LEXINGTON, Ky. _ If the key to Kentucky Derby 146 is the start, then all eyes should be focused on the outside posts of Churchill Downs' brand-new 20-horse gate.
Tiz the Law, the 3-5 morning-line favorite for Saturday, drew the No. 17 post position on Tuesday for the 18-horse field that will be run without fans for the first time in Derby history. Not only that, he is sandwiched between the betting line's second and third choices. Honor A. P., put at 5-1 by Churchill oddsmaker Mike Battaglia, drew the No. 16 post. Authentic, 8-1 in the morning line, drew the far outside No. 18 post.
This year, "far outside" is a relative term, however. After years of employing a 14-stall main gate and a six-stall auxiliary gate, Churchill Downs constructed a new 20-horse gate. The goal: To help the dreaded No. 1 hole. The unlucky colt that draws that post was often pinched against the rail after the other 19 horses in the traditional field departed the gate.
There are 18 horses in this Derby, the fewest since American Pharoah won in 2015. Bad luck befell one major contender Tuesday morning. Keeneland's Toyota Blue Grass Stakes winner, Art Collector, was ruled out of the race when trainer Tom Drury discovered a "minor foot issue" suffered during the colt's Monday morning gallop at Churchill.
"He grabbed himself yesterday morning training," Drury told Jennie Rees of HBPA, using the term for when a horse strikes the side of his front foot with a hind foot. "It was still very sensitive this morning. When I took my thumbs to palpate the bulbs of his heels, you could still tell it was pinching him. I had to make a choice. Your horse has to always come first."
Having won the Ellis Park Derby in wire-to-wire fashion last time out, Aug. 9, Art Collector was the probable second choice. In fact, upon news of Art Collector's defection, Battaglia lowered Tiz the Law's odds from 4-5 to 3-5. Coming off victories in the Belmont Stakes (July 20) and Travers (Aug. 9), Tiz the Law is the lowest priced morning-line Derby favorite since Easy Goer in 1989.
Easy Goer lost to Sunday Silence, of course. And no horse has ever won the Kentucky Derby from Tiz the Law's No. 17 post position. Official record: 0 for 41. Best finish: Forty Niner ran second in 1988. But then Tiz the Law's owner, Sackatoga Stable, knows about firsts. It owned 2003 winner Funny Cide, the first New York-bred to win the race. Tiz the Law is also a New York-bred.
"I like being on the outside," said Barclay Tagg, who trains Tiz the Law and also trained Funny Cide. "I didn't particularly want to be out that far but he seems to handle everything that's thrown at him, so we'll just have to leave it up to him. It gives you a chance, if you have any speed at all, it gives you a chance to get a better position."
As for that historically unlucky No. 17?
"I just put those kind of things out of my mind," said the 82-year-old Tagg. "There are a lot of horses who didn't win the Derby, so frankly I'm not that worried about it."
John Shirreffs won the 2005 Derby with Giacomo. He trains Honor A. P., who has never finished worse than second in five lifetime starts. Honor A.P. defeated Authentic in the Santa Anita Derby on June 6 only to finish second behind Thousand Words in the Shared Belief Stakes at Del Mar on Aug. 1.
Trained by Bob Baffert, Authentic has won four of his five lifetime starts. He rebounded from his Santa Anita Derby loss to win the Haskell Stakes at Monmouth Park in New Jersey on July 18. Ridden by Mike Smith, Authentic wavered in the stretch, however, raising doubts about whether he can handle the mile-and-a-quarter distance.
"Bob thinks the horse just wasn't paying attention," Jack Wolf, whose Starlight Racing is a part-owner of the colt, said Tuesday. "He just needs a little bit of maturity, which Bob has been working on the last seven weeks or so. Hopefully it's not the distance limitations everybody is accusing him of."
With Smith riding Honor A.P. on Saturday, John Velazquez will ride Authentic. While Baffert has five Kentucky Derby wins to his credit, Velazquez has won the race twice. He was aboard Animal Kingdom in 2011 and Always Dreaming in 2017. It will be interesting to see how Velazquez, Smith and Manny Franco (jockey for Tiz the Law) treat the start positioned side-by-side.
"I just talked to Mike and he's happy with it," Shirreffs said. "I think it's OK. There's a long run to the first turn and I don't have to worry about getting pushed down on the outside."
"It's not ideal for Authentic, but I'm OK with it," said Baffert via text to Churchill. "He's out of harm's way. Just glad to be in the gate."
Thousand Words was made fourth choice at 15-1. He drew the No. 10 post position. Also trained by Baffert, the 3-year-old had been in a slump, finishing fourth in the Grade 2 San Felipe and a head-scratching 11th in the Oaklawn Stakes. He then ran second in the Los Alamitos Derby on July 4 before besting Honor A. P. in the Shared Belief.
Finnick the Fierce, a one-eyed colt co-owned by veterinarian Arnaldo Monge and trainer Rey Hernandez, drew the No. 1 post. The last Derby winner from that slot was Ferdinand in 1986. With the 18-horse field, Finnick the Fierce will actually load into the No. 2 hole out of the starting gate. Given the new gate's configurations, Churchill says that will be similar to the No. 3 post in the old gate.
South Bend was a surprise late entry to the race. Trainer Bill Mott did not indicate until Tuesday morning that the colt would be running Saturday. Mott won last year's Derby with Country House, placed first after Maximum Security was disqualified. South Bend is 0 for 8 this year. Last time out, he finished fourth in the Travers Stakes at Saratoga.
