The 2026 Kentucky Derby - the 152nd Run For the Roses

   The first Kentucky Derby was run at the distance of 1.5 miles, as were the Epsom Derby in England and the Grand Prix de Paris.  The race was "invented" by Colonel Meriwether Lewis Clark, Jr., the grandson of Meriwether Clark of the Lewis and Clark Expedition.  The entire race day and advertising was allotted $640 (about $19,212 today).  On May 17th, 1875, Oliver Lewis rode Aristides to victory in front of a crowd of about 10,000 spectators, besting 14 other colts by 2 lengths, and setting a world record time of 2 minutes and 37.75 seconds for the one-and-one-half mile race.  The colt was trained by Ansel Williamson and owned by Hal Price McGrath.
   The Kentucky Derby was raced at one and a half miles (12 furlongs) for 20 years.  In 1896, it was decided to cut the race back to 1.25 miles (10 furlongs), and has been run at this distance for the last 131 races.  The only year since 1875 that the Derby was not  on the runin May was 1945.  On January 3, 1945, nearing the end of World War II, the United States government decided that horse racing was taking money away from the government - and horse racing (and betting) of any kind was banned.  The ban was lifted on May 8, 1945, and the 1945 Kentucky Derby was run on June 9th;  Hoop, Jr. won by 6 lengths, with Eddie Arcaro in the stirrups.
  *** Now, on with my usual off-the-wall view of this year's Kentucky Derby....

  Today is Thursday, 30 April - the Derby will be run Saturday afternoon, and a full field of 20 is expected.  So far this week, two colts have been scratched - Silent Tactic (post 13) with a hoof bruise, and Fulleffort (post 20) with a bone chp in his left hind leg.  The colts who originally had gate spaces 14 through 19 will move over one space each, and Great White will break out of post 19, with Ocelli in post 20.  There are still two more colts on the wait list: Robuta and Corona de Oro.
   Here are a few of my usual odd-ball observations - 
1.  All of the entries are colts, except Great White, who has been gelded.  
2.  All but two of the colts were born and bred in Kentucky: Pavlovia is California bred, and Wonder Dean is a Japan bred colt, from the Sunday Silence (Kentucky Derby winner in 1989) bloodline.  
3.  Two of the colts are gray or roan; four are chestnuts; and fourteen are bays or dark bays/browns.  
4.  Into Mischief is the sire of three colts: Renegade, Commandment and Potente.  Constitution has two sons in contention: Right to Party and Chief Wallabee.
5.  Two trainers have two entries: Bob Baffert and Brad Cox.
6.  Two veteran jockeys have mounts:  Mike Smith (59) on So Happy and John Velasquez (54) on Further Ado.

  The early betting favorite for the Kentucky Derby, Renegade, trained by Todd Pletcher, and with Irad Ortiz Jr. in the irons, drew post number 1 for the crowded race.  His connections say they are not worried about the inside post in a field of 20....
                                 This photo of Renegade is copyrighted by Anne M. Eberhardt; it
                                 is being used for illustrative purposes only.  Please do NOT copy
                                 and/or use without permission of Ms. Eberhardt.

  Below is a listing of the starting gate numbers for the colts running in the Kentucky Derby, followed by the colt's registered name, today's betting odds from Churchill Downs, the sire, and the dam:
1.    Renegade            5 to 1     Into Mischief     Spice Is Nice
2.    Albus                49 to 1     Yaupon              Adream
3.    Intrepido          56 to 1      Maximus Mischief     Overly Indulgent   
4.    Litmus Test      35 to 1      Nyquist              Study Hard
5.    Right to Party   26 to 1     Constitution       Havin' a Party
6.    Commandment   7 to 1     Into Mischief     Sippican Harbor
7.    Danon Bourbon  14 to 1   Maxfield            Wild Ridge
8.    So Happy           6 to 1      Runhappy         So Cunning
9.    The Puma          7 to 1       Essential Quality     Eve of War
10.  Wonder Dean (JPN)   20 to 1    Dee Majesty (JPN)     Wonder Siang (JPN)
11.  Incredibolt        27 to 1       Bolt d'Oro        Sapphire Spitfire
12.  Chief Wallabee   10 to 1     Constitution     A La Lucie
13.  Potente              24 to 1      Into Mischief    Sweet Sting
14.  Emerging Market   11 to 1    Candy Ride (ARG)    Wild Empress
15.  Pavlovian         50 to 1        Pavel                 Mandy's Grace
16.  Six Speed         41 to 1        Not This Time    Browse
17.  Further Ado        7 to 1        Gun Runner     Sky Dreamer
18.  Golden Tempo   40 to 1       Curlin               Carrumba
19.  Great White       33 to 1       Volatile              Kelly Bag
20.  Ocelli                50 to 1        Connect            Zalia

   If you're a betting person - good luck!  Otherwise, let's enjoy the race and hope for zero injuries to all who participate - horses, jockeys and out-riders.   

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