OUR EXPERTS’ KENTUCKY DERBY PICKS
The Biz- September 5, 2020
Can Tiz the Law move to the edge of history with a win in Saturday’s Kentucky Derby? Or will one of his 15 rivals register the upset?
We asked six top handicappers for their picks for the Kentucky Derby and for the two other Grade 1 races on Churchill Downs’s biggest card. Their answers:
- Maryland horsemen, breeders point to ’25 prioritiesA board to govern the new Maryland Jockey Club, a new training center, and new breeder incentives are top priorities for Maryland’s horsemen and breeders.
| TED BLACK | LINDA DOUGHERTY | NICK HAHN | |
| DERBY CITY DISTAFF | |||
| 1. | 9 – Bellafina (KY) | 10 – Ce Ce (KY) | 10 – Ce Ce (KY) |
| 2. | 8 – Serengeti Empress (KY) | 9 – Bellafina (KY) | 8 – Serengeti Empress (KY) |
| 3. | 1 – Mia Mischief (KY) | 8 – Serengeti Empress (KY) | 6 – Sally’s Curlin (KY) |
| 4. | 2 – Shesomajestic (KY) | 1 – Mia Mischief (KY) | 9 – Bellafina (KY) |
| TURF CLASSIC | |||
| 1. | 2 – Bowies Hero (KY) | 3 – Rockemperor (IRE) | 3 – Rockemperor (IRE) |
| 2. | 1 – Factor This (KY) | 4 – Digital Age (IRE) | 4 – Digital Age (IRE) |
| 3. | 3 – Rockemperor (IRE) | 7 – True Valour (IRE) | 8 – Sacred Life (FR) |
| 4. | 6 – Mr Dumas (KY) | 8 – Sacred Life (FR) | 1 – Factor This (KY) |
| KENTUCKY DERBY | |||
| 1. | 16 – Honor A. P. (KY) | 16 – Honor A. P. (KY) | 15 – Ny Traffic (NY) |
| 2. | 17 – Tiz the Law (NY) | 17 – Tiz the Law (NY) | 17 – Tiz the Law (NY) |
| 3. | 18 – Authentic (KY) | 10 – Thousand Words (FL) | 18 – Authentic (KY) |
| 4. | 15 – Ny Traffic (NY) | 18 – Authentic (KY) | 13 – Attachment Rate (VA) |
Check out our Kentucky Derby horse-by-horse analysis, including video pps.
| JOHN PIASSEK | GARY QUILL | DERBY BILL WATSON | |
| DERBY CITY DISTAFF | |||
| 1. | 9 – Bellafina (KY) | 1 – Mia Mischief (KY) | 8 – Serengeti Empress (KY) |
| 2. | 1 – Mia Mischief (KY) | 4 – Bell’s the One (KY) | 4 – Bell’s the One (KY) |
| 3. | 10 – Ce Ce (KY) | 10 – Ce Ce (KY) | 1 – Mia Mischief (KY) |
| 4. | 8 – Serengeti Empress (KY) | 9 – Bellafina (KY) | 6 – Sally’s Curlin (KY) |
| TURF CLASSIC | |||
| 1. | 2 – Bowies Hero (KY) | 2 – Bowies Hero (KY) | 2 – Bowies Hero (KY) |
| 2. | 1 – Factor This (KY) | 8 – Sacred Life (FR) | 4 – Digital Age (IRE) |
| 3. | 4 – Digital Age (IRE) | 3 – Rockemperor (IRE) | 8 – Sacred Life (FR) |
| 4. | 8 – Sacred Life (FR) | 4 – Digital Age (IRE) | 5 – Dontblamerocket (KY) |
| KENTUCKY DERBY | |||
| 1. | 17 – Tiz the Law (NY) | 17 – Tiz the Law (NY) | 17 – Tiz the Law (NY) |
| 2. | 15 – Ny Traffic (NY) | 18 – Authentic (KY) | 15 – Ny Traffic (NY) |
| 3. | 5 – Major Fed (KY) | 7 – Money Moves (KY) | 2 – Max Player (KY) |
| 4. | 7 – Money Moves (KY) | 16 – Honor A. P. (KY) | 16 – Honor A. P. (KY) |
CONSENSUS: Our ‘cappers see the Derby City Distaff as a wide-open affair. Ce Ce and Bellafina each garnered two first-place votes, while Mia Mischief and Serengeti Empress got one each… Bowies Hero may be 6-1 on the morning line for the Turf Classic, but our ‘cappers love him: four of them picked him on top. Rockemperor, the morning line favorite, grabbed the other two nods… Can Tiz the Law do it? Three of our handicappers say he can, while three others look elsewhere. Honor A. P. gets two of the remaining votes, while Ny Traffic gets the third.
OUR HANDICAPPERS:
- Ted Black is a longtime racing correspondent who provides weekly Saturday Charles Town picks.
- Linda Dougherty has been writing about racing since 1990, including serving as a newspaper handicapper.
- Nick Hahn is host of Off to the Races radio and writes the daily Nick’s Picks tip sheet for Colonial Downs racing.
- John Piassek writes Laurel Park Picks and Ponderings for The Racing Biz.
- Gary Quill formerly wrote The GQ Approach handicapping column for The Racing Biz.
- Derby Bill Watson was the original on-air handicapper for Colonial Downs and is a regular on Off to the Races radio.
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