You might think that three-year old horse racing is said and done with for a while, but some of the colts who either ran in the early Triple Crown races or weren't quite good enough to get in with the big boys will have a shot on Saturday to claim some glory at the Ohio Derby at Thistledown.
ODDS ANALYSIS
The morning line odds have yet to be released for this race as of Thursday morning, but it is very clear that three of the Triple Crown contenders, Divining Rod, War Story and Far Right are going to be the favorites in this race.
Whiskey Ticket, who won the Illinois Derby, will surely be amongst the favorites as well, while Tencendur and Mr. Z will both be candidates at double-digit prices.
Rounding out the field at the Ohio Derby will be Thirtysilverpieces, Dekabrist, and Bodhisattva.
FAVORITE TO FOLLOW
Finishing third in the Preakness Stakes is going to be a huge boost for Divining Rod in this one. He is a bit of a speed horse, but the fact of the matter is that he has had to be forced into a stalking role because of the speed others have shown in front of him in some big time races.
That said, Divining Rod shouldn't have an issue getting to the head of the field in the Ohio Derby, save for the fact that Mr. Z could end up going out with him. If that turns out to be the case, we have no issues believing that he can hit the line first, and he'll be a deserving favorite for sure.
UNDERDOG TO WATCH
Far Right is an interesting prospect here, and we think that he is going to have a nice price on his head since he has more or less become a forgotten pony. Yes, he failed miserably in the Kentucky Derby, finishing 15th of the 18 horses, but he also finished second to American Pharoah at the Arkansas Derby and won the Southwest Stakes.
Those are some excellent results out of a colt who hasn't gotten a lot of respect. Sure, he'll probably need to be faster than his career-best 96 Beyer Speed Rating to win this race, but he's a live underdog, the likes of which we will probably end up getting at least a 6 to 1 price on, if not more.
ANALYSIS AND PREDICTION
To us, this is a matter of whether you prefer the starters or the closers in this race. If you like the starters, you're going to want to play on either Divining Rod or Bodhisattva. It should be noted that Bodhisattva does have an excellent jockey on his back in Victor Espinoza, and it isn't often that a jockey like that will make it to a track like Thistledown.
However, we prefer the closers, and that means Far Right. War Story could be an interesting play here as well, but we just don't have any confidence in any of those horses who ran their Kentucky Derby prep races in Louisiana since none of them amounted to anything in the Triple Crown races.
Far Right will be the best percentage play on the board, and we suspect that he will stay out of trouble in the early going to at least hit the board, if not win the race.
Play Far Right to win the Ohio Derby
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