post Blue Grass & Ark Derby future prices
 

I was curious how the books would evaluate the weekend races. Here are the current future prices at TheGreek:

1951 Big Brown +305
1952 Pyro +825
1953 Colonel John +605
1954 Tale of Ekati +2050
1955 Gayego +1815
1956 Monba +1815
1957 War Pass +1815
1958 Z Humor +3050
1959 Court Vision +2550
1960 Z Fortune +2050
1961 Adriano +3550
1962 Smooth Air +3550
1963 Salute the Sarge +5250
1964 Cool Coal Man +4050
1965 Cowboy Cal +4050
1966 Visionaire +3050
1967 Big Truck +4050
1968 Bob Black Jack +2550
1969 Denis of Cork +4550
1970 El Gato Malo +5250
1972 Hey Byrn +2550

"+2550" means 25.50 to 1.

TheGreek isn't overly impressed with either of the weekend winners, offering about 18-1 on each. And Cowboy Cal is dismissed at 40-1.

Pyro has slipped from 4-1 to more than 8-1. Odds on Big Brown have dropped from 4.65-1 to a shade over 3-1.

--Dunbar

Hey Byrn at 25.5-1 when he's not even gonna get in? That seems a little unethical to me to even offer that.

40-1 on cowboy cal is crazy...
its pletcher, its giants causeway.... he will be bet, just like he was bet in the bluegrass, from 15-1 to 8-1

Right. But it's trumped by the odds at Bookmaker.com, which still has over 200 horses listed. And Bodog still lists 30, including Hey Byrn at 50-1.

With these guys, you have to adjust your definition of "unethical" a bit. I did think it was unethical of CRIS (same as Bookmaker) to offer odds on a dead horse for weeks after the tragedy. (Midway Cat, 45-1, 2003; With A City, 75-1, 2006). TheGreek is actually pretty responsible about taking down lines when a horse is injured. They were usually faster than Pinnacle at reacting to news.

--Dunbar

They still have Salute the Sarge and El Gato Malo up too though.

Isn't he likely to go with a good performance in the Lexington on Saturday?

thats what i thought... llexington- then derby if he runs good at keenland

cowboy cal was the speed of the Bluegrass. He won't be the speed of the Ky derby

he does not need to be, dream trip in the derby right off of war pass, big brown and all the other speeds... john v sits around 5th, 3-7 lenghts off, and gets first jump

You're right. Hadn't noticed El Gato Malo.

--Dunbar

Now, I want Cowboy Cal to win the Derby worse than just about anyone I know, but let's be real.

Yes, he should get the dream setup and the perfect trip with his tactical speed and his style, and like you said, he should be sitting in a spot to get the first crack at the speed.

However, a dream trip will never eliminate the fact that he simply doesn't appear fast enough to win even with the perfect setup.

I will be thrilled to be wrong on this, however, but I doubt that I will be.