2021 Kentucky Derby odds, contenders: Legendary expert who nailed Tiz the Law shares surprising picks

CBS Sports

2021 Kentucky Derby odds, contenders: Legendary expert who nailed Tiz the Law shares surprising picks

CBS Sports 8/04/2021 15:50:14 CBS Sports Staff

Exercise rider Peedy Landry works out Kentucky Derby hopeful My Boy Jack at Churchill Downs.

The 2021 Kentucky Derby is less than a month away and six horses have already topped the 100-point mark in the Road to the Kentucky Derby Standings. The 147th Run for the Roses will take place on Saturday, May 1, moved back to its traditional spot on the first Saturday in May after being run in September last year. Coming off an impressive victory at the Bluegrass Stakes, Essential Quality is at the top of the heap with 140 points. Now, the undefeated, four-time graded stakes winner looks like trainer Brad Cox's best chance to add a Triple Crown winner to a resume that already includes a pair of Kentucky Oaks champions and an Eclipse Award for Outstanding Trainer.

Essential Quality is the 4-1 favorite in the latest 2021 Kentucky Derby odds, but Concert Tour (5-1), Hot Rod Charlie (12-1), Bourbonic (12-1) and Medina Spirit (13-1) all have graded stakes wins to their name as well. Before making any 2021 Kentucky Derby picks, you need to see the latest horse racing predictions from legendary handicapper Hammerin' Hank Goldberg.

The former horse racing analyst for ESPN and NBC, Goldberg became a legendary handicapper by going straight to the source. In 2004, he had dinner before the Belmont Stakes with trainer Nick Zito at a pizzeria in Queens. The dinner led Goldberg to play Zito's 36-1 monster longshot Birdstone to win and on top of his exacta, trifecta and superfecta bets. When Birdstone shocked the world, Goldberg won $24,000.

His success has continued at SportsLine. In the San Felipe Stakes in March, Hammer gave out a $20 exacta that paid 9-1. In the Belmont Stakes in June, Goldberg was all over Tiz the Law, who scored a convincing victory in the year's first Triple Crown race. In the Blue Grass Stakes, Hammer nailed the Art Collector-Swiss Skydiver exacta. In July, he hit the Authentic-Ny Traffic exacta in the Haskell. In August in the Pacific Classic, he gave out the Maximum Security-Sharp Samurai exacta.

Before last year's Kentucky Derby, trainer Bob Baffert told Goldberg that Authentic was his best Derby runner. As a result, Goldberg listed him among his top horses, and Authentic held off Tiz the Law by almost four lengths. Anyone who has followed Goldberg's lead is way up.

Now Goldberg has studied the 2021 Kentucky Derby field of hopefuls and has released his picks, predictions and top contenders only at SportsLine.

Top 2021 Kentucky Derby predictions

For the 147th Run for the Roses, Goldberg is completely fading Hot Rod Charlie, even though he is one of the top favorites at 12-1 and coming off a win in the Louisiana Derby. The California-trained colt broke his maiden at Santa Anita last October and has since gone on to finish second in Breeders' Cup Juvenile, third in the Robert B. Lewis Stakes and notched a stunning win at the Louisiana Derby last month.

However, he has just two wins in seven career starts, while his trainer, Doug O'Neill, was suspended for 30 days last month. Having previously stalked the pace in the first six races of his career, Hot Rod Charlie dictated the pace at Fair Grounds, but that's not expected to be a tactic that he can repeat in the Kentucky Derby 2021.

"He went wire-to-wire in the Louisiana Derby, and I don't know if he can repeat that or not," Goldberg told SportsLine. "They've had a training problem there because Doug O'Neill has been suspended and the price is too steep."

How to make 2021 Kentucky Derby predictions

Instead, Goldberg's top pick is a horse who "has the right running style and finishes off well." He also is high on a monster underdog the public is completely sleeping on, listing him as his best value. He's sharing which horses to back here.

So who wins the 2021 Kentucky Derby? And which sleeper is a must-back? Check out the latest 2021 Kentucky Derby odds below, then visit SportsLine to see Goldberg's picks for the Kentucky Derby.