With an extremely deep field, a number of horses have a solid chance to win the 144th running of the Kentucky Derby. Stay here for live updates, odds and analysis:
With an extremely deep field and a favorite who did not race at age 2, a number of horses have a solid chance to win the 144th running of the Kentucky Derby. Will it be Justify, the undefeated Santa Anita Derby winner who is battling Apollo’s curse and currently at odds of 3-1? Or will it be his California-based foe Bolt d’Oro, now at 8-1? Maybe it’s My Boy Jack, whose odds on the sloppy dirt track at Churchill Downs have gone from 30-1 in the morning line to 5-1 by midafternoon? Stay here for live updates, odds and analysis from Louisville, Ky.:
How to watch: The race begins at 6:46 p.m. Eastern, but NBC’s broadcast started much earlier. You can stream it here.
Who will win? Five or six horses have strong shots. See our picks here.
• Todd Pletcher has four Derby entrants — Audible, Magnum Moon, Vino Rosso and Noble Indy — the sixth time he has had four or more running in a single Derby. When the gate opens, he will overtake D. Wayne Lukas, with whom he was tied at 48 for the most Derby starters.
• Magnum Moon is undefeated in four starts in 2018 and Justify, the morning-line favorite who is trained by the Triple Crown-winning Bob Baffert, is undefeated in three starts this year. But no horse has won the Derby after not starting as a 2-year-old since Apollo in 1882.
• Mendelssohn won the U. A. E. Derby, his first race on dirt, by 18 1/2 lengths, setting a track record at Meydan Racecourse in Dubai. He is a popular pick to become the first U. A. E. Derby winner to smell the roses.
