Kentucky Oaks gets a LATE Post Time as Derby Contenders gear up for Final Preps

It’s going to be a late night at Churchill Downs on the first Friday in May. The Kentucky Oaks will race under the lights and patrons must prepare for a long day at the track.

Last summer, we learned that Churchill Downs would make a move to primetime to cash in with a larger audience. The Kentucky Derby is annually one of the most-watched events on television, one of the few events that posts viewership numbers comparable to NFL football. Why not try double-dip?

The Kentucky Oaks has one of the highest-betting handles of the year, but the 6:30 post time prevents many bettors on the West Coast from making wagers and relegates the race to cable television. To give it a bigger platform, Churchill Downs agreed to move back the Kentucky Oaks to primetime, giving the fillies the NBC stage.

We were told it would be between the 8-9 p.m. ET time slot. It’s even later than expected. The Kentucky Oaks officially has a post time of 8:40 p.m. ET, the last sprint around the main track of a 13-race card that starts at 12:30 p.m. ET.

Derby Eve is traditionally the liveliest night of the year in the city of Louisville, with numerous parties and galas hosting celebrities for a night of cocktails before the Fastest Two Minutes in Sports. It’s also one of the most lucrative nights of the year for local restaurants. Folks in the service industry were justifiably livid when they learned the Oaks would not race until the sun went down.

Thanks to the late post time, those who wish to watch the Kentucky Oaks won’t get out of the track till well after 9 p.m. Good luck making it to a Derby party or a dinner reservation.

A Handful of Derby Preps Remain

You’ve probably heard this line before: “The Kentucky Derby is wide open.” That certainly applies this year, where a 3-year-old has yet to assert himself as the top thoroughbred in the division. There are only a few more proving grounds left, like next weekend’s Blue Grass Stakes. This weekend, we have two races on the Road to Kentucky Derby trail, the Florida Derby and the Arkansas Derby.

Down at Oaklawn, Bob Baffert’s Litmus Test could become the horse if it passes this one. A fourth-place finisher in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile, after a victory at Santa Anita, Litmus Test fell back to third in its last race. Mark Casse’s Silent Tactic may become a popular horse in Derby Day pools because of its closing style, which won him the Southwest Stakes at Oaklawn Park. Todd Pletcher has the 3-2 Arkansas Derby favorite, Renegade, whose speed figures continue to climb after a big win at Tampa Bay Downs.

There’s one horse in the Florida Derby who can make the case as my Kentucky Derby choice. Chief Wallabee is following the same path Sovereignty took. He has the same trainer (Bill Mott) and jockey (Junior Alvarado), but he came up a neck short in the Fountain of Youth. A win on Saturday will make Chief Wallabee one of the top contenders on the First Saturday in May.

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