Making a Kentucky bet on Homeboykris could be a little bit risky in the 136th running of the Kentucky Derby. The horse did win the Grade 1 Champagne last year but he has not raced since finishing second at Gulfstreak back in late February. Horses off a long layoff usually don’t fare well vs. the Kentucky odds.
Kentucky bet odds are going to list Homeboykris as a big longshot for the Kentucky Derby on Saturday, May 1st. The horse worked six furlongs in 1:14 at Gulfstream Park on Wednesday. He went in fractions of 12.20 seconds, 24.80, 37.00, 49.40, and 1:01.80. “The rider said he went good so we’re good right now,” said trainer Rick Dutrow Jr. “We’re just winging it with him at the moment. The weather has been bad down here but we had a chance to breeze him today so we breezed him.”
Dutrow won the Kentucky Derby two years ago with Big Brown but this time he really doesn’t have a horse that looks like a contender. Homeboykris would be a huge surprise winner in the Derby. He is expected to work out at least a couple more times before the Derby. “I’d like to breeze him here on the 20th, we’ll just have to see how early the flight is,” said Dutrow. “If he gets one more work here, he’ll likely work just once more in Kentucky.”
Going into the Kentucky Derby with a nine-week layoff is not the way to prepare a horse for the biggest race of the year but Dutrow isn’t changing anything. “I am training him the same basic way I train all my horses,” said Dutrow.
Homeboykris is currently 40-1 in Kentucky Derby odds and those odds could go higher before the race. The horse really does not look like a contender based on his recent form. And history has shown that horses coming into the Kentucky Derby off long layoffs are bad bets. That fact alone makes Homeboykris a risk Kentucky bet on Saturday, May 1st. The horse has not won a race since October of last year. He has finished 5th, 5th and 2nd in his last three races and those were not even high profile Kentucky Derby prep races. Because the horse is trained by Dutrow who won the Derby with Big Brown he might get a little action but on paper it doesn’t appear he has much of a chance to win.