Uncle Mo clear favorite in Wood
Two $1 million races, the Santa Anita Derby and the Wood Memorial, and to a lesser degree the $300,000 Illinois Derby will take center stage Saturday on the road to the Kentucky Derby.
Kentucky Derby favorite Uncle Mo shockingly will face nine rivals in the Wood at Aqueduct. Most handicappers are putting a ring around Uncle Mo’s name and conceding him the $600,000 winner’s share. He looks that good as the 1-5 chalk.
The other nine Wood entrants are essentially competing in their own “race within a race” for the remaining $400,000 of the purse, or in the highly unlikely event Uncle Mo will scratch.
The Santa Anita Derby field is the best of the three. However, Premier Pegasus, the 8-5 morning-line favorite, was scratched on Thursday because of a hairline fracture in his left front leg.
This will probably make Jaycito from the Bob Baffert barn the public choice. He ran a distant second to Premier Pegasus in the San Felipe, but clearly looked like a short horse.
The Derby picture began crystallizing last week with Dialed In’s gritty win in the Florida Derby. The Arkansas Derby and Blue Grass Stakes will be run April 16. But picking the Derby winner is not unlike chasing the Holy Grail. Choose wisely.
■ CHAMPIONSHIP AT THE ORLEANS — The popular handicapping tournament will be held Thursday through April 16 in the Mardi Gras ballroom at The Orleans. The entry fee is $500.
■ PALACE STATION — “Dinner With the Derby Preps” is today at Palace Station. Free food and drink will be served at 5:30 p.m., then at 6, Richie Saber, Ralph Siraco and Vic Viveo will assess this weekend’s Derby prep races.
■ KEENELAND PICK 5 — One of my favorite tracks, Keeneland, opens today. The product is terrific, and track executives offer low takeouts and listen to the players. For example, a new bet is a 50-cent pick 5 in lieu of the pick 6. Other bets, such as the pick 3, pick 4 and trifecta, also have a low 50-cent minimum, allowing players to win big even with a small bankroll.
■ FIESTA RANCHO — Race analysts Jerry Jacovitz and Siraco will hold a free meet-and-greet inside Garduno’s at Fiesta Rancho at 10:30 a.m. Wednesday.
Richard Eng’s horse racing column is published Friday in the Las Vegas Review-Journal. He can be reached at rich_eng@hotmail.com.