Kentucky Derby 2010

The Kentucky Derby Festival officially started this week with Thunder Over Louisville, but the big news in horse racing circles is that Eskendereya, the opening-line favorite, will be sold as part of owner Ahmed Zayat's Chapter 11 proceedings.

The Derby is less than two weeks away. Does SJ nation care?

 

I always try to get down to one of the local tracks before the race to put some money down. Always come up one horse short.

 

Planning on going to Keeneland for the festivities there if I don't have any games to cover. Might actually put some cash down while I'm there. And then, if my luck from Saturday's day at the track carries over, my horse will come in dead last.

 

Esky sale doesn't mean much, in broad scheme of things. All it
does is make it overwhelmingly-likely that he'll be whisked to stud in 2011 . . . which makes me doubt that Jess Jackson will be the buyer.

 

The field appears kind of ... meh ... this year. Plus I think the Rachel Alexandra/Zenyatta/Apple Blossom thing distracted everybody for a few weeks.

 

Eskendereya won the Wood by about 10 lengths and John Velazquez never took out the whip.

 

Won his last two by 17+ lengths so he'll be the favorite, no question about that. Doesn't matter to me how the new ownership works out. I'm only concerned trying to figure out how he's going to get a mile and a quarter on May 1.

 

Real question is whether he'll still be in training this year as of, say, 7/31.
I'll say no.

 

Where's the Breeder's Cup this year?

 

I think it's Churchill Downs.