Want to ‘bet the gray’ in Kentucky Derby? Here’s your horse, plus other unique storylines.
For the amateur Kentucky Derby bettor, horse color might be more important than pedigree, past performances or track conditions.
It’s that group the adage “always bet the gray” appeals to. For the 2024 Kentucky Derby field, the choice is easy if you’re planning to bet the gray, but there is risk involved.
Even if color is not your preferred betting rationale, there is no shortage of other unique storylines that might lead to a Derby rooting interest. Here is what you need to know about three of those horses.
The gray horse in the 2024 Kentucky Derby
No gray or roan horse has won the Derby since Giacomo in 2005. A year ago, the 2023 field tied the Derby record with five gray or roan horses but none finished better than fifth. Even 2021 Derby favorite Essential Quality needed a disqualification to become the most recent gray or roan horse to finish in the top three of the race.
But if gray horse enthusiasts win their bets this year, they should be in store for a nice payday. West Saratoga, the only gray horse in the field, was listed at 50-1 in the morning-line odds.
West Saratoga is 2-5-1 in 10 career starts and finished second in his most recent race, the Grade 2 Jeff Ruby Steaks at Turfway Park. West Saratoga has finished on the board in each of his three starts this year, but only three gray or roan horses other than Essential Quality have finished on the board since Giacomo’s win.
Of the first 149 Kentucky Derby champions, eight were gray or roan.
West Saratoga is likely to attract more interest as his trainer, Larry Demeritte, is set to be the first Black trainer in the Derby since 1989.
A rooting interest for baseball fans
One of five co-owners of Dornoch is Two Eight Racing, which is owned by former Major League Baseball outfielder Jayson Werth. Two Eight Racing’s name is a reference to Werth’s No. 28 jersey from his baseball career.
“Racing became a passion and a love really fast for me,” Werth told Thoroughbred Daily News. “It started out with me thinking this is fun, let’s claim this horse for $8,000. But I found out that’s like playing in the minor leagues. It’s not where you want to be.”
Werth, 44, played 15 seasons in the majors for the Toronto Blue Jays, Los Angeles Dodgers, Philadelphia Phillies and Washington Nationals. He was a 2009 All-Star and received MVP votes four times. With the Phillies, Werth won the 2008 World Series.
Werth launched his horse racing career in 2021, three years after retiring from baseball.
In Dornoch, which Werth co-owns with West Paces Racing, R.A. Hill Stable, Belmar Racing and Breeding and Pine Racing Stables, Werth already has his first Kentucky Derby horse.
Dornoch, named for the Royal Dornoch Golf Club in Scotland, finished fourth in the Blue Grass Stakes in his last race after winning the Remsen Stakes at Aqueduct in December and the Fountain of Youth Stakes at Gulfstream Park in March. Dornoch is a full brother to 2023 Kentucky Derby winner Mage.
Two chances for first Japanese Kentucky Derby winner
Japanese horses have become more prominent in the Derby in recent years with four starting the race since 2019, but none has finished better than sixth.
There are two Japanese-breds in the field this year: Forever Young and T O Password. Both are great grandsons of 1989 Kentucky Derby winner Sunday Silence.
Of the two Japanese-breds, Forever Young appears to be the more likely to hit the board with 10-1 morning-line odds. Forever Young, undefeated in five starts, is coming off a win in the UAE Derby on March 30. None of the 19 horses to come to the Kentucky Derby from the UAE Derby have finished better than fifth in the Run for the Roses, but Forever Young’s pedigree does suggest he should be able to handle the Kentucky Derby’s 1 1/4 miles.
T O Password enters the Derby with just two career races, both wins. Leonatus in 1883 is the only horse to win the Kentucky Derby with just two previous starts.
No foreign-born horse has hit the board in the Derby since Great Britain-bred Bold Arrangement finished second in 1989. No horse bred outside of North America has won the Derby since Great Britain-bred Tomy Lee in 1959.
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