While the featured prep race for this year's upcoming Kentucky Derby takes place Saturday at Keeneland Race Course in Lexington, Ky., via the $1 million Grade 1 Toyota Blue Grass Stakes, two other big events will be run as well.
Eight Derby hopefuls will duke it out in the $750,000 Grade 2 Wood Memorial Stakes at Aqueduct Racetrack in Queens, N.Y., plus we have the $750,000 Grade 1 Runhappy Santa Anita Derby in Arcadia, Calif., being contested.
The field is set for the #WoodMemorial presented by @ResortsWorldNYC!
Who are you betting on? 🤩 pic.twitter.com/czIPInm3wX
— NYRA (🗽) (@TheNYRA) April 6, 2022
The winner of each 1 1/8-mile event on the dirt will earn 100 points, which guarantees each horse and its connections a spot in the starting gate for the Derby. Finishing second in either race is good for 40 points, which almost assures those horses a shot at the Derby crown.
Action Network handicapper Jeremy Pond takes a quick look at the Wood Memorial field and unveils his top picks, plus an array of exotic wagers from both races on the busy card.
2022 Wood Memorial Odds
*Latest Odds via TVG
| PP | HORSE | ODDS (MORNING LINE) | JOCKEY |
|---|---|---|
| 1 — Mo Donegal | 5-2 | Joel Rosario |
| 2 — Golden Code | 15-1 | Kendrick Carmouche |
| 3 — Early Voting | 5-2 | Jose Ortiz |
| 4 — Long Term | 20-1 | Javier Castellano |
| 5 — Morello | 8-5 | Jose Lezcano |
| 6 — Skippylongstocking | 15-1 | Junior Alvarado |
| 7 — A. P'S Secret | 20-1 | Manuel Franco |
| 8 — Barese | 8-1 | Dylan Davis |
Race Information
Date | Post Time: Saturday | 4:45 p.m. ET
Distance | Surface: 1 1/8 miles | Dirt
Location: Aqueduct Racetrack | Queens, N.Y.
Wood Memorial Top Picks & Longshots
No. 1 Mo Donegal (5-2): Meet my top selection.
With all the talk about race favorite Morello (8-5) and Early Voting taking place, someone is taking a slight backseat. And that someone could be the horse who gives trainer Todd Pletcher his seventh Wood Memorial win.
The standout colt has had more than a two-month layoff after coming up ill before his scheduled start in the Fountain of Youth Stakes at Gulfstream Park, so he will definitely be fresh. Mo Donegal has also won on this track — and at this distance — so he's familiar with the layout and surface.
Throw in the fact Joel Rosario, who's arguably the top jockey in North America at the moment, rides and you have a live contender that's likely to go off at around 3-1 or 4-1 odds.
.@jose93_ortiz takes EARLY VOTING on a wire-to-wire trip in the Withers (G3) and earns 10 points towards the Kentucky Derby! #TheBigApic.twitter.com/yadPEokYg0
— NYRA (🗽) (@TheNYRA) February 5, 2022
No. 3 Early Voting (5-2): Trainer Chad Brown would love to steal the thunder from the Pletcher barn. And needless to say it wouldn't shock anyone if he pulled it off with the Withers Stakes winner.
Early Voting cruised to the win in that race, which came on this track at the same distance as the Wood. He probably would have won even more handily than he did if he maintained a straight line coming the down the stretch.
That said, you'd figure Early Voting has been able to work out the kinks and won't be "green" this time around. Regardless, he has put in some nice works in the lead-up to the race and jockey Jose Ortiz is the right man for this horse.
Longshot — No. 2 Golden Code (15-1): This is strictly a jockey-race betting angle when it comes to this longshot.
Golden Code gets Kendrick Carmouche in the irons, which definitely doesn't hurt the outsider's chances considering it was this rider who piloted 72-1 longshot Bourbonic to the win in last year's Wood Memorial. He was third in the Gotham Stakes for Pletcher, so don't leave his charge off your tickets.
Wood Memorial Best Bets
$10 Win | Place | Show: No. 1 Mo Donegal (5-2)
$4 Exacta Box: 1-3-5-8
$1 Trifecta Box: 1-2-3-5-8
Exotic Wagering
(Races 7-8)
Daily Double
Stakes Race | Wood Memorial
1-3-5-9 | 1-3-5
2022 Santa Anita Derby Odds
*Latest Odds via TVG
| PP | HORSE | ODDS (MORNING LINE) | JOCKEY |
|---|---|---|
| 1 — Happy Jack | 20-1 | Abel Cedillo |
| 2 — Armagnac | 20-1 | Drayden Van Dyke |
| 3 — Forbidden Kingdom | 6-5 | Juan Hernandez |
| 4 — Messier | 1-1 | John Velazquez |
| 5 — Win The Day | 20-1 | Umberto Rispoli |
| 6 — Taiba | 4-1 | Mike Smith |
Race Information
Date | Post Time: Saturday | 5:30 p.m. ET
Distance | Surface: 1 1/8 miles | Dirt
Location: Santa Anita Park | Arcadia, Calif.
Santa Anita Best Bets
$8 Win | Place | Show: No. 4 Messier (1-1)
$4 Exacta Box: 3-4-6
$ 1.50 Trifecta: 3-4 over 1-2-3-4-5-6 over 1-2-3-4-5-6
Full speed ahead on the #RoadtotheDerby! Here's a look at the current Kentucky Derby Leaderboard led by Epicenter with 164 points.
Upcoming prep races on 4/9:
Toyota Blue Grass @keeneland
Santa Anita Derby @SantaAnitaPark
Wood Memorial at Aqueduct pic.twitter.com/MeAO4mXYt6— TVG (@TVG) April 6, 2022
Road to the 2022 Kentucky Derby
| DATE | STAKES RACE (GRADE) | TRACK (POINTS) OR WINNER |
|---|---|---|
| Jan. 22 | Lecomte (Grade III) | Call Me Midnight |
| Jan. 29 | Southwest (III) | Newgrange |
| Feb. 5 | Holy Bull (III) | White Abarrio |
| Feb. 5 | Withers (III) | Early Voting |
| Feb. 6 | Robert B. Lewis (III) | Messier |
| Feb. 12 | Sam F. Davis (III) | Classic Causeway |
| Feb. 12 | El Camino Real Derby | Blackadder |
| Feb. 19 | Risen Star (III) | Epicenter |
| Feb. 26 | Rebel (II) | Un Ojo |
| March 5 | John Battaglia Memorial | Tiz the Bomb |
| March 5 | Fountain of Youth (II) | Simplification |
| March 5 | San Felipe (II) | Forbidden Kingdom |
| March 5 | Gotham (II) | Morello |
| March 12 | Tampa Bay Derby (II) | Classic Causeway |
| March 26 | UAE Derby | Crown Pride |
| March 26 | Louisiana Derby (II) | Epicenter |
| March 27 | Sunland Derby (III) | Slow Down Andy |
| April 2 | Florida Derby (I) | White Abarrio |
| April 2 | Arkansas Derby (I) | Cyberknife |
| April 2 | Jeff Ruby Steaks (III) | Tiz the Bomb |
| April 9 | Wood Memorial (II) | Aqueduct (100-40-20-10) |
| April 9 | Blue Grass (II) | Keeneland (100-40-20-10) |
| April 9 | Santa Anita Derby (I) | Santa Anita Park (100-40-20-10) |
| April 16 | Lexington (III) | Keeneland (100-40-20-10) |
