A total of 20 horses will go to the post for the 2022 Kentucky Derby on Saturday, May 7 at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky. The Kentucky Derby is oftentimes an excellent race for longshots because anything can happen when 20 horses battle for position. The morning line favorite for the 148th running of the Kentucky Derby is Zandon at odds of 3-1. Following closely on the morning line odds is Epicenter at odds of 7-2. Post time for the 2022 Kentucky Derby on Saturday is 6:57 p.m. Eastern on NBC. Let’s look at the Kentucky Derby field and Kentucky Derby longshots.
2022 Kentucky Derby Field
(Post Position, Horse, Trainer, Jockey, Morning Line Odds)
1. Mo Donegal, Todd Pletcher, Irad Ortiz Jr., 10-1
2. Happy Jack, Doug O’Neill, Rafael Bejarano, 30-1
3. Epicenter, Steve Asmussen, Joel Rosario, 7-2
4. Summer Is Tomorrow, Bhupat Seemar, Mickael Barzalona, 30-1
5. Smile Happy, Kenny McPeek, Corey Lanerie, 20-1
6. Messier, Tim Yakteen, John Velazquez, 8-1
7. Crown Pride, Koichi Shintani, Christophe Lemaire, 20-1
8. Charge It, Todd Pletcher, Luis Saez, 20-1
9. Tiz the Bomb, Kenny McPeek, Brian Hernandez Jr., 30-1
10. Zandon, Chad Brown, Flavien Prat, 3-1
11. Pioneer of Medina, Todd Pletcher, Joe Bravo, 30-1
12. Taiba, Tim Yakteen, Mike Smith, 12-1
13. Simplification, Antonio Sano, Jose Ortiz, 20-1
14. Barber Road, John Ortiz, Reylu Gutierrez, 30-1
15. White Abarrio, Saffie Joseph Jr., Tyler Gaffalione, 10-1
16. Cyberknife, Brad Cox, Florent Geroux, 20-1
17. Classic Causeway, Brian Lynch, Julien Leparoux, 30-1
18. Tawny Port, Brad Cox, Ricardo Santana Jr., 30-1
19. Zozos, Brad Cox, Manny Franco, 20-1
20. Ethereal Road, D. Wayne Lukas, Luis Contreras, 30-1
Kentucky Derby Longshots
A total of 14 horses are listed at odds of 20-1 or more for the 2022 Kentucky Derby. We won’t consider any of the other six horses who are listed at odds of less than 20-1. If you look at our Kentucky Derby picks you will see that we are high on Epicenter, but that doesn’t mean a longshot can’t win this race. Let’s look at the Derby longshots.
Charge It is trained by Todd Pletcher and is ridden by Luis Saez. Charge It is the son of Tapit and he could be a threat. The horse had a rough Florida Derby and still finished second.
Smile Happy is trained by Kenny McPeek and ridden by Corey Lanerie. He was the favorite in the Risen Star and the Blue Grass and he has an off-the-pace running style that can win the Derby. He is not without a chance.
Cyberknife is trained by Brad Cox and ridden by Florent Geroux. He looked good in winning the Arkansas Derby.
Classic Causeway is trained by Brian Lynch and ridden by Julien Leparoux. He had a poor start in the Florida Derby, but he could bounce back to some extent in the Kentucky Derby.
Tawny Port is trained by Brad Cox and ridden by Ricardo Santana Jr. He finished fifth to Epicenter in the Risen Star Stakes.
Happy Jack is trained by Doug O’Neill and ridden by Rafael Bejarano. We know that O’Neill can win this race, as he won it in 2012 with I’ll Have Another and in 2016 with Nyquist. He is not likely to get a third win with Happy Jack who has not done anything other than break his maiden in January.
Crown Pride is a shipper that won the UAE Derby. History is against this horse, as since 2000, 16 UAE winners have run in the Derby and none have hit the board. Summer Is Tomorrow finished second in the UAE Derby. Neither of these horses looks like a threat.
Tiz the Bomb is a turf horse that really shouldn’t be running on the dirt in the Derby. Trainer Kenny McPeek is 0 for 6 in the Kentucky Derby.
Pioneer of Medina is trained by Todd Pletcher and ridden by Joe Bravo. His only win against winners was in low level competition.
Simplification won the Fountain of Youth and finished third in the Florida Derby. No Florida-bred horse has won the Derby since Silver Charm in 1997.
Barber Road has more starts than any horse in the field with eight, but he hasn’t won since November. Trainer John Ortiz and jockey Reylu Gutierrez will be in their first Kentucky Derby.
Zozos is trained by Brad Cox and ridden by Manny Franco. He won his first two starts and then finished second in the Louisiana Derby.
Ethereal Road is trained by D. Wayne Lukas and ridden by Luis Contreras. He finished second in the Rebel Stakes, but was not competitive in the Blue Grass and he was fourth in the Lexington Stakes.
Kentucky Derby Longshot Picks
I give two horses who are listed as longshots a chance to win the Derby. They are Charge It and Smile Happy. If you like to bet on a gray horse than Charge It is the horse for you. Unfortunately, history could be against us, as no gray has won the Derby since Giacomo in 2005, but this year’s Derby field is weak and Charge It has a chance. Smile Happy could also be a horse that surprises. I’ll take Charge It and Smile Happy as my two Kentucky Derby longshots.
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