The most exciting two minutes in sports return Saturday with the 151st Kentucky Derby.
While all eyes will be on the horses, the condition of the track could be just as important. Rain is in the forecast for Louisville, raising the possibility of a sloppy track by post time.
The early favorite is Journalism, the Santa Anita Derby winner. The 3-year-old has finished first in four of five starts and placed third in the other. But there's a potential red flag: all of Journalism’s races have been in California, and he has never run on a wet track.
RELATED STORY | A new push to protect racehorses is leaving behind young thoroughbreds
In fact, only a handful of horses in the Derby field have experience racing on a sloppy surface.
Another horse drawing attention is Render Judgment, owned by the late country singer Toby Keith’s farm. Before his death, Keith reportedly called it a “dream” to have one of his horses run in the Kentucky Derby.
This year’s race also marks the return of trainer Bob Baffert, following a three-year suspension after his 2021 Derby winner failed a post-race drug test. But his comeback is off to a rocky start — Rodriguez, one of his contenders, was scratched due to a foot bruise. Baffert still has Citizen Bull in the field, though the horse will break from the often-dreaded No. 1 post position.
The Kentucky Derby is slated to go off on Saturday at 6:57 p.m. Eastern Time.
