Derby time in Kentucky – summer can’t be far behind

It’s that time of year again, when all of the world will once again be looking at us folk here in the Bluegrass State at least for a few minutes this Saturday afternoon when the 141st Kentucky Derby – the fastest two minutes in sports – is run.

I certainly hope the rest of the free world doesn’t think we Kentuckians dress and act all year long like those pictured at Churchill Downs will be, but if they do – so be it, we Kentuckians have been stereotyped in worse manners before.

Anyway, back to the Kentucky Derby and my now long-standing tradition of offering up what should in no way be considered expert advice on picking a few winners for this Saturday’s event.

A quick look back at last year’s picks in this column and how my day went, and I must say it was one of my best years in awhile.

A reminder that when I first started this yearly tradition of Kentucky Derby picks in this public manner, my technique was simple – pick the horse with the most unique, catchy name, and pick any horse that had Pat Day up. Knowing as little as I do about horse racing other than it’s usually an enjoyable day outside with good friends, the method seems to work as well as any, at least until Pat Day up and retired.

Changing up my method to fit, I decided to stick with the catchiest name, but just go with my gut for the other pick. Last year’s catchy name scratched at the last minute, and I substituted the horse that had Calvin Borel up, Ride On Curlin, and also went with the odds on favorite, California Chrome.

Chrome won the Derby and didn’t pay much ($7.00), but Ride On Curlin ran a surprising third and paid $15.40. As it turned out, a pretty nice day for my picks and a little change in my pocket.

So, what about this year and Saturday’s Kentucky Derby.? I’m going to once again go with the odds on favorite as it stands today and put my best faith bet on International Star. Of course my unscientific predictions are coming with over four days between this writing and post-time, so post positions aren’t yet drawn, but I don’t think it’s going to matter where he comes out of the gate from – Star is a wonderful looking animal and from watching several videos of his recent races – he has fun when he’s on the track.

My second pick in regards to the best horse name in the field is a no-brainer. Following the running of the 141st Kentucky Derby by some two hours, my attention will go to one of the most anticipated fights in several years, the Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao bout in Las Vegas.

What’s that got to do with horse racing? Well on the day when these two events are both held – my outside Kentucky Derby pick has to be “Itsaknockout” which by the way, as a Todd Pletcher trained horse, isn’t too shabby an entry with a 4-1 finish in his last two starts.

So, there you go – don’t drop more than $5 each on my advice, but that’s my top two picks for this year’s Run for the Roses.

If I were going to put any more bets down on this year’s running (full disclosure – I usually do), then my other money would have to be split on the two Bob Baffert trained entries, both of which will likely go off as close favorites behind International Star.

Dortmund and American Pharoah are both good entries and both have a better than good chance at being one of the top three horses across the finish line.

The Kentucky Derby and the Mayweather/Pacquiao fight all in one day. Going to be a long Saturday, but I plan on spending it with good friends, and that’s what really makes it a day to look forward to.

Kentucky Derby post time is 5:24 p.m. central time.

The Mayweather / Pacquiao fight is expected to get underway from Las Vegas at about 10:30 p.m. central time.