Derby Day 2014

Happy Derby Day!  Man, it is gorgeous here in New York - it's warm, the sun is shining, they're back on the turf at Belmont....and the Rangers won in OT!!

For my horse-by-horse Derby preview and picks, I'm going to send you to the TimeformUS blog for my Today in Racing post.

In short, my pick is Uncle Sigh (30-1 ML).  He lost those two toughies to Samraat before breaking bad and getting hung wide on both turns in the Wood.  His TimeformUS figures are competitive and steadily improving; and the Wood was actually a career high.  I like that Contessa adds blinkers, which are intended, anyway, to help him focus and not to sharpen his early speed a la Palace Malice.  His horse has come up a bit short, so hey, why not take a shot to get him over the top?  He’s also been reshod to address minor foot problems.  Looked great in an unofficial work on Wednesday.  And he has some very interesting distance influence on his female side, as detailed here.

I'll play him to win and place.  For exotics, I'll use Samraat, California Chrome, Intense Holiday and, strictly defensively, Wicked Strong.  Maybe throw in Candy Boy and Ride On Curlin if I have any money left for deep exotics by that time of the day.

Best of luck and have a great day!