Blog of a Horse Racing Enthusiast

This year's Wood Memorial should be a good race between a group of well matched horses with so-so talent. Here is a breakdown of the field and how I'll be betting.

This year's Illinois Derby field features two or three possible stars surrounded by a mob of second and third stringers. That said, longshot and exotic bet opportunities abound. Here is a breakdown of the field and how I'll be betting.

I'll Have Another is a Flower Alley and Arch's Gal Edith colt. Right now, we're having a hard time gauging this horse. After breaking his maiden in his first attempt, he went on to finish second in the Best Pal G2 at Del Mar a month later. However, in the Hopeful G1 at Saratoga Race Track he finished well out of the money. That race was sixth months ago. In February, in his three year old campaign debut, he won the Robert B. Lewis in convincing fashion.

Currency Swap is a High Cotton and Echo Bluff colt. He broke his maiden in his first try and won the Hopeful G1 at Saratoga. He finished second to Gemologist in a Gulfstream Park allowance race in mid-March despite going off as the favorite. We don't think this is something to get caught up on and still like Currency Swap's chances of running on May 5th.

My Adonis is a Pleasantly Perfect and Silent Justice colt. It took My Adonis 4 tries before he was able to break his maiden, placing in his first three races. However, he's been able to put together a strong resume. He finished third in the Holy Bull G3 at Gulfstream Park and second in the Gotham G3 at aqueduct to current Kentucky Derby favorite, Hansen. He'll need a few more earnings if he's going to make an appearance on May 5th and his connections have indicated a start in the Wood Memorial.

Battle Hardened is a Giant's Causeway and Jen's Fashion colt. In 5 career mounts he has one win and two places. His win came in the Sam F. Davis G3 at Tampa Bay Downs against Kentucky Derby contender Prospective and Reveron (who would later finish second in the Florida Derby). However, Prospective would go on to win the Tampa Bay Derby G2 while Battle Hardened finished out of the money.

Brother Francis is a Lion Heart and Viapervita chestnut colt. He has yet to break his maiden, however, in his first 4 career mounts he has two places and two shows. In November he finished second in the Hollywood Prevue G3 at Hollywood Park and followed that up with a third place finish in the CashCall Futurity G1. He was beaten in that race by two other Kentucky Derby hopefuls, Liaison and Rousing Sermon. He is slated to run in the Santa Anita Derby on April 7th.

Gemologist is a Tiznow and Crystal Shard colt. He is currently 4-0 in his career. However, his only significant win came in the Kentucky Jockey Club Grade II stakes at Churchill Downs, which also explains his low total earnings. He did defeat Currency Swap, another strong Kentucky Derby contender, in his last race, an allowance at Gulfstream Park.

9thrace.com is proud to present the 30 Days of April Kentucky Derby Promotion. Bloggers Post Time Pete and Big Daddy No Bucks have teamed up to write 30 Contenders, 30 Days - An Epic Breakdown of the Kentucky Derby Horses. Starting tomorrow, April 1st, we'll release one new article per day based on a possible contender for the Kentucky Derby.

Here is the current Futures Wager Pool for the 2012 Kentucky Derby (Pool 3). Betting is open from Friday, March 30th through Sunday, April 1.