Verrazano's Early Favoritism in 2013 Kentucky Derby Won't Lead to Victory

Verrazano will come into the 2013 Kentucky Derby as the favorite to take out the prestigious race, and he is currently the favorite at 4/1 in early odds markets.

Of course, that might all change when the post positions are released on Wednesday, but barring a bad draw, it's hard to see him not heading into the race as favorite. And it's not like his favoritism won't be deserved. 

After all, no other horse has collected more points in 2013, via the Kentucky Derby Leaderboard, than Verrazano. No horse has managed to beat him this year either, with the rising star collecting four wins from his four starts.

He's triumphed in the Tampa Bay Derby and the Wood Memorial, with the latter of those two races the first time that any horse has been close to the star when crossing the finishing post. Even then, he still won pretty comfortably.

With Todd Pletcher as trainer and John Velazquez on board, there are few reasons to suggest that Verrazano won't triumph at Churchill Downs, with both trainer and jockey having tasted Derby success before.

However, there is one reason, and his name is Orb.

Orb (currently 6/1 and second favorite) is the reason why Verrazano won't triumph at the Kentucky Derby this year and won't go on to claim the Triple Crown in 2013.

Orb might not have the 10-length victories to his name like Verrazano does, but he is a fighter. His last two wins—at the Florida Derby and Fasig-Tipton Fountain of Youth—were victories where he gunned down the leader in the home stretch and then pulled away to clinch victory.

He knows how to win a close race, whereas Verrazano hasn't proven that yet. And in a race like the Kentucky Derby, where the pace might be slower than expected and there are several big challengers on hand, knowing how to win a close race is key.

And Orb has proven he's the horse most likely to do just that.

His pedigree is much stronger than Verrazano over 1.25 miles, with his sire—Malibu Moon—a top-five stallion that was bred well with Unbridled.

Throw in the abundance of stamina he received from his dame Lady Liberty as well, who won over 1.5 miles on turf, and you're looking at a horse that is bred perfectly to succeed in a close race at Churchill Downs this weekend.

Verrazano will be in the running, but it's hard to see Orb getting beat here.

Regardless of which one of the pair is the favorite come start time.

Hit me up on Twitter for more sports goodness:   Follow @dantalintyre