When the weather gets nice it means Derby Day isn’t far.
This year’s fastest two minutes in sports will once again land on the first Saturday in May, the sixth, with coverage on NBCS and later NBC.
The all-day affair at Churchhill Downs in Kentucky starts at noon with undercard races but the main event, as always, won’t post until 6:34 p.m.
The first leg of horce racing’s triple crown, the Kentucky Derby will pit 20 qualifiying horses against one another on the mile and 1/4 track.
The 2017 event will feature the first ever entrant from Japan in Sunday Silence. Among the early favorites is Girvin, which is the top point-earner after winning the Risen Star Stakes and Louisiana Derby. Another favorite is Classic Empire, which won the Breeders’ Cup Jubenile in 2016 and the Arkansas Derby.
Other horses with a good chance to win are Gormley, Irap, Irish War Cry, Always Dreaming, and Thunder Snow.
The other legs of the Triple Crown, the Preakness and Belmont Stakes take place later in the spring.
Here’s a look at the odds as of April 19:
Classic Empire – 9/2
Always Dreaming – 5/1
Irish War Cry – 13/2
McCraken – 10/1
Gunnevera – 12/1
Battalion Runner – 16/1
Irap – 16/1
Practical Joke – 16/1
Tapwrit – 16/1
Girvin – 18/1
Hence – 22/1
Malagacy – 22/1
J Boys Echo – 28/1
Battle of Midway – 40/1
Cloud Computing 40/1
Conquest Mo Money – 40/1
Lookin At Lee – 40/1
Patch – 40/1
Royal Mo – 50/1
State of Honor – 50/1
Untrapped – 50/1
Fast and Accurate – 66/1
