Kentucky Derby Picks

Saturday, May 2, 2009 at 10:37 pm

Sports-Odds.com thinks that the Dunkirk vs Pioneerof the Nile match up will make the Kentucky Derby Picks experts head spin a bit. The online racebook Bodog.com has made Dunkirk –125 odds favorite against Pioneerof the Nile –105 odds. Here is a break down of each horses pros and cons so horse racing bettors can make informed Kentucky Derby Picks.

#16 – Pioneerof the Nile – Pioneerof the Nile jockey is Garrett Gomez and his trainer is Bob Baffert. The pros on Pioneerof the Nile are that he has won all four starts, in graded stakes, including CashCall Futurity and Santa Anita Derby last out; since changing barns. He started his career on turf and trained on dirt before his debut, so he has some experience on a surface other than synthetic tracks. He looks great over the Churchill strip and both works were solid and not too demanding. Baffert won the Derby in 1997 with Silver Charm, in 1998 with Real Quiet and in 2002 with War Emblem. Pioneerof the Nile has evolved from one run closer to stalking type due to lack of early pace in last pair, which is a great asset to add to the arsenal. Gomez is at the top of his game right now and chose this one over Dunkirk.

The cons on Pioneerof the Nile as a potential Kentucky Derby Picks winner are that even though he’s bred to handle it and is training brilliantly over it, he has never raced on dirt. His highest Beyer figure is a 96 while final times are a tad on the slow side. Pioneerof the Nile started his career with Bill Mott on East Coast and made his first two starts on turf.

1800-Sports.com expert horse capper Arthur Bodley mentioned, “After winning his fourth consecutive stakes race at the Santa Anita Derby on April 4th, Pioneerof the Nile is now one of the strong favorites to win the 2009 Kentucky Derby and until we reach “The Most Exciting Two Minutes in Sports”, the amount of bets being placed on him will not slow down. Thousands of horse racing enthusiasts are making their Pioneerof the Nile Derby Predictions as we speak.”

#15 – Dunkirk – One of the strong favorites among early Kentucky Derby Picks bettors. His jockey is Edgar Prado and his trainer is Todd Pletcher. The pros on Dunkirk are that he showed amazing professionalism in his debut score when he was off slow and encountered traffic on the far turn. He overcame even more trouble when he got bounced around, caught seven wide on the first turn in his first start around two turns and against winners which he won easily as well. Dunkirk made an eye-opening middle move to hook leaders on far turn at over speed biased Gulfstream Park course in lone defeat when second in Florida Derby last out. His running style and pedigree suggest he’ll handle the added distance and he has trained well since last start.

His cons are that no horse has won the Derby without running as a two-year-old since Apollo in 1882; Curlin tried and failed. Gomez abandoned him and Prado isn’t riding well at all. Five weeks between races isn’t an ideal scenario and Pletcher has a terrible Derby record.

Bodog.com has posted 2009 Kentucky Derby Picks Dunkirk vs Pioneerof the Nile Head to Head Match-Ups Derby Odds:
Dunkirk: -125
Pioneerof the Nile: -105