Kentucky Oaks 2018: Post Positions, Field and Race Preview
Before the pageantry of the Kentucky Derby takes center stage Saturday, the Kentucky Oaks comes into focus Friday at Churchill Downs.
The race, which started in 1875, features the best three-year-old fillies from across the globe and is traditionally run the day before the derby.
Abel Tasman won the race a year ago with jockey Mike Smith on board and trainer Bob Baffert joining them in the winner's circle.
.jpg?w=256 "Colts Jaguars Football")
A handful of horses enter this year's field with a solid chance to win, but the pack will be chasing Monomoy Girl, who is the favorite alongside Midnight Bisou.
Post Positions and Field
Race Preview
Monomoy Girl and Midnight Bisou are the two favorites in the eyes of the oddsmakers to take Friday's race.
However, both of the favored fillies face difficult post draws, as Monomoy Girl starts on the outside at post No. 14 and Midnight Bisou comes out of the No. 10 stall.
Monomoy Girl has five wins in six races, including an April victory in the Ashland Stakes. She also took the Rachel Alexandra Stakes in February.
In three career races at Churchill Downs, Monomoy Girl has two victories and a second-place finish, all of which came in 2017.
Midnight Bisou comes to Kentucky off three wins at Santa Anita Park in 2018, with the Santa Anita Oaks victory being the one that punched her ticket to Churchill Downs.
The horse trained by William Spawr has Smith on board in his quest to win back-to-back Kentucky Oaks as a jockey.
Outside of the two favorites, there's a lot of solid horses who have a chance of breaking through with an upset win, but it's still unlikely given how much momentum Monomoy Girl and Midnight Bisou have coming into Friday.
Eskimo Kisses, My Miss Lilly and Rayya carry the best value among the rest of the horses in the field.
Starting in post No. 13, Eskimo Kisses has ground to make up already because of her draw, but she is coming off back-to-back second-place finishes in the Ashland Stakes and Fair Grounds Oaks Stakes.
My Miss Lilly is enters off a victory in the Gazelle Stakes, a race at Aqueduct that is the same distance as the Kentucky Oaks at 1 ⅛ miles.
Then there's the interesting case of Rayya, who took second in the UAE Derby behind one of the Kentucky Derby favorites Mendelssohn.
In addition to the second-place finish at the end of March, Rayya took first in the UAE Oaks in the beginning of March.
Although none of the horses behind the favorites in the field inspire a ton of confidence, if you want to go out on a limb and choose an underdog, those are your three best bets.
The Kentucky Oaks should come down to Monomoy Girl and Midnight Bisou, with the only factor throwing a wrench into that being the poor post positions drawn by each horse.
If neither gets a good start from outside starting spots, it could open the door for an underdog to swoop in and win.
Follow Joe on Twitter, @JTansey90.
Statistics obtained from KentuckyDerby.com.
.jpg?w=480 "Colts Jaguars Football")
