Big Brown the big favorite for 134th Kentucky Derby

Sportsbetting.com offers 100 % match bonus for Derby bettors

May 1, 2008/By Rob Gerein

The 134th running of the Kentucky Derby, the first leg of the Triple Crown, takes place Saturday and Horse-Racing Betting fans will have a full field of 20 thoroughbreds to choose from at Churchill Downs.

Sportsbetting.com, which has a wide array of Kentucky Derby wagers including props and matchups, has unbeaten Florida Derby winner Big Brown as a 3-2 favorite to win the Run for the Roses. The next favorite is Colonel John, winner of the Santa Anita Derby, at 7-2, followed by Pyro at 5-1.

And Sportsbetting.com is celebrating “the most exciting two minutes in sports” with a 100 per cent match bonus. Bettors who make a deposit anytime up until 12 pm EST on Saturday and place a bet of $50 or more on any race over the Friday and Saturday lineup at Churchill Downs, will receive a 100 per cent bonus on their deposit, up to $100.

Big Brown and Colonel John are ranked 1-2 in the final Top 10 list released before the Derby by The Associated Press.

Big Brown has raced just three times but has won all three starts by a total of 29 lengths. Big Brown, trained by Richard Dutrow Jr., will be trying to become the first thoroughbred since Regret to win the Derby with so few starts. Regret accomplished that feat in 1915.

Colonel John won the 71st running of the Santa Anita by just half a length but ran the final three-eighths of a mile in 35 1/5 seconds. The son of two-time Breeders’ Cup Classic winner Tiznow, Colonel John is trained by Eoin Harty.

Pyro, who was considered by some observers to be the favorite until finishing 10th in the Blue Grass Stakes at Keeneland on April 12. Pyro is ranked sixth in the AP Poll and is also +500 to win.

Another favorite, War Pass, is out of the Derby after suffering a non-life threatening fracture in his left front ankle that will keep him out of action until the fall. War Pass was the reigning 2-year-old champion and had the highest graded earnings of any horse in the field.

The Kentucky Derby is considered the longest continuing sports event in the U.S., having been held every year since 1875. The Derby is a 1¼ mile race for three-year-old purebred horses.

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