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Post Derby Comments & ANSWERS T0 DERBY NOTES & ISSUES TO PONDER:
--Weather was not an issue whatsoever! Nice sunny skies and a fast track!
--Unfortunately, Forte scratched on Derby day.  Reincarnate took his "15th" spot and didn't win.  Interestingly, Mage, who lost to Forte by one length, won the race from the eighth post.
--Nope! jockey Javier Castellano won.  Jose and Irad Jr., will have to wait until next year.
--Neither trainer Brad Cox nor trainer Todd Pletcher won the Derby.  Brad entered 4 horses.  With Forte being scratched, Pletcher's # of horses reduced from 3 to 2 horses.
--A semi-long shot won....15-1 odds.  After Rich Strike won at 80-1 odds last year, bettors bet down all long shots heavily.  Highest odds was 32-1 odds only; nowhere close to 80-1 odds.
--Record of no horse winning from the 17th position continues.  Horse #8 won the race.
--It's ALWAYS a good to keep an eye on the Derby prep races! As I mentioned in my analysis for Mage...Mage ran against Forte and lost to Forte only by a length.  So, in the chart below, notice that...On April 1st, in the Florida derby, Forte won and Mage came in second.  So, if you liked Forte, you should include Mage in your bets (especially with a better post than Mage).  I definitely included Mage in my bets.  
--Also, on Feb. 18th, Two Phil's came in third against Angel of Empire.  Notice that Two Phil's came in second in the Derby.  I mentioned in my analysis that Two Phil's should be included in your exactas since he only lost by a length to Angel of Empire.  Angel of Empire JUST missed to get second.

Other commentaries:
--On a positive note, it was nice to see a CLEAN start at the gate.  For a change, no horses got bumped! Definitely appreciated that! :-)
--Major chaos with 5 horses being scratched within 2 day of the Derby.  Handicappers (including myself) had to scramble to re-analyze and re-evaluate all the horses! Plus posting all the changes required additional time.  It's important to let the public viewers (like you) to know the latest and the greatest, correct!
--Was disappointed that Derma Sotogake didn't do much.  Having run a great wire-to-wire UAE race, I thought he could've performed much better.  This is my last time using UAE horses as top tier in my Derby picks.  Just isn't worth it. 

DERBY NOTES & ISSUES TO PONDER:
--Weather is expected to be nice and sunny on Derby day.  So, you don't have to worry which horse runs better on a wet surface!
--Forte is listed as the morning line favorite at 3-1 odds from the 15th position.  As indicated in the chart below, there have been 6 Derby winners from this post position!
--Neither of the Ortiz brothers has won the Derby.  Will Jose or Irad take it this year?
--Trainers Brad Cox and Todd Pletcher entered 4 horses and 3 horses respectively.  Will either of them win? Or, will it be somebody totally new?
--Rich Strike won last year at 80-1 odds from 20th post.  Could a long shot repeat again? If so, will it be from the inside post or outside post?
--No horse has ever won the Derby from the 17th post position.  In my selections, see my thoughts on Derma Sotogake!
--Prep races for the Derby started back in January.  Horses that finished in the top 3 positions are listed in the chart below.  Perhaps, taking a closer look could help you better determine the winner!

Why is it important to keep an eye on the above Derby prep races results? It's very important because it allows you to see different trends that may give you a better edge! Looking at these results deeper gives you a better picture of what's happening and which horses are on the improve and which are not.  I color-coded horses that ran more than once so that you can compare how they ran in earlier races versus later and how their odds kept on changing.!  Here are some insights:

--On January 1st, in the Smarty Jones race, Angel of Empire came in second at 18-1 odds.   In a later race, the horse won at 13-1 odds! For a $2.00 bet, it paid around $28.  So, you still got a decent price for a $2 bet.
--On January 21st, Confidence Game went off at 6-1 odds and finished third.  He improved well enough to win the Rebel Stakes at three times the odds: 18-1! If you liked this horse, you got a bigger bang for your buck!
--General Banker & Two Phil's odds remained about the same.
--Newgate, Reincarnate, and Red Route One's odds dropped significantly.  This may be because the bettors thought that these horses were on the improve and they bet on them more.
--Some horses improved from second position to a win.  Some horses remained in second position and some horses lost some zip from first to third.
--Most likely, these horses will continue to run in the remaining prep races; see below.  Hopefully, you can benefit from the above trends in the upcoming races!
--Also, notice the 2022 Derby Prep Races chart at the bottom of the page. Epicenter came in second in January.  He kept on improving and won the next two races! Guess who ALMOST won the derby last year? It was Epicenter!  He had the lead towards the finish line and Rich Strike edged him out to win at 80-1 odds!  Epicenter was a VERY good consistent horse that he became my top pick (back then)!

NOTE:  My top selection won the Derby last year!