Kentucky Derby 2023: Mage can get a good forward trip
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The 2023 Kentucky Derby is coming up on Saturday, May 6, 2023. It is one of the most important betting horse races of the year: 20 of the best three-year-olds will go 1 ¼ miles at Churchill Downs for a $3 million purse, an iconic blanket of roses, and a place in horse racing history.
With such a big field of top-level horses, it offers some of the best payouts of the year in win and exotic pools. Keep reading to find out the best horses to bet, and find out where to bet the Kentucky Derby online!
2023 Kentucky Derby Betting Online
Before you start thinking about Kentucky Derby picks, you need to find the right place to bet the Kentucky Derby online! Online betting is the best way to play the Kentucky Derby. You can play from anywhere with an internet connection, and with fixed odds on major races, you can maximize your profit by playing online.
Our online racebook reviews will help you make a quick and confident decision about where to bet the Kentucky Derby online. All of our recommended racebooks have market-leading odds, great user interfaces, and trusted payouts. And, these sites offer benefits like deposit bonuses, sign-up bonuses, and horse racing rebates that you will never find at the track!
Kentucky Derby Horses
This is the official field for the 2023 Kentucky Derby including post positions, trainers, jockeys, and morning lines.:
- Hit Show (Brad Cox / Manny Franco) - 30/1
- Verifying (Brad Cox / Tyler Gaffalione) - 15/1
- Two Phil’s (Larry Rivelli / Jareth Loveberry) - 12/1
- Confidence Game (Keith Desormeaux / James Graham) - 20/1
- Tapit Trice (Todd Pletcher / Luis Saez) - 5/1
- Kingsbarns (Todd Pletcher / Jose Ortiz) - 12/1
- Reincarnate (Tim Yakteen / John Velazquez) - 50/1
- Mage (Gustavo Delgado / Javier Castellano) - 15/1
- Skinner (John Shirreffs / Juan Hernandez) - 20/1
- Practical Move (Tim Yakteen / Ramon Vazquez) - 10/1
- Disarm (Steve Asmussen / Joel Rosario) - 30/1
- Jace’s Road (Brad Cox / Florent Geroux) - 15/1
- Sun Thunder (Kenny McPeek / Brian Hernandez, Jr.) - 50/1
- Angel of Empire (Brad Cox / Flavien Prat) - 8/1
- Forte (Todd Pletcher / Irad Ortiz, Jr.) - 3/1
- Raise Cain (Ben Colebrook / Gerardo Corrales) - 50/1
- Derma Sotogake (Hidetaka Otonashi / Christophe Lemaire) - 10/1
- Rocket Can (Bill Mott / Junior Alvarado) - 30/1
- Lord Miles (Saffie Joseph, Jr. / Paco Lopez) - 30/1
- Continuar (Yosito Yahagi / Ryusei Sakai) - 50/1
- ALSO ELIGIBLE - Cyclone Mischief (Dale Romans / Joel Rosario) - 30/1
- ALSO ELIGIBLE - Mandarin Hero (Terunobu Fujita / Kazushi Kimura) - 20/1
- ALSO ELIGIBLE - King Russell (Ron Moquett / Rafael Bejarano) - 50/1
Cyclone Mischief, Mandarin Hero, and King Russell will only draw in, in that order of priority, if horses scratch from the main field before 9:00 a.m. Friday morning, when Kentucky Derby betting begins.
Keep in mind that the morning line is just the track’s estimate of what the tote board will look like at race time. At the track, the odds are not set until the horses break from the gate. Your best bet is to play the Kentucky Derby online, since online sportsbooks let you lock in your price the moment you bet!
These are the Kentucky Derby odds at the best online sportsbooks:
 |  |  | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forte | +300 | +275 | +400 |
| Tapit Trice | +600 | +650 | +600 |
| Angel of Empire | +900 | +1200 | +900 |
| Kingsbarns | +1000 | +1000 | +1300 |
| Practical Move | +1000 | +1200 | +1100 |
| Two Phil's | +1200 | +1600 | +1300 |
Kentucky Derby Handicapping
With your account set up, it is time to start handicapping the Kentucky Derby! These are the most interesting Kentucky Derby contenders, the ones with the best chance to run well, including some live longshots.
