Horse Racing

With what many are calling the deepest field in years, the 144th Kentucky Derby is set to go on Saturday from Churchill Downs. The 1 1/4 mile race on the Churchill dirt features a pair of colts trying to defy race history, a dangerous invader coming over from Europe, and 17 others looking to make their name as Kentucky Derby champion.

After more than 30 qualifying races for the 2018 Kentucky Derby, field is set for the Run for the Roses on Saturday. The top three-year-old colts in North America and one European invader will go to the track to race 1 1/4 miles on the Churchill Downs dirt track, chasing a purse of $2 million. Here's how they'll line up in the gate.

The most important race for three-year-old fillies in North America, the 2018 Kentucky Oaks is set to go on Friday from Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky. The race has drawn a full field of 14, and they'll be running 1 1/8 miles on the dirt for a total purse of $1 million, with $600,000 to the winner.

While lower-priced horses have been winning the Kentucky Derby over the past few years, it has actually been nine years since the last time the favorite won the race. For a 20-year stretch from 1980 to 1999 the post-time favorite was beaten every time, and eight times during that stretch the winner was in double-digit odds.

He spent part of his juvenile season racing on turf, and wasn't even nominated for the Kentucky Derby at the start of the year, but things changed for Flameaway when he won the (G3) Sam Davis Stakes on the dirt at Tampa Bay Downs in February. While he's definitely a Kentucky Derby longshot, he's also a very difficult horse to beat.

The post-position draw for the 2018 Kentucky Derby took place on Tuesday, and barring any last-minute scratches, the 20-horse field is now set for Saturday's race from Churchill Downs. While every colt in the field has shown talent to get there, some clearly have a better chance of winning than others, and here are 10 that will not be getting to the wire first.

With the post-position draw in the books, and the morning line odds being set, it's time to get down to the nuts-and-bolts of handicapping the 2018 Kentucky Oaks. Fourteen three-year-old fillies are set to go to the gate at Churchill Downs on Friday, racing 1 1/8 miles on the dirt for a total purse of $1 million.

One of the more versatile and well-travelled colts in the 2018 Kentucky Derby field, Enticed has won on three different race tracks at three different distances throughout his career. He has made five consecutive starts in graded-stakes races and finished in the money in four of them, and that kind of consistency makes him a wild card to pull the upset in the 2018 Kentucky Derby.

Despite the fact the 2018 Kentucky Oaks is expected to include two strong favorites in Midnight Bisou and Monomoy Girl, a look back at 2017 can provide hope for the longshots. Last year, favored Paradise Woods finished 11th, while second favorite Farrell was dead last of 14. Able Tasman won at odds of 9-1, and the rest of the top four were all in double-digits.