Logo Placement

While it may still be early with the 2011 Breeders Cup Classic right around the corner, there are more than a few sports betting horse race fanatics that are already looking ahead to the 2012 Kentucky Derby. The fall championship season of thoroughbred racing is already upon us, and with that in mind there are a handful of top two-year olds to keep an eye on as possible front-runners for next year’s big race at Churchill Downs. One event that will be key to focusing in on the top contenders will be the $2 million Breeders’ Cup Juvenile race on November 5^th, set on the same track as the annual first leg of the Triple Crown.

Nine of the past 10 Derby winners have won a pay head race by the end of October the previous year, with Smarty Jones the only Kentucky Derby winner to not break its maiden before the end of that month. With that said, Drill, Motor City, and Creative Cause are all among the top horses heading in to the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile race that have already clinched their maiden victory, and are worth keeping an eye on as the championship season passed through. Creative Cause won the Grade 2 Best Pal at Del Mar earlier this year, and placed second in the Del Mar Futurity, while Motor City finished third at the Grade III Arlington-Washington Futurity despite being forced to go six-wide in the race. Motor City is also the gelded son of 2007 Derby winner Street Sense, so it has the blood of a winner. However, the most impressive two-year old this season has been Drill, which won the Del Mar Futurity under Bob Baffert. That win was as impressive as they come, and with a strong intertops stable and supporting staff, Drill could be an early Derby favorite.