Nadal Kentucky Derby 146 Favorite

Happy Valentines Day! Have you met Nadal, the Kentucky Derby 146 favorite? At the midpoint of February we can narrow down 2020 Kentucky Derby favorites.

When it comes to the Kentucky Derby 146, a Bob Baffert trained horse is usually one of the favorites to win the race because of the success the Hall of Fame trainer has had at Churchill Downs over the years. This year, Nadal looks like one of the best horses Baffert has going into the Derby after surviving a big test on Saturday at the San Vicente Stakes.

Nadal made his second start at the race and was hounded by Ginobili for most of the race before inching away at the end to get the win.

“I figured they would take it to him, although I didn’t think they would go that fast,” Baffert said, referring to fractions of :21.01 and :44.09 for the opening half mile. “I told [Joel Rosario], ‘Don’t get cute with him today. Let’s get this out of the way. Don’t grab him today. We can rate him another day. If he’s going to get beat, let him get beat.’

“I really trained him light for this race. I wanted him to have to gut it out. Those good horses, they find a way.”

Nadal Kentucky Derby 2020 Betting Odds

Nadal has been drawing a lot of comparison to Justify, the Triple Crown winner in 2018, which had a late debut before going on to win the Kentucky Derby, Preakness, and Belmont stakes. Favorite, Nadal made his debut at Santa Anita on January 19, while Justify made his debut on February 18.
“Now he’s ready. I got a good foundation. He’ll get a lot out of that,” Baffert said. “That was a strong race for him and he got to gut it out. You want to see that.” How will he fair at Kentucky Derby 146?

Due to his debut in February, Justify only had three races before going on to win the Triple Crown. With Nadal making his debut a month earlier, he will get to enter four races before he is expected to make his debut at the Kentucky Derby.