LOUSVILLE -- Big Brown was the 7-to-2 Kentucky Derby favourite as of 7 p.m. EDT on Friday. Earlier in the week, the colt who is undefeated in three career starts, was made the 3-to-1 favourite in the morning line for Saturday's race at Churchill Downs. Scheduled post time is 6.04 p.m.
As of 7 p.m. Friday, the Kentucky Derby odds from all betting sources were: No. 1 Cool Coal Man, 36 to 1; No. 2. Tale of Ekati, 45 to 1; No. 3. Anak Nakal, 57 to 1; No. 4. Court Vision, 14 to 1; No. 5. Eight Belles, 8 to 1; No. 6. Z Fortune, 17 to 1; No. 7. Big Truck, 20 to 1; No. 8. Visionaire, 22 to 1; No. 9. Pyro, 5 to 1; No 10. Colonel John, 4 to 1; No. 11. Z Humor, 67 to 1; No 12 Smooth Air, 40 to 1; No. 13 Bob Black Jack, 26 to 1; No. 14 Monba, 30 to 1; No. 15, Adriano, 24 to 1; No. 16 Denis of Cork, 27 to 1; No. 17 Cowboy Cal, 42 to 1; No. 18 Recapturetheglory, 47 to 1; No. 19 Gayego, 21 to 1; No. 20 Big Brown, 7 to 2.
Friday afternoon: The rain that appeared to be on its way at 5 a.m. finally did come later in the afternoon. Then it came down hard enough to make for a sloppy track. Hard to say how that will affect Saturday's Kentucky Derby.
It made for a wet afternoon for the Kentucky Oaks Day crowd of 100,046.
The rain meant that Elusive Lady was scratched from the Oaks because she has “never shown an affinity for running on an off track” according to her trainer John Kimmel.
The $581,659 Oaks was run on a sloppy track and Brereton C. Jones's Proud Spell found it no problem in winning the 1 1/8-mile race for three-year-old fillies by five lengths at odds of better than 3 to 1.
Little Belle was second and Pure Clan was third. Proud Spell ran the distance in 1:50.01.
Trainer Larry Jones and jockey Gabriel Saez have a chance for a rare Kentucky Oaks-Kentucky Derby double. Saez rides Fox Hill Farms' Eight Belles, who is trained by Jones, in Saturday's Kentucky Derby.
Eight Belles is the only filly in the Derby. She also was entered in the Oaks as a precaution but it was decided that she would go against the colts.
Jones did not feel that the wet track helped Proud Spell. “She can handle any kind of surface and actually Churchill's track when it gets wet is very good.”
The most recent rider to win the Kentucky Oaks-Derby double was Jerry Bailey in 1993 who won with Dispute and Sea Hero.
Trainer Ben Jones did the double in 1952 with Real Delight and Hill Gail.
The Oaks-Derby double with Proud Spell and Eight Belles would pay $212.00.
The Oaks- Derby Double pay outs with Proud Spell are: Cool Coal Man, $436.00; Tale of Ekati $312.20; Anak Nakal, $778.00; Court Vision, $132.20; Eight Belles, $212.00; Z Fortune, $143.60; Big Truck, $848.40; Visionaire $235.60; Pyro $55.80; Colonel John, $54.80; Z Humor, $644.80; Smooth Air, $369.60; Bob Black Jack, $514.80; Monba, $281.60; Adriano, $297.00; Denis of Cork, $224.20; Cowboy Cal, $593.80, Recapturetheglory, $578.60; Gayego, $227.00; Big Brown $37.80.
