Big price Kentucky Derby winner

Oppose the jolly at Churchill Downs

The 143^rd renewal of the Kentucky Derby goes on Saturday, and you can bet on the dirt racing spectacular right here at Coral. Click now for a check-up on the current prices, and to back your winner at Churchill Downs.

Favourites have a solid reputation for winning this race, and a check through the recent results of the grade one contest shows that each of the last four renewals have been won by the SP jolly. That will be difficult for backers to ignore, but five in-a-row is a rare occurrence, opening the door for a shot at value.

Always Dreaming goes into the week at the head of our antepost market, and punters eager to follow that early hint and take the shortest price in the race still have plenty to get excited about, with our traders giving an eye-catching 9/2. Is that where the value lies? We have picked three horses at punter-friendly prices to take the fav on with. Odds mentioned are correct at the time of writing.

Classic Empire @ 6/1

Classic Empire leads the chasing pack, currently available at 6/1 with Coral at the time of writing. He was a real standout as a juvenile, and is widely-expected to carry that success into 2017. A CV showing five wins from seven starts, the three-year-old was last seen winning the Arkansas Derby Stakes at Oaklawn in his second trip this year. I was surprised to see he wasn’t early favourite in the betting, and those looking to take Always Dreaming on can back Classic Empire with confidence.

Gunnevera @ 14/1

Another overlooked a bit too easily for my liking and those in the know wouldn’t be shocked to see him go and cause an upset here. There’s reason for connections to enter the race with confidence, and although he only placed third in the Florida Derby recently, excuses can be made for the bare result, and I am happy enough to give him another shot. He finished with a flurry that day, and if given a better start this time, he’ll go very close. If you are going in, expect him to sit patiently in the wings before delivering a challenge at the business end of the race.