Kentucky Derby Best Bet
Though some of the Kentucky Derby favorites fit well, the race is wide enough open that it makes sense to lean on a price horse who is coming into the right form and can get the right kind of trip to win the race. Fortunately, the field features just such a horse: Florida Derby second-place finisher Mage.
Mage was only beaten a length last out, impressive since he started poorly and was knocked off his more natural forward running style. He showed in that race that he can change running styles if necessary, but especially if he can get his more preferred forward style he should get an advantageous trip. He also has an appealing pedigree for the Classic distance on both sides.
Deserving Kentucky Derby Market Leaders
Forte has been the favorite in Kentucky Derby futures betting all year long and should be a well-defined favorite come race day. He doesn’t have enough in his record to be value at such a short price, but his class and consistency do make him a contender, and the favorite in the Kentucky Derby has not run out of the superfecta since the advent of the points system.
The most interesting of the shorter-priced horses in the Kentucky Derby is Tapit Trice. He was having trouble at the break, but he broke better than ever in the Blue Grass. He overcame a rail draw in a big field to get out to the clear, track, and reel in the pace-advantaged Verifying. This bodes well for him working a trip in a Derby without a torrid pace, and his pedigree is all distance.
Practical Move also deserves a long look. The leader of the California horses, he has won three straight at two-turn trips. He has the tactical speed to work out a good trip in this Derby. And, though he is by Practical Joke (a miler son of Into Mischief), he has enough stamina in the underside of his pedigree to suggest that he can stretch out, since Into Mischiefs can with enough dam-side stoutness.
Kentucky Derby Longshots
Two Phil’s took his final prep on Tapeta, but it came back the fastest Derby prep no matter which of the major speed figure scales you use: Brisnet, Beyer, or TimeformUS. He was competitive on dirt against Derby prospects in Louisiana, and he is already a graded winner on the Churchill dirt. He can also finish well even if the pace in front of him is less than fiery.
Derma Sotogake has a good chance to get the right trip in the Kentucky Derby. He has strong early speed, which he carried beautifully when winning the UAE Derby. Though the record of the UAE Derby in Kentucky hasn’t been good, Derma Sotogake is better than the usual horse coming in from that race, and dirt speed from Japan has held up well recently against good US-based horses.
Free Kentucky Derby Expert Picks
Now that you have gotten to know the major players, here are your free Kentucky Derby expert plays for the 2023 Kentucky Derby:
- $20 win/place/show: #8 Mage
- $1 Exacta Key: #5 Tapit Trice with #17 Derma Sotogake, #8 Mage, and #3 Two Phil’s,
- $1 Trifecta Key: #5 Tapit Trice with #17 Derma Sotogake, #15 Forte, #8 Mage, and #3 Two Phil’s
- $1 Superfecta Key: #5 Tapit Trice with #17 Derma Sotogake, #15 Forte, #10 Practical Move, #8 Mage, and #3 Two Phil’s
Kentucky Derby Undercard Picks
There are eight other major stakes races on the Kentucky Derby undercard. Make sure to use these horses when you are building out tickets for the all-stakes Pick 6 or other multi-race wagers on the card:
- $750,000 Derby City Distaff (G1): #2 Goodnight Olive
- $500,000 Distaff Turf Mile (G2): #5 Spendarella, #4 Wakanaka
- $175,000 Knicks Go Overnight Stakes: #6 Zozos, #12 Caddo River, #3 Baby Yoda
- $500,000 Twin Spires Turf Sprint (G2): #4 Big Invasion, #10 Arrest Me Red
- $500,000 Pat Day Mile (G2): #3 Lugan Knight, #5 Echo Again, #9 General Jim
- $500,000 American Turf (G2): #4 Talk of the Nation, #1 Major Dude, #11 Carl Spackler
- $750,000 Churchill Downs Stakes (G1): #7 Cody’s Wish, #3 Here Mi Song
- $1 million Turf Classic (G1): #9 Spooky Channel, #4 Steady On, #10 Bye Bye Melvin
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