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LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) --î The chaos at the start of the Kentucky Derby sometimes decides the most exciting two minutes in sports in a matter of seconds. Twenty horses bursting out of the starting gate to varying degrees of success makes it a mad dash to the turn.
Calling the race on television for NBC, Larry Collmus typically focuses on the favorite. This year presents a challenge.
"I don't know who the favorite is going to be," Collmus said. "I guess we'll find out. It's wide open this year."
Todd Pletcher-trained Renegade opened as the favorite, but it could just as easily be Brad Cox's Commandment or Further Ado or Bill Mott's Chief Wallabee by the time the field of 20 leaves the gate. The first leg of the Triple Crown is so wide open that at least a half-dozen horses have a legitimate chance to win the 152nd running of the Kentucky Derby on Saturday.
"There's a lot of different ways you could go if you were handicapping this race," said Chad Brown, the trainer of Emerging Market. "You could really make an argument at this point for maybe half the horses in the field if they ran their very, very best race and had a good trip that could win this race."
Renegade on the rail
Renegade was set as the 4-1 favorite on the morning line, but last weekend he drew the inside No. 1 post position on the rail. No horse has won the Derby from there since Ferdinand in 1986.
"It's not the one we would have chosen," Pletcher said. "It's not ideal, but it's what we got and we'll do the best we can with it."
When Pletcher watched replays of every race since the new starting gate was introduced in 2020, he thought his horses and others on the rail were negatively affected and their chances compromised. The last horse to break from the very inside to finish in the money was Lookin At Lee in 2017.
Irad Ortiz Jr. is being counted on to navigate Renegade through the 1 1/4-mile journey around the dirt track at Churchill Downs, and while he has yet to win the Kentucky Derby, he's in his prime as one of the best jockeys in the world.
"Irad's riding in great form right now, so they just got to work it out," Pletcher said. "I think his natural running style is to kind of settle and make one run like he has been doing, so we're not looking to change that."
Cox's trio is a duo but still formidable
Cox entered three horses but is down to two after ruling out Fulleffort on Thursday because of a chip in the colt's left hind ankle. Mark Casse's Silent Tactic and Kenny McPeek's Right to Party were also scratched, putting Great White, Ocelli and Robusta into the field on the far outside.
Commandment and Further Ado each has shown the ability to finish first in this deep class of 3-year-olds. Commandment has won four in a row, including the Florida Derby, while Further Ado bounced back from a lengthy absence and won the Blue Grass Stakes.
They will now face rivals who thrived all over the country.
"There's a lot of talent, obviously, coming from different regions, whether it's California, Florida, Louisiana, New York," Cox said. "I do feel like the horses in Florida were definitely the strongest region this year."
Bob Baffert's Potente was second to So Happy in the Santa Anita Derby in Southern California, and Litmus Test comes from Oaklawn Park in Arkansas. Baffert is tied for the most Derby victories among trainers and can take sole possession of the record if one of his long shots comes through.
With Danon Bourbon and homebred Wonder Dean, Japan again has strong presence two years after Forever Young was a close third. The country is in search of its first Derby win.
No super horse?
It does not look like there is a super horse in this field who is capable of sweeping the Triple Crown like Justify in 2018 and American Pharoah in 2015.
"There's by no means an American Pharoah in here, at least up to this point, going into the race," Brown said. "Now, whoever wins this race and goes on, maybe one emerges and turns into one of the best 3-year-olds in the last few years. Who knows?"
The bigger question is whether any of them would get the chance, given the reluctance of owners and trainers to run a horse two weeks later in the Preakness Stakes, which this year takes place at Laurel Park while Pimlico Race Course is rebuilt. Two of the past four Kentucky Derby winners did not run in the Preakness, which could soon move from the third to the fourth weekend in May to attract more horses.
Robusta joins field
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) --î Cristian Torres waited his whole life to ride in the Kentucky Derby. In line to get his first chance on Saturday, it looked like the rising-star jockey would have to wait at least another year when the horse he was supposed to be on was ruled out.
Then his phone rang on Friday morning with a number from California he did not have saved. It was trainer Doug O'Neill calling to ask if he wanted to take the mount on Robusta, who got into the field when Kenny McPeek's Right to Party was scratched by track veterinarians.
"I was shocked," Torres told The Associated Press after riding in the fifth race at Churchill Downs later in the day. "I didn't respond for a few seconds because I couldn't believe it. It's been a roller coaster of emotions but just very happy and very grateful."
Torres, a native of Puerto Rico who began riding in 2019, was set to be aboard Silent Tactic in the 152nd running of the Derby. Trainer Mark Casse and owner John Oxley made the call Wednesday to scratch Silent Tactic because of a foot injury and plan for the Preakness on May 16.
Casse said it was an easy decision in the best interests of the horse but that he felt badly for Torres.
The second chance materialized with Robusta getting in off the also-eligible list. O'Neill tapped Torres for the mount because Emisael Jaramillo was already booked to ride at Santa Anita Park in California on Saturday.
"It's been crazy," Torres said. "But I'm very happy to be here, and I'm grateful for Doug. He called me and gave me the chance to ride Robusta. Man, just grateful. Grateful with every opportunity that comes and very happy and very excited."
Torres is going into the biggest race of his career with limited knowledge of Robusta, who was second in the San Felipe Stakes on March 7 and seventh in the Santa Anita Derby on April 4.
"I've watched his replays, his races when he ran in California, but I'm not very close to the horse so I'm just going to watch the replays and see and talk with Doug and see what we can do," Torres said.
Robusta was the second-to-last horse eligible for the opening leg of the Triple Crown. Dallas Stewart's Corona de Oro would draw in if there are any additional scratches to the current field of 20 horses.
In addition to Right to Party and Silent Tactic, Brad Cox scratched Fulleffort after an X-ray revealed a chip and fluid in the colt's left hind ankle.
Right to Party was a vet scratch, not a choice made by McPeek and owner Chester Broman Sr.
"The safety and well-being of the racehorses training and competing in Kentucky are the center of everything we do," the Kentucky Horse Racing and Gaming Commission said in a statement.
"(The commission) closely monitors data pertaining to scratches, including those based on the advice of our regulatory veterinarians," the organization said. "It is one of the most difficult parts of the job, as we share the goal of each horse's connections for the horse to compete safely. … We all want what is best for the horse."