Kentucky Derby Picks

I'll be off to the race track in Rhode Island this morning to watch a few races and put in my bets on the Derby. Then I'm off to Mahoney's in Worcester where they'll have a big pre-race spread and maybe a pool or two to get into. Mahoney's also has the world's coldest bottled beer.

I think the horses with the best chances are:

Bellamy Road - 5/2
Bandini - 6-1
High Fly - 8-1
Afleet Alex - 9/2

Now I know these are also the four favorites (but they are the favorites for a reason). I really like High Fly's chances to finish in the money mostly because Jerry Bailey is his jockey and Bailey is the best going right now.

What I'm leaning towards is $50 to place and $100 to show on High Fly and two $16 tri-boxes. The first would have Bellamy Road, Bandini and High Fly and the second would have Bandini, High Fly and Afleet Alex.

Two other horses worth a look are Noble Causeway (with Gary Stevens as jockey) going off at 12-1 and Flower Alley going off at 20-1.

This is what I'm leaning toward at this time but my picks might change. I'm going to the track with my buddies Tim and Paul who are real horsemen. They'll probably influence my final picks.