Some early favorites for the 150th Kentucky Derby are Fierceness and Sierra Leone. Beyond those, it’s a wide-open race. Today we will discuss about Kentucky Derby 2024: Larry Demeritte & West Saratoga,Predictions.
Kentucky Derby 2024: Larry Demeritte & West Saratoga,Predictions
Here are the most exciting two minutes in sports as the Kentucky Derby celebrates the 150th Running for the Roses on Saturday at Churchill Downs.
The first leg of horse racing’s Triple Crown is a major one-day event featuring 14 races and lots of fanfare, including outrageous hats, delicious mint juleps and celebrities.
The current favorites in this year’s 20-horse field are Sierra Leone and Fierceness, jockeyed by three-time Kentucky Derby winner John Velazquez. Both horses are native to Kentucky.
The game will provide the latest information from Churchill Downs. Come along.
Churchill Downs is located in Louisville, Kentucky. It opened in 1875 and has been hosting the Kentucky Derby ever since.
Churchill Downs spans 147 acres and features a one-mile dirt, oval racetrack and seven-furlong turf racecourse. According to the facility, it also has barns behind the racetrack that “house more than 1,400 horses each year”.
The Kentucky Derby has been named “the most exciting two minutes in sports”, as it usually lasts about two minutes. In distance, the race is 1 ¼ miles long.
Saturday’s forecast for Louisville calls for partly sunny skies with a high of 82 degrees, according to the National Weather Service, but there is also a chance of scattered showers and thunderstorms. There is a 40% chance of precipitation, mainly between 11am and 2pm. ET, but it should clear by 6:57 p.m. ET post time.
The seating options available to purchase on Ticketmaster are Infield General Admission (standing room only without track view), Infield Final Turn General Admission (standing room only without track view), Reserved Seating, Dining and Premier Dining. Are. Frontside Plaza Walkaround seats are sold out. Here are the prices for each section on Ticketmaster.
Larry Demeritte & West Saratoga
Twenty horses are racing towards the first turn in a battle for position. A screaming crowd of 150,000 and maybe a few showers that wet the dirt strip at Churchill Downs.
This is the 150th Kentucky Derby. Apart from a few early favorite bets, this is a wide-open race.
Post time is 6:57 pm. EDT Saturday. The forecast calls for cloudy skies with a high of 79 degrees (26 Celsius) and 82% humidity and a 20% chance of scattered rain and thunderstorms. The dirt surface was upgraded to a good level in the afternoon after being muddy to start the day’s racing.
Fans arrived at the gates of Churchill Downs wearing colorful costumes and large plumed hats. They stood in line to buy mint juleps in souvenir glasses. Cigar smoke mingled in the humid air.
The wet weather could benefit six horses who have previously won in mud or downhill, including early favorites Fierceness and Sierra Leone. Others with experience on dirt surfaces are Dornoch, Just A Touch, Mystic Dan and Society Man.
The derby will answer the perennial question about which 3-year-old can best handle running 1 1/4 miles in front of the biggest crowd they’ve ever seen or heard of. Kentucky Derby 2024: Larry Demeritte & West Saratoga,Prediction
Fury and jockey John Velazquez will step down from the No. 17 spot, which has never produced a Derby winner.
The most expensive filly in the 20-horse field is Sierra Leone, priced at $2.3 million.
“Sometimes you buy such an expensive horse and he can’t race,” said Peter Brandt, one of the six owners. “We’re very, very fortunate that he was able to make it this far. “We are looking forward to this race but also looking forward to the care of this horse in the future.”
In contrast, Larry Demeritt spent only $11,000 to purchase Saratoga West. The 74-year-old native of the Bahamas has won 180 races and nearly $5 million in cash since he began training in 1984. Demeritt is the second black trainer to saddle a horse for the Derby since 1951.
Predictions
He never won a race.
This year’s race is also one for the ages. Trainer D. Wayne Lucas, 88, with four Kentucky Derby wins, is at the helm of Just Steel. Frankie Dettori, the famous Italian jockey, has returned to ride Society Man at the age of 53 after a 24-year absence.
Trainer Todd Pletcher, who saddles Fierce, is in the Kentucky Derby for the 24th year and it never gets old. He has won it twice.
“If anything, it becomes more nerve-wracking,” he said.
The Kentucky Derby is the premier horse race in the United States, held on the first Saturday in May each year. It is often called the Race of the Roses because a blanket of red roses is placed over the winning horse in the winner’s circle. The field is limited to 20 horses each year, and they qualify for the race through a series of points races. Only horses as young as three years of age are eligible to race in the Kentucky Derby, and it is open to both male and female horses. A filly (a female horse) has not won the Kentucky Derby since Winning Colors‘ victory in 1988.
The 2024 Kentucky Derby will be held at Churchill Downs, Louisville on Saturday, May 4, 2024.
How long is the Kentucky Derby?
The race is 1 1/4 miles long. Secretariat set the Kentucky Derby record in 1973 with a race time of 1:59 2/5. That record was set 50 years ago and still stands today. The race is commonly known as the “Fastest Two Minutes in Sports” (with variations including the “Greatest Two Minutes” and “Most Exciting Two Minutes”) crowns.
Where can I read all of your excellent and informative coverage of the Kentucky Derby?
Thanks for asking! There’s a section below that has links to all the stories we’ve done. We will update this as we publish more in the lead up to Saturday’s race.
Who won the 2023 Kentucky Derby?
In 2023, Madge won the Kentucky Derby by a length at 15–1 odds. To Phil finished second and Angel of Empire finished third. Maze wins Preak to end her Triple Crown bid.
