The 2013 Kentucky Derby is now less than a month away and, while the state of Kentucky is still abuzz about the Louisville Cardinals winning the 2013 NCAA Men’s College Basketball Championship, it is never too early to focus on the horses who will make a run for the roses. The 139th running of the Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs will take place on May 4 and while the field of 20 is yet to have been set, many experts are already basing their predictions off of the current Kentucky Derby points standings. Here is a look at the current standings entering this week:
2013 Kentucky Derby Points Standings
| Horse | Trainer | Points |
|---|---|---|
| Orb | Shug McGaughey | 150 |
| Verrazano | Todd Pletcher | 150 |
| Goldencents | Doug O’Neill | 129 |
| Revolutionary | Todd Pletcher | 110 |
| Lines of Battle | Aiden O’Brien | 100 |
| Vyjack | Rudy Rodriguez | 70 |
| Flashback | Bob Baffert | 70 |
| Will Take Charge | D. Wayne Lukas | 60 |
| Itsmyluckyday | Edward Plesa Jr. | 50 |
| Govenor Charlie | Bob Baffert | 50 |
| Black Onyx | Kelly Breen | 50 |
| Normandy Invasion | Chad Brown | 44 |
| Mylute | Tom Amoss | 42 |
| Oxbow | D. Wayne Lukas | 36 |
| Uncaptured | Mark Casse | 30 |
| Super Ninety Nine | Bob Baffert | 30 |
| Java’s War | Kenny McPeek | 22 |
| Merit Man | Bob Hess, Jr. | 20 |
| Den’s Legacy | Bob Baffert | 20 |
| Falling Sky | John Terranova | 20 |
| Departing | Al Stall, Jr. | 20 |
| Code West | Bob Baffert | 20 |
| West Hills Giant | John Terranova | 20 |
| Tiz A Minister | Paul Aguirre | 20 |
| Golden Soul | Dallas Stewart | 14 |
| Dynamic Sky | Mark Casse | 13 |
| Overanalyze | Todd Pletcher | 10 |
| Power Broker | Bob Baffert | 10 |
| Mr Palmer | Bill Mott | 10 |
| Abraham | Todd Pletcher | 10 |
| Elnaawi | Kiaran McLaughlin | 10 |
| Giant Finish | Tony Dutrow | 10 |
| Narvaez | Agustin Bzera | 10 |
| Palace Malice | Todd Pletcher | 10 |
| Texas Bling | Danele Durham | 9 |
| Siete de Oros | Ramon Preciado | 7 |
| He’s Had Enough | Doug O’Neill | 6 |
| Fear The Kitten | Mike Maker | 6 |
| Shakin It Up | Bob Baffert | 5 |
| Tesseron | Josie Carroll | 5 |
| Taken By The Storm | Kenny McPeek | 5 |
| Capo Bastone | Todd Pletcher | 4 |
| Frac Daddy | Kenny McPeek | 4 |
| Carving | Bob Baffert | 2 |
| Clearly Now | Brian Lynch | 2 |
| Heaven’s Runway | Joseph Martin | 2 |
| My Name Is Michael | Bill Mott | 2 |
| Always in a Tiz | Dominick Schettino | 2 |
| Dewey Square | Dale Romans | 2 |
| Manando | Bob Baffert | 2 |
| Dry Summer | Jeff Mullins | 1 |
| Amerigo Vespucci | Timothy Tullock Jr. | 1 |
| Joshua’s Comprise | Barry Rose | 1 |
| Quinzieme Monarque | Thomas Albertrani | 1 |
| Channel Isle | D. Wayne Lukas | 1 |
| Little Jerry | Richard Baltas | 1 |
Keep in mind that field for the Kentucky Derby is still entirely wide open. No horses have qualified, despite the dominant performances by the top five in the points standings. In the end, the top 20 points earners receive berths into the May 4 race.
Yet although no horse has officially qualified as of this moment, that has not stopped odds makers from setting the favorites. Tied among the top spot for the points standings, Verrazano is currently listed as the Derby favorite at +300. Orb, who is tied atop the current standings along with Verrazano, is listed at +800, along with Orb. Rounding out the top five as of this minute are Revolutionary and Normandy Invasion at +1000. It is worth noting that while Normandy Invasion is fifth in terms of odds on favorite, he is just 12th in the current points standings. The fifth place horse in the standings, Lines of Battle, is listed at +1500.
But, while many may find it surprising to see Normandy Invasion toward the top of the odds in terms of overall favorites despite ranking 12 in the points standings, don’t tell that to Bill Finley of ESPN, who says that he liked the horse as early as last November to win at Churchill Downs, and has seen nothing to make him waver in his opinion for May 4.
“He needs to finally put it all together but he seems to be on the precipice of doing just that,” writes Finley. “The Kentucky Derby isn’t won in March or April. Certainly, Todd Pletcher can attest to that. It’s won by a horse who has the quality and hits his peak form on Derby Day. Normandy Invasion still looks like a horse that is only going to get better. Can he finally bust out in the Kentucky Derby? I’ll be betting that he will.”
Stay tuned to Boston Super Blog for continuous updates regarding the 139th running of the Kentucky Derby.
