Paulick Derby Index

Essentially a Top 20 poll for derby contenders, Ray Paulick takes 10 votes from 28 leading handicappers, I'll post my thoughts on some of the horses as the weeks go by leading up to the derby. Here is this weeks poll:

Rank Horse Points Last Week
1 Old Fashioned (18) 283 1
2 Pioneerof the Nile (5) 202 2
3 Friesan Fire (3) 199 3
4 Quality Road (2) 161 --
5 The Pamplemousse 160 12
6 Dunkirk (1) 135 4
7 Desert Party (1) 122 5
8 Stardom Bound 114 6
9 Patena (1) 56 7
10 Hello Broadway 53 9
11 Haynesfield (1) 32 10
12 Chocolate Candy 30 T17
13 Papa Clem 24 11
14 Flying Pegasus 22 16
15 Imperial Council 21 T14
16 Giant Oak 19 13
17 Rachel Alexandra 18 T14
18 Theregoesjojo 17 --
19 General Quarters 13 --
20 I Want Revenge 9 --

Original Link Here: The Paulick Derby Index - Horse Racing - ESPN

u know i have one question how do they name the horses. some orses have really odd names. does anyone normally bet on horses here. i have never understood how to do it and the thrill on betting on them. maybe if i went to one i would understand how to i guess. well thanks for the info it might come in handy one year lol. good luck to u if u do bet on them .

I bet on them sometimes, and I know some of the other members do as well (Lilred I'm looking at you!)

As for the naming question, as there have been thousands of racehorses, and restrictions on how they can be named, such as they cannot be named after a famous horse, and they can only be named after a famous person if they have that person's/that person's family's permission, and they cannot use a name that has already been used. That reduces the number of names available and forces horse owners to come up with some creative ones.

yeah some really creative one. thanks for the info.

A notable absence on the list is Midshipmen, the Breeder's Cup Juvenile champion. He suffered a minor soft tissue injury and is off the trail. The injury isn't life or career threatening, but it requires a few months off to rest, so he will not be able to compete in the Triple Crown races.

Full Story Here: Midshipman injured, off Triple Crown trail - NTRA

The Fountain of Youth stakes at Gulfstream park had a huge impact on the derby picture. Horses that were looking good before the race performed poorly, and a couple of surprises ran well.

This ones for Phil and Capt. Candyman Can were highly rated contenders coming in, each having won and placed in multiple graded stakes races. Neither lived up to expectations, running 5th and 4th respectively, and have both been dropped from the top 20 and are now considered off the derby trail.

At the same time, Old Fashioned, who won the race easily, has gone from being unranked to being 4th. As in most other sports, beating one of the top 10 and some other highly regarded horses will put you up there. Also interesting is the 2nd place horse, Theregoesjojo is also now ranked. He actually bear Old Fashioned in an allowance race earlier.

So what does it all mean? First of all, there is still a long ways to go and anything can happen. Second, it means that me favoring a horse is the kiss of death(I would have picked Capt. Candyman Can). Third, I dont have a third!

Edit: The horse who won the fountain of youth was Quality Road.