I have never been to the actual Kentucky Derby but I have been to Churchill Downs a few times and was lucky enough to go on Oaks Day one year which was quite the swanky affair I must say!  Our hats were big and our Lilly glasses were full.

I honestly didn’t know an awful lot about horse racing.  My Dad and my Grandfather loved the horses.  I remember hearing that my Grandfather always picked number 8 – so when ever I am at the track I always pick number 8 to honor him (but I have yet to win … thanks Poppa T.!!)  This years number 8 is called Game Winner … which could be a bit over  confident … but I’m going to go with it anyway.

How do you pick your horses?  By number? By color? Favorite name?  OR do you actually know your horses and truly pick the one most qualified to win.   Have a look below to see this years group.

Rank, horse,  trainer, jockey

1. Tacitus,  Bill Mott, Jose Ortiz

2. Omaha Beach, Richard Mandella, Mike Smith

3. Vekoma, George Weaver, Javier Castellano

4. Plus Que Parfait,  Brendan Walsh, Ricardo Santana Jr.

5. Roadster,  Bob Baffert, Florent Geroux

6. By My Standards,  Bret Calhoun, Gabriel Saez

7. Maximum Security,  Jason Servis, Luis Saez

8. Game Winner,  Bob Baffert, Joel Rosario

9. Code of Honor,  Shug McGaughey, John Velazquez

10. Haikal, Kiaran McLaughlin, Rajiv Maragh

11. Improbable,  Bob Baffert, Irad Ortiz Jr.

12. War of Will, Mark Casse, Tyler Gaffalione

13. Long Range Toddy, Steve Asmussen, Jon Court

14. Tax,  Danny Gargan, Junior Alvarado

15. Cutting Humor,  Todd Pletcher, Corey Lanerie

16. Win Win Win,  Michael Trombetta, Julian Pimentel

17. Country House,  Bill Mott, Flavien Prat

18. Gray Magician, Peter Miller, Drayden Van Dyke

19. Spinoff,  Todd Pletcher, Manny Franco

20. Master Fencer,  Koichi Tsunoda, Julien Leparoux