Kentucky Derby Still Looking for Big Favorite
The hype for the Kentucky Derby 2011 is slowly getting underway. This weekend, the Run for the Roses will take center stage, along with horse racing's Triple Crown in general. Every winner is pegged as the next great hope to end the three-decade long Triple Crown drought, yet there's no one great hopeful that stands out right now. Like last year, the field in Churchill Downs is wide open, so even big underdogs may have a good shot on Saturday.

There was one seemingly safe favorite in Uncle Mo until he fell in an upset at the Wood Memorial. As such, he might not be the initial favorite this week, as Dialed In has emerged as the likely top choice. Despite having only run four starts, Dialed In has won the Florida Derby and is overseen by two-time Derby-winning trainer Nick Zito.

Any horse run by Calvin Borel is guaranteed to be one to watch out for these days. This time, the jockey has Twice The Appeal, which looks to give Borel his fourth win at Churchill Downs in five years. Of course, there's only so many times that Borel can ride the rails at the end without someone blocking him.


Toby's Corner got a major boost by defeating Uncle Mo at the Wood Memorial, but will it turn out to be a fluke? Archarcharch has been battle-tested by racing in every month since November, yet will the long schedule catch up to him?

Technically, the field isn't even set in stone yet, since injuries can still take some contenders down beforehand. In 2010, early favorite Eskendereya had to be scratched, but this year's contenders still seem to be standing right now.

Last year was considered one of the most wide open Derbies ever, and this year's race could top even that. It didn't look that way when Uncle Mo was dominating, but his newfound vulnerability at the Wood Memorial has thrown things off balance.

This probably won't give fans much hope that this will be the year for a Triple Crown winner. Despite an unpredictable race ahead Saturday, the sport might benefit more from having one dominant contender, and one that could do what no horse has done in over 30 years. But, for the moment, that doesn't look likely.

Although Triple Crown winners are exceedingly rare, there is always one winner immortalized at the Kentucky Derby. It just happens to be hard to find a likely one this year, and that may be the case up to post time late Saturday afternoon.
Source:Yahoo