The first Saturday in May for the last 137 years has been a time where the best three year old thoroughbred horses in the United States and the world have come together at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky for the Run for the Roses and the Kentucky Derby. The fanfare will be the same this year as a 20 horse field will come together and have the sports world waiting in anticipation to see if there will be a Triple Crown winner. There has not been a Triple Crown winner since Affirmed in 1978 when the jockey on board was Steve Cauthen.
Calvin Borel has won three of the last four Kentucky Derby's and this year will be aboard Twice The Appeal. The favorite going into Saturday afternoon's race dubbed the Fastest Two Minutes in Sports is the 4-1, Nick Zito trained, Dailed In who will have Julien Laparoux as the jockey. Uncle Mo was long touted during the early season this year to be a strong favorite and will come in as the second favorite at 9-2 with John Valezquez in the sulky.
The big thing about his years race is the huge field which could certainly lead to any horse in the field having a solid chance of winning. You can bet that whoever crosses the finish line in the win position on Saturday will have the stigma of winning the Triple Crown. The second leg of the Crown, the Preakness Stakes, will take place in Baltimore, Maryland on May 21st, and the third and final leg on the Visa Triple Crown will commence with the Belmont Stakes on June 11th.
There have been several Triple Crown contenders over the past couple years with several winning the first two legs and then faltering in the final. This year could be different and on Saturday when the television coverage gets underway at 4 PM EST on NBC, the anticipation will heat up again as the chase for Triple Crown goes down for another year.
