent weeks scrutinizing every prep race, every workout and every statistic from trainer, rider and post position. Now it’s time to place your bets!
As usual, it’s a 20-horse field for the Derby, the 150th edition, and there are two colts who will take a lot of the betting support: FIERCENESS (5-to-2), the two-year-old champion of 2023 and pace runner and the once-beaten SIERRA LEONE (3-to-1). The two colts have two very different running styles as Fierceness is a speed runner while Sierra Leone comes from far back. Indeed, getting past either of these two colts will be tough for the other 18 starters.
Fierceness won the Florida Derby (G1), the most successful of the Derby prep races, by 13 1/2 lengths with a 110 Beyer Speed Figure from Daily Racing Form. Only one other horse in the field has earned a triple-digit Beyer Figure and that is MYSTIK DAN, who posted a 100 when he rode a favourable rail path in the slop to win the Southwest Stakes (G3) at Oaklawn Park.