Un Ojo, a one-eyed horse, will try to pull off a colossal upset when he leaves the starting gate in the 2022 Kentucky Derby on Saturday, May 7 at Churchill Downs. Un Ojo, whose name in Spanish translates to “one eye,” earned his name after the colt lost an eye in an accident as a yearling. He has two wins and two seconds in seven career starts and is coming off an eighth-place finish in the Arkansas Derby. He’s a 130-1 long shot in the 2022 Kentucky Derby odds. Epicenter is the 5-1 favorite in the 2022 Kentucky Derby field. The 2022 Kentucky Derby post draw is Tuesday, May 2. With the Kentucky Derby 2022 featuring the largest field in North American racing, you’ll want to see what astute racing reporter and analyst Michelle Yu has to say before making any 2022 Kentucky Derby picks.
Few people in racing are as connected as Yu. An on-air host and reporter who has provided racing analysis for TVG, HRTV and the Breeders’ Cup, Yu has spent a lifetime in racing. Prior to her television career, she worked for trainers Steve Asmussen and Ron Moquett. She also is married to Santa Anita-based trainer Ryan Hanson.
She also has tremendous handicapping chops. In the 2011 Kentucky Derby, she correctly tabbed Animal Kingdom to win at a hefty 21-1. In the 2017 Breeders’ Cup, she nailed 11-1 long shot Wuheida to win the Filly and Mare Turf. Last year in a wide-open Kentucky Derby, she gave out Medina Spirit, who crossed the finish line first, as the winner at 12-1.
Since joining SportsLine in November, her picks have cashed in six of 12 races, including the exacta in the Breeders’ Cup Classic. Anyone who has followed her is way up.
Now, Yu has handicapped the 2022 Kentucky Derby odds, made her picks and constructed her bets. Click here to see them.
Top 2022 Kentucky Derby predictions
One surprise: Yu is tossing Messier, even though he is one of the top 2022 Kentucky Derby favorites at 6-1. One of three 2022 Kentucky Derby horses listed at 6-1, Named after former NHL great Mark Messier, the equine Messier has three wins and three seconds in six career starts. In his last race, he finished second to Taiba in the Santa Anita Derby despite having every chance to hold him off.
Messier has lost twice as a heavy favorite, and Yu does not trust him at a relatively short price in the Kentucky Derby 2022. “He was bested by Taiba in that [Santa Anita] race pretty handily, he has been defeated before as a favorite and, while he had one brilliant race [against four rivals], I think his odds are too low to back him,” she told SportsLine. Yu will not have Messier in her 2022 Kentucky Derby bets.
Instead, Yu is high on Charge It, even though he is a 20-1 long shot. Charge It has raced just three times, and only Santa Anita Derby winner Taiba (two) has fewer starts in the 2022 Kentucky Derby lineup. Two starts ago, Charge It broke his maiden at Gulfstream Park with an impressive 8 1/2-length win.
In his last start, he stepped up in class in the Florida Derby and finished second despite leaving the gate slowly and failing to run straight down the stretch. “Charge It was ultra-green in his last race, which was also his stakes debut, his first try versus winners, and just his third career start, but still managed to out-finish a bevy of runners with more experience to run second,” Yu told SportsLine. Yu is including Charge It among her 2022 Kentucky Derby sleepers.
How to make 2022 Kentucky Derby picks, bets
Yu is high on three other horses, including an enormous long shot you need to see now. Yu says this long shot “always comes running in the end” and will appear in all of her exotics, potentially setting up a huge payday. She is including this horse in her 2022 Kentucky Derby bets, and so should you. She’s sharing which horses to back only at SportsLine.
So who wins the 2022 Kentucky Derby? Which enormous long shot is a must-back? Check out the Kentucky Derby odds 2022 below, then visit SportsLine to see Yu’s picks for the Kentucky Derby, all from the expert who nailed last year’s winner on Derby Day.
Discussion about this post