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Kentucky Derby Betting: If you’re looking for an experienced horse to bet on at the Kentucky Derby, then My Boy Jack is the horse for you. This will be his 11th start in less than a year, a rarity for horses at this stage of their careers.
It took a considerable amount of time for My Boy Jack to pick up his first win. He failed to win in all three of his maiden races and finished runner-up at his first listed race, the Del-Mar Juvenile Turf Stakes. He finally broke into the Winner’s Circle at the Zuma Beach Stakes at Santa Anita, and he was entered into the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf.
My Boy Jack did not have a great performance there, finishing in seventh place. Rather than give up on his chances, his owners doubled down and decided to enter him in four races in 2018 in order to get him the points needed to run at the Derby.
He finished third at the Sham Stakes and the Louisiana Derby, but My Boy Jack was able to win both the Southwest Stakes and the Lexington Stakes. None of those races were Grade 1 Stakes though.
The Kentucky Derby will go to post on Saturday, May 5, 2018 at 6:34 p.m. ET at Churchill Downs in Louisville. Catch the Kentucky Derby live on NBC.
My Boy Jack
Career Record: 3-3-2
Career Earnings: $645,145
Kentucky Derby Points: 52
Kentucky Derby Odds at BookMaker.eu: +2252
My Boy Jack does not have the pedigree that many of the horses in this field possess. He is the most successive progeny of Creative Cause, a horse that finished in third place at the 2012 Preakness Stakes. My Boy Jack’s dam is Gold N Shaft.
This horse is a Desormeaux family enterprise. Keith Desormeaux is the trainer of My Boy Jack, and this will be the third horse he has taken to the Kentucky Derby. The first horse he took to Triple Crown events was Exaggerator, who finished second at the Derby and won the Preakness Stakes in 2016. Last year’s big was Sonneteer, who did not fare as well.
Keith’s brother Kent will be the jockey of My Boy Jack. Kent Desormeaux is one of the best active jockeys today, and he has ridden eight horses to top-three finishes at the Kentucky Derby. His last win came on Big Brown in 2008.
Why My Boy Jack Will Win the Kentucky Derby
Experience. My Boy Jack has it in spades, and that is the main reason to wager on him. He has faced a number of horses on a total of five different tracks and is familiar with racing in larger fields.
Why My Boy Jack Won't Win the Kentucky Derby
The horse did not enter a Grade I Stakes Race in 2018, and that’s typically a pretty big red flag. After his poor performance at his lone Grade 1 Stakes Race, the Breeders Cup’ Juvenile Turf, they decided to play the points game with My Boy Jack and have him run against a number of weaker fields in Grade 2 and Grade 3 Races. He did not face the other top horses this year, and that’s worrisome.
Additionally, his speed ratings are not good. My Boy Jack has yet to crack 100 and he was rated at a 94 after his win at the Lexington Stakes. That’s not good.
The Final Verdict
If you can’t tell, this is a horse I’m going to stay far away from. Although he has a good trainer and a great jockey, the horse just doesn’t have the talent to finish anywhere close to the top of the field at Churchill Downs.
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2018 Kentucky Derby Contenders
