LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) 鈥� Renegade opened Saturday as the morning line favorite for the 152nd running of , looking to overcome the inside rail post position that has not produced a winner in four decades.
The colt trained by Todd Pletcher and set to be ridden by Irad Ortiz Jr. is 4-1 after drawing the No. 1 post in the field of 20 horses for the May 2 race. No horse has finished first in the Derby from there since Ferdinand in 1986, and the most recent to be in the top three was Lookin At Lee, who was second in 2017.
Trainer Brad Cox鈥檚 No. 6 Commandment and No. 18 Further Ado are the second and third choices on the morning line each at 6-1, followed by No. 12 Chief Wallabee at 8-1 and The Puma at 10-1. Cox’s third entrant is 20-1 long shot Fulleffort, who drew the far-outside No. 20 post.
Cox’s jaw dropped when he saw Fulleffort’s draw, calling it “probably the one I鈥檓 maybe not as wild about, as excited about as the other two. He was most happy with Further Ado at No. 18, with three-time Derby-winning jockey John Velazquez aboard.
鈥淰ery happy with that post: I wanted him to draw outside, and it looks like there鈥檚 some speed to the inside of him there,鈥� Cox said. 鈥淚 do like the 6 with Commandment. Hopefully he can break and go forward. It looks like there鈥檚 a little speed around him. He can maybe save some ground going into the first turn, maybe even into the second turn.鈥�
Two-time Triple Crown champion Bob Baffert has two chances to win the Derby for a seventh time and break a tie with Ben Jones for the most of any trainer, saddling No. 4 Litmus Test (30-1) and No. 14 Potente (20-1). Litmus Test was the last horse to get into the field earlier Saturday when Steve Asmussen and owners decided Chip Honcho will skip the race and point toward the Preakness Stakes on May 16.
A year after and then the Belmont Stakes, son Riley is training his first two horses in the Triple Crown opener. He has No. 2 Albus (30-1) and No. 11 Incredibolt (20-1).
His dad’s bid to go back-to-back is Chief Wallabee.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 know him right now,鈥� Riley Mott said. 鈥淗e鈥檚 our competition. Very formidable, obviously, but we鈥檙e just focused on our horses and trying to control the things we can control 鈥� unlike the draw. It鈥檚 been fun just trying to stay focused but enjoy the moment at the same time.鈥�
Rounding out the field are No. 3 Intrepido (30-1), No. 5 Right To Party (30-1), No. 7 Danon Bourbon (20-1), No. 8 So Happy (15-1), Japan-bred No. 10 Wonder Dean (30-1), No. 13 Silent Tactic (20-1), No. 15 Emerging Market (15-1), No. 16 Pavlovian (30-1), No. 17 Six Speed (50-1) and No. 19 Golden Tempo (30-1)
If there are scratches, there are four also-entered possibilities to join the field: Great White, Ocelli, Robusta and Corona de Oro.
Post time for the race is set for 6:57 p.m. EDT.
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AP horse racing:
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