Kentucky Derby odds favor Eskendereya in the race on May 1st.
When you look at the numbers for trainer Todd Pletcher you are going to do a second take but that 0 for 24 is not going to matter in terms of Kentucky Derby betting odds.
Kentucky Derby odds are likely to list Eskendereya at less than 2-1 to win the Derby. When you hear that Todd Pletcher is 0 for 24 in the Derby you might shake your head at those odds but Eskendereya is considered the best Derby horse Pletcher has ever had. 21 times in the Derby Pletcher’s horses have not even hit the board. Five of his starters finished dead last in the Derby. No trainer has a worse record in the Derby than Pletcher, yet his horse is the solid favorite in Kentucky Derby betting.
It should be noted that Todd Pletcher is not a good trainer but a great trainer. He has just had a hex over his head when it comes to the Derby. In the past decade you can make a case that he is the best trainer in the world, except for the Derby. It should also be noted that many of the horses that Pletcher ran in the Derby really shouldn’t have run. 11 of his horses went off at 30-1 or more in Kentucky Derby odds.
This time Pletcher has the best horse in the race. Eskendereya was simply brilliant in winning the Fountain of Youth and the Wood Memorial. It should also be noted that Pletcher will have more than one horse in Kentucky Derby odds. He has Louisiana Derby winner Mission Impazible and Rule, who was third in the Florida Derby. Discreetly Mine will also go but he is a longshot in Kentucky Derby betting. He should also have Super Saver and he might get Aikenite and Interactif into the race. It is possible that Pletcher could have seven horses in the Derby.
Pletcher is not the only great trainer to struggle in Kentucky Derby odds. Wayne Lukas started with an 0 for 12 record in the Derby but he won with Winning Colors in 1988 and now has four Derby wins. Pletcher could be headed down that road. He is a great trainer who is overdue to win the Derby. Eskendereya is the best horse he has ever brought to Churchill Downs and he will be the favorite.