KENTUCKY — By Patrick Reed

Aside from all of the pageantry and parties that accompany the Derby every year, the Kentucky Derby is a unique horse race on the North American calendar. It’s restricted to 3-year-olds, meaning that owners have only one opportunity to win the Derby with any individual horse, and it’s held at the taxing distance of 1 ¼ miles, which none of the entrants has ever raced at before. On top of that, as many as 20 horses are allowed to run in the Kentucky Derby, a number that has been reached 22 out of the past 25 years.

Whether you are interested in making a couple of bucks on the race or just want to know a little bit about this year’s runners, we’ve got you covered with our 2024 Kentucky Derby Cheat Sheet. The contenders are listed in order of their accumulated points from the Road to the Kentucky Derby series.

Sierra Leone

Jockey: Tyler Gaffalione

Trainer: Chad Brown

Owners: Peter Brant, Susan Magnier, Michael Tabor, Derrick Smith, Westerberg, and Brooke Smith

Career record: 4 starts – 3 wins – 1 second – 0 thirds

Career earnings: $918,000

Earnings per start: $229,500

Kentucky Derby points: 155

Pedigree: Gun Runner – Heavenly Love, by Malibu Moon

Color: Dark bay or brown

Running style: Closer

Notable achievements and interesting facts:

The leading Kentucky Derby points earner for 2024 should vie for post-time favoritism with Fierceness, and this well-bred, expensive colt has a running style that’s in contrast to his main Derby rival. Sierra Leone is a deep closer who will need some racing luck by way of a solid early pace and a clean trip in order to put forth his best effort on Derby day.

He’ll be positioned near the back of the large field early on in the race and probably won’t be given his cue to rally by jockey Tyler Gaffalione until the field enters the far turn at Churchill Downs – at which time Fierceness may have already moved up to challenge for the lead. Sierra Leone, who was purchased for $2.3 million as a yearling in 2022, has assembled a nearly perfect race record through four career starts.

His only defeat came by a nose last December to Kentucky Derby foe Dornoch in the Remsen Stakes, and he’s won both of his starts this year – the Risen Star Stakes and the Toyota Blue Grass Stakes – with impressive off-the-pace rallies. His pedigree is a plus for handling the Kentucky Derby’s 1 ¼-mile distance, and his speed figures are competitive with the top Derby contenders.

Look for him to be surging into contention as the field turns for home, angling to the outside of horses to avoid any tiring runners that could block his momentum. If he can do that, Sierra Leone can live up to his billing and win the Kentucky Derby.

 

Read the full story from our friends at America’s Best Racing here.