Kentucky Derby Odds 2013: How Favorites Measure Up Against Rest of Field

The 2013 Kentucky Derby is wide open. While there are some clear favorites, none of them are a slam-dunk pick. 

This is a deep field, with little separating the top horses from the others. I'll offer up a closer look at this as I pick out my three favorite horses and gauge how they measure up against the rest of the field. 

2013 Kentucky Derby Odds

*Points and odds courtesy of KentuckyDerby.com on April 30.

Horse	Points in 2013	Odds
Verrazano	150 points	4/1
Orb	150 points	6/1
Revolutionary	110 points	8/1
Goldencents	129 points	15/2
Overanalyze	110 points	10/1
Normandy Invasion	44 points	10/1
Itsmyluckyday	50 points	14/1
Javas War	122 points	16/1
Vyjack	70 points	16/1
Will Take Charge	60 points	20/1
Lines of Battle	100 points	20/1
Mylute	42 points	25/1
Palace Malice	50 points	25/1
Oxbow	36 points	35/1
Mylute	42 points	35/1
Black Onyx	50 points	40/1
Frac Daddy	44 points	45/1
Charming Kitten	20 points	50/1
Golden Soul	14 points	50/1
Falling Sky	30 points	75/1

Verrazano (4/1)

Verrazano has garnered a lot of attention heading into the Kentucky Derby and for good reason. This is the star of Todd Pletcher's small army of Kentucky Derby hopefuls, and he has yet to lose a race.

Verrazano is a perfect 4-for-4 in his career, and he is the only undefeated horse in the potential field. With his last two wins, this horse has had a chance to run against some fellow Derby hopefuls. In his win at the Tampa Bay Derby he cruised to victory ahead of Java's War.

Then at the Wood Memorial, he held on to beat Normandy Invasion by less than a length as Normandy was coming on like gangbusters at the end. Also, Vyjack was in third in that race. 

So Verrazano is understandably among the favorites here, but the Wood Memorial showed this horse is not head and shoulders above his competition. 

Orb (6/1)

According to the experts voting in the National Thoroughbred Racing Association's top three-year-old poll, Orb compares very favorably to other Derby hopefuls. He holds the top spot in that poll. 

This horse comes in off of four straight wins, and they all came in races that were at least a mile.

His last time out was a successful Florida Derby win where he bested Itsmyluckyday.

The race that started his current streak came on Nov. 24 where Revolutionary came in third. This horse has solid experience, and most of it has come in longer races against top competitors. 

Goldencents (15/2)

Trainer Doug O'Neill will look to defend his Kentucky Derby crown with Goldencents, and this horse gives him a great shot to pull off the feat. 

Goldencents enters this race off a Grade 1 win at the Santa Anita Derby. While there were no other Derby hopefuls in that race, it was a talented field, and it was Goldencents' fourth win in his past six starts.

This horse has three wins in graded races, and that includes besting two Derby hopefuls in Mylute and Itsmyluckyday. 

This horse also has something that no other horse in the field has and that is a part owner who happens to be the coach of college basketball's national champions.

At this point, I cannot say which of these three horses will win the Derby, but I'm confident that it will be one of them.