2011 Louisiana Derby Picks - Winner and Trifecta

Written by Jake Thompson
Saturday, 26 March 2011 20:05

Horse racing picks on the winner of the Louisiana Derby are ready.

We’ll outline our favorite horses and make some horse racing picks and tips in the 2011 Louisiana Derby race.  There are some premier 2011 Kentucky Derby contenders amongst the entries for this year’s Louisiana Derby, and we think the horses we are about ready to go over will out-perform their foes today.  Post time of the 2011 Louisiana Derby is set for 5:03 PM ET and the race will be 9 furlongs on dirt at the Fair Grounds Race Course in New Orleans, Louisiana.  This is a Kentucky Derby preview race with Grindstone (1996) and Black Gold (1924) winning the Kentucky Derby after claiming a Louisiana Derby victory.

Entries for the 2011 Kentucky Derby, listed in order of their post position (from 1-12), are Nacho Business (10/1), Pants on Fire (10/1), Nehro (30/1), Mavericking (20/1), Mucho Macho Man (9/5), Liondrive (50/1), Machen (7/2), Majestic Harbor (12/1), Le Mans (20/1), Wilkinson (8/1), Left (10/1), Elite Alex (6/1), and Populist Politics (30/1).

Mucho Macho Man is the race favorite and has to be considered in your Louisiana Derby trifecta because of his steady improvement and the fact that he won the Risen Star Stakes on his same Fair Grounds Race Course.  Although I’m not playing him to win because there are other capable horses, it would be silly to think that he wouldn’t be one of the top few finishers this afternoon.

Machen is getting plenty of bets to win the Louisiana Derby but I don’t think I’m going to bother putting any money on him.  He’s a dirt horse that has ran all of his career races on this track, but ultimately his 4th place showing in the Risen Star Stakes has me believing that other horses are simply stronger in this field.  Familiarity with the track simply doesn’t justify making a wager at 7/2.

Wilkinson is a better bet to finish in the top 3 and his last 3 races have been at Fair Grounds, including a 1st place finish in the Lecomte Stakes at the end of January.  Wilkinson is proven at these longer distance races and his 8/1 odds will surely help our trifecta payout.

Elite Alex is my bet to win the Louisiana Derby and he comes in off a 3rd place finish in the Southwest Stakes.  He’s never raced at Fair Grounds and you might all be scratching your head about why I like him so much here.  There isn’t a horse in the field outside of possibly Mucho Macho Man that has this much potential, and I think he’ll finally take the big step forward that his sire Afleet Alex took around this time in his development.  Elite Alex has been up against some of the premier Kentucky Derby contenders and I think with his big jump forward and a slightly easier field than the Southwest Stakes, he’ll be able to come out ahead and pull off a nice upset.

Louisiana Derby Picks:

1 – Elite Alex

2 – Mucho Macho Man

3 - Wilkinson