It's that time of the year again. The triple Crown season is upon us, as the 2023 Kentucky Derby is coming right up this Saturday at Churchill Downs. It's called the Fastest Two Minutes in Sports, and it's an event like no other. With that said, it's time for us to take a closer look at some of the horses plus our prediction and pick to win the 149th running of the Kentucky Derby .
Courtesy of FanDuel (via TVG), here are the 2023 Kentucky Derby odds.
2023 Kentucky Derby Odds
Hit Show: 30-1 ML
Verifying: 15-1 ML
Two Phil's: 12-1 ML
Confidence Game: 20-1 ML
Tapit Trice: 5-1 ML
Kingsbarns: 12-1 ML
Reincarnate: 50-1 ML
Mage: 15-1 ML
Skinner: 20-1 ML
Disarm: 30-1 ML
Jace's Road: 50-1 ML
Sun Thunder: 50-1 ML
Angel of Empire: 8-1 ML
Forte: 3-1 ML
Raise Cain: 50-1 ML
Derma Sotogake: 10-1 ML
Rocket Can: 30-1 ML
Cyclone Mischief: 30-1 ML
Mandarin Hero: 20-1 ML
King Russell: 50-1 ML
How To Watch 2023 Kentucky Derby
TV: NBC, NBC Sports
Stream: Peacock, fubo TV, NBC Sports App
Time: 12-7 p.m. ET
*Watch The 2022 Kentucky Derby LIVE with fuboTV (click for free trial)*
2023 Kentucky Derby Favorites
Forte. The meaning of the name Forte in Italian is “strength.” Well, Forte is expected to be one of the strongest horses come race day in Kentucky, as he is currently installed as the favorite to win the first leg of the Triple Crown this year. Trained by Todd Pletcher, Forte is riding a five-race win streak. The last time it galloped competitively, Forte ended up winning the Grade 1 Florida Derby on April Fool's Day. This three-year-old colt is no joke, though, as evidenced by the fact that it's got six wins in seven overall starts.
Tapit Trice. Like Foerte, Tapit Trice is trained by Pletcher, who's won the Kentucky Derby twice (2010, 2017). Tapit Trice now partly carries the hopes of Pletcher to score his third career win at the Derby, and he should be liking his chances with this horse. For one, Tapit Trice is seemingly ripe for the race this coming weekend. That's after back-to-back wins at the Grade 3 Tampa Bay Derby last March and at the Grade 1 Blue Grass Stakes back in April to win the $1 million event. To win the Blue Grass Stakes, Tapit Trice had to outlast fellow Derby-contender Verifying in a heart-pounding final stretch.
Angel Of Empire. Anyone who saw Angel Of Empire race at the Grade 1 Arkansas Derby in April can't say the 3-year-old colt did not look impressive. Angel Of Empire did not just win that event — it crushed the competition, leaving fellow Derby contestants King Russell and Reincarnate looking like they simply don't belong on the level of the Brad Cox-trained animal.
Here's a bit of a recap of that race via The Downey Profile:
“Angel of Empire gave that field a dusting from off the pace in the Arkansas Derby, looked like three or four lengths. Much the best. King Russell up for second at 58-1, Reincarnate third, and favored Rocket Can fourth. Winning time 1:49.68.”
Aside from the Arkansas Derby, Angel of Empire also won the Grade 2 Risen Star in February.
2023 Kentucky Derby Sleepers
Confidence Game. It took two tries before Confidence Game won its first start, which was at Churchill Downs back in August of 2022. Since then, Confidence Game has raced five times, winning twice and posting a show four times over that stretch. That span also includes Confidence Game's win last February at the Grade 2 Rebel Stakes. It has not raced since then, giving Confidence Game a total of 10 weeks of rest between that win at Oaklawn Park and this weekend's race at Churchill Downs. That long layoff can be viewed as an advantage for Confidence Game, which will be jockeyed by James Graham, who is a big believer in the vision of trainer Keith Desormeaux.
“I guess Keith thinks (Confidence Game) doesn’t need a whole lot, so we’ll go with what Keith says,” Graham said (via Jason Frakes of the Louisville Courier-Journal). “He’s one of the best horsemen in the country. He’s proved it time and time again. Nobody ever gives him any respect. Every time he legs me up on one, I have a chance to win.”
Rocket Can. Although it's not attracting as much attention as the favorites, Rocket Can is a contender that deserves some looks as well. It has shown in two of three graded stakes events, winning the Grade 3 Holy Bull last February before placing second at the Grade 2 Fountain of Youth in March which was won by Kentucky Derby favorite Forte. Trainer William Mott thinks that Rocket Can's bloodline will provide a boost to his horse come the race day.
“I think the mile and a quarter sorts them all out … I don’t care who it is,” Mott said (h/t David Grening of DRF). “There’s a lot of horses that go from the head of the stretch” – where the Kentucky Derby starts – “all the way around and when they get back to the head of the stretch they say ‘holy [cow], how far am I going?' ”
Final 2023 Kentucky Derby Prediction & Pick
Confidence Game has taken an unorthodox stance when it comes to rest ahead of the Kentucky Derby. I'm counting on its fresh legs to shock the field and at least finish third at the 2023 Kentucky Derby.
Final 2023 Kentucky Derby Prediction: Confidence Game (20-1 ML)
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