Royal Mo, Master Plan not running in Kentucky Derby

Among the field of 20, only five – 4-1 favorite Classic Empire and longshots Battle of Midway, Hence, Tapwrit and Gormley – have won on a wet surface. He made his 3-year-old debut with a third-place finish in the Holy Bull Stakes in February.

“We’re very happy with all of the preparations”, said assistant trainer Norm Casse.

In this 1 1/4-mile race – the first time any of these 3-year-olds have tried this taxing distance – the “best” horse may not win.

Show wager: You win if your horse finishes in the top three.

Most of the winners that day at Santa Anita moved to the front early on and kept going, which suggests that the way the track was playing that day, horses who enjoy racing on or near the lead held an advantage.

Lookin at Lee’s sire, Lookin at Lucky, was the last favorite to break from the first post, but ultimately finished sixth. The white-haired trainer doesn’t have a horse this year, but like everyone else, he has an opinion. The last was Carry Back in 1961.

Last year, an ulcer developed on the globe of Patch’s left eye and would not heal despite treatment.

Other contenders: Always Dreaming won the Florida Derby comfortably in perhaps the best race of the spring. There are no proven horses like eventual Triple Crown victor American Pharoah, or even a California Chrome who won both the Derby and Preakness three years ago.

McCraken (5-1) was undefeated until the Blue Grass Stakes in Lexington, Ky., when he ran third, but he broke through the gate before the race and that’s never a good thing. Triple Crown champion American Pharoah ($2.90) prevailed in 2015.

Winning Length: There is a tie between two horses from the 1940s, Whirlaway and Assault. He also trains State of Honor. Hence broke his maiden January 16 to give Hall of Fame trainer Steve Asmussen his 500th career Oaklawn victory.

But Smith said the trainer was excited by the filly’s potential and added that it would be foolish for anyone to bet against him coming out of Derby week with a big win.

Equine interest story: Patch, a lightly raced long shot entrant, has one eye.

Lookin at Lee (20-1) drew the rail. Irish War Cry, a New Jersey-bred horse, won the Wood Memorial in a fast time. The most recent horse to win by a neck or shorter was Charismatic by a neck in 1999.

It’s a bet you have to think about, and calculate your options long before the Oaks post on Friday afternoon. You can overcome slow starts in a 10-horse field. “Bettors normally lay more than $2 million in Pick 6 bets alone”. Girvin ran an awesome final furlong in winning the Louisiana Derby, but I’m troubled by this late quarter crack. Suddenly, Bet Twice drifted out, causing Alysheba to clip heels and stumble with the rest of the field close behind. Fast And Accurate is part-owned by Olympic skier Bode Miller. Motion won the race in 2011 with Animal Kingdom and finished fourth in 2012 with Went the Day Well. In other words, when you’re right, you need to get paid well to cover all the times you don’t win.

“This is a unique puzzle”, said Doug O’Neill, the trainer of Irap.

A total of 22 horses were entered, two more than the maximum limit of 20. An early favorite whose training was interrupted.

It has not appeared to hinder him yet, as he was the runner-up in the Louisiana Derby this year.