If there are two Kentucky Derby favorites who have consistently shown that they deserve to be here, it is Nehro and Master of Hounds. Nehro has come from behind to finish second in his two previous prep races, while Master of Hounds came from across the pond after winning a very long race in Dubai. Nehro is going off at 6-1 odds to win the 2011 Kentucky Derby, and is starting wide at the 19th post. Jockey Corey Nakatani has a solid horse in Nehro, who has the speed to get where it needs to go and give Dialed In a run for his money. Master of Hounds comes from the Raise A Native Sire Line; a line which has produced 8 of the last 11 Derby winners and 11 of the last 18 overall. Master of Hounds will be posted at the 11th spot and will be mounted by Garrett Gomez, who has appeared in nine Derby's but has not finished higher than second in any of them.

Nehro is one of those horses who has emerged from under the proverbial radar and is gaining increasingly more attention in the days leading up to the Derby, a trend that hasn’t proven all that successful through the years. In the individual matchup at Bodog.com however, Nehro is a is a -170 favorite to finish ahead of Master of Hounds, whose horse racing odds are listed at +140. Typical “buzz” horses in the last decade of the Derby include such also-rans as Awesome Act (19th in 2010), Sweetnorthernsaint (7th in 2006), Ten Most Wanted (9th in 2003), and Saarland (10th in 2002). I'm staying away from Nehro in my tickets and I'm taking Master of Hounds at +140 to finish in front of the trendy pick. Nehro won't be horrible, but he won't fulfill the over-hyped expectations.

Master of Hounds ran at Churchill Downs in November for the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf (gr. IIT), where he finished sixth as the favorite. This will be the first start on dirt for Master of Hounds, but I believe that he will do very well in this race. Coming off the impressive runner up finish at the 1 3/16-mile track in the UAE Derby, this horse seems primed for a great showing and must be included in all exacta and trifecta tickets because coming from the 11th post, this speed horse will clear the pack early and hit the home stretch with the lead. Whether or not he can keep the lead down the last straight-away is a different story, but you can count on him being in the mix at the wire.

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