LOUISVILLE, Ky. — No one can say with any certainty whether Uncle Mo will be in the starting gate Saturday when the Kentucky Derby is run for the 137th time at Churchill Downs. He’s still battling a gastrointestinal infection that could result in a scratch right up until post time.
But even if he does run, there is a good chance he won’t be the favorite. For now, that honor goes to Dialed In, the horse Churchill Downs handicapper Mike Battaglia picked as the 4-1 morning-line favorite Wednesday after the Nick Zito-trained colt drew the favorable eighth stall in the Derby post position draw.
The No. 8 position has been a good place to start the race recently. Barbaro (2006) and Mine That Bird (2008) won from that position.
Uncle Mo — who was undefeated as a 2-year-old and looked like the most talented horse in his age group until a recent third-place finish at the Wood Memorial — was named the early second choice at 9-2 after he drew the 18 post position. Nehro was Battaglia’s third choice at 6-1 in what is being called one of toughest Derby’s to handicap in years.
“It could have gone either way with Dialed In or Uncle Mo,” Zito said. “He could have been 4-1 and we could have been 9-2. I’m very flattered by it, I guess.”
The biggest question, however, remains the status of Uncle Mo, the horse trained by last year’s Kentucky Derby winner Todd Pletcher. Uncle Mo made only a brief appearance at the track Wednesday, and his owner Mike Repole repeated his belief that the horse has about a “5 0/50 chance” of running the 1 1/4-mile Derby. The colt is scheduled to gallop today.
