Kentucky Derby Betting: Union Rags - Contender

Kentucky Derby betting in Vegas for the 138th edition of the "the fastest two minute in sports" have listed Union Rags as the 9/2 favorite to win Saturday's race at Churchill Downs. Owned by Phyllis M. Wyeth - Chadds Ford Stable and trained by the hall of famer Michael R. Matz, Union Rags will be looking to win the first jewel of the Triple Crown 2012 coming off a dissapointing 3rd place show at the Florida Derby G1 with jockey Julien Leparoux onboard. The 3-year-old contender ran the 1 1/8-mile Gulfstream Park with precision but was lacking the speed and had to settle for third behind Take Charge Indy and Reveron.

Union Rags broke his maiden back in July of 2011 with a win at Delaware Park and then proceeded to take out the field in the Saratoga Special G2 and the Champagne G2 with jockey Javier Castellano on board. After a second place finish at the Breeders' Cup Juvenile G1 behind Hansen, a 10/1 Kentucky Derby betting contender, Matz decided to make a change at jockey before the upcoming Fountain of Youth at Gulfstream Park. Julien Leparoux was given the ride and turned in a time of 1:42.68 around the 1 1/16-mile track for the win over News Pending and Discreet Dancer. A month later however at the Florida Derby G1, Leparoux and Union Rags had to settle for 3rd as the pair simply couldn't find the speed to overtake Take Charge Indy and Reveron around the 1 1/8-mile track.

Union Rags will be breaking from the gate in the #4 post position with Daddy Long Legs (30/1), Optimizer (45/1) and Take Charge Indy (12/1) to his left and 2012 Kentucky Derby betting contenders Dullahan (8/1) and Bodemeister (4/1) to his right. For Union Rags to pull off the win as the 9/2 Kentucky Derby betting favorite, Leparoux will need to make sure the 3-year-old Colt keeps pace instead of taking the lead so he doesn't expire to early around the1 1/4-mile track in the first jewel of the 2012 Triple Crown. The "run for the roses" can be seen live on NBC, Saturday - May 5th, beginning at 5:00pm EST with a post time of 5:45pm EST.

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2012 Kentucky Derby Betting Odds
Post	Horse	Open	Current
#1	DADDY LONG LEGS	35/1	30/1
#2	OPTIMIZER	85/1	45/1
#3	TAKE CHARGE INDY	12/1	12/1
#4	UNION RAGS	4/1	9/2
#5	DULLAHAN	50/1	8/1
#6	BODEMEISTER	18/1	4/1
#7	ROUSING SERMON	30/1	50/1
#8	CREATIVE CAUSE	20/1	12/1
#9	TRINNIBERG	50/1	40/1
#10	DADDY NOSE BEST	20/1	16/1
#11	ALPHA	20/1	14/1
#12	PROSPECTIVE	50/1	30/1
#13	WENT THE DAY WELL	20/1	25/1
#14	HANSEN	15/1	10/1
#15	GEMOLOGIST	20/1	6/1
#16	EL PADRINO	12/1	22/1
#17	DONE TALKING	30/1	40/1
#18	SABERCAT	30/1	35/1
#19	I'LL HAVE ANOTHER	30/1	14/1
#20	LIAISON	50/1	50/1