Vicki Oliver will become just the 17th female trainer to run a horse in the Kentucky Derby, and the first since 2015, when she sends out long shot Hidden Stash in the 2021 Kentucky Derby on Saturday at Churchill Downs. The daughter of prominent racing breeder and owner G. Watts Humphrey Jr., Oliver has won 281 races with 2,593 starters since beginning her training career in 1998. On Saturday, she will become the first woman to train a Derby starter since Carla Gaines saddled Bolo to a 12th-place finish in 2015.
Oliver’s Hidden Stash is one of six horses listed at 50-1 on the morning line in the 2021 Kentucky Derby odds. Meanwhile, the Brad Cox-trained Essential Quality is the 2-1 favorite in the 2021 Kentucky Derby field. Post time for the Run for the Roses is set for 6:57 p.m. ET. With a talented 20-horse field entering the Churchill Downs starting gate, you’ll want to see what racing insider Bob Weir has to say before making any 2021 Kentucky Derby picks.
Based in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., Weir has been handicapping and following horse racing since reading Andy Beyer’s landmark handicapping book “Picking Winners” in the late 1980s. Weir is highly invested in the Beyer Speed Figure, a number assigned to every race run by a horse that measures how fast the horse ran. He uses the figure as the backbone of his handicapping. In fact, thanks to his proficiency with speed figures and top-tier handicapping, he landed one of just eight spots on Beyer’s figure-making team in 2017, a position he holds to this day.
Weir’s methodology has produced multiple five-figure days. In 2014, he hit a $60,000 Pick 6 at Del Mar. The following year, he nailed a $31,000 Pick 6 at Gulfstream Park. In 2016 and 2017, Weir qualified for the prestigious National Horseplayers Championship in Las Vegas.
Last year, his first for SportsLine, Weir was on fire. On June 13, Weir hit a $2 superfecta in the Ogden Phipps Stakes that paid a whopping $1,039. He crushed the exacta and trifecta in the Forego Stakes in August for $1,134.50. He hit the late Pick 4 at Belmont Park on June 18, June 19, June 25, July 2 and July 5, with the June 25 score returning a whopping $2,159.50.
This year, he has dominated the 2021 Kentucky Derby prep races, hitting the exacta in the Sam F. Davis Stakes and Tampa Bay Derby and the trifecta in the Risen Star Stakes and Blue Grass Stakes. Anyone who has followed him is way up.
Now, Weir has handicapped the 2021 Kentucky Derby horses, made his picks and constructed his bets. You can only see them here.
Top 2021 Kentucky Derby predictions
One shocker: Weir is largely fading Essential Quality, even though he is the clear-cut 2-1 favorite. Essential Quality is undefeated in five career starts, winning three last year and two this year. He is trying to become just the third horse to win both the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile and Kentucky Derby.
However, the combination of his wide post (No. 14) and running style could lead to him going five-wide and losing ground on both turns. “He’s the most accomplished horse, but I do not see the advantage he possesses that supports taking that short of a price in a 20-horse field,” Weir told SportsLine.
Another curveball: Weir is high on Medina Spirit, even though he’s a 15-1 long shot. A product of humble beginnings after he sold for $1,000 as a yearling and $35,000 as a two-year-old, Medina Spirit has two wins and three seconds in five career starts. He is coming off a second-place finish in the Santa Anita Derby.
His trainer, Bob Baffert, has won the Kentucky Derby six times, tied with Ben A. Jones for the most ever by a trainer. “If anyone can get a horse to peak on Derby Day, it’s Baffert,” Weir said.
How to make 2021 Kentucky Derby picks, bets
Weir’s win contenders include a double-digit long shot who has been training “extremely well” at Churchill Downs. In fact, Weir says this horse is a “must-use” in your bets and could have been among the favorites. He’s sharing which horses to back only at SportsLine.
So who wins the Kentucky Derby 2021? And which epic long shot is a must-back? Check out the latest Kentucky Derby odds 2021 below, then visit SportsLine to see Weir’s picks for the Kentucky Derby.
2021 Kentucky Derby horses, odds
| Program # | Horse | Odds |
| 1 | Known Agenda | 6-1 |
| 2 | Like the King | 50-1 |
| 3 | Brooklyn Strong | 50-1 |
| 4 | Keepmeinmind | 50-1 |
| 5 | Sainthood | 50-1 |
| 6 | O Besos | 20-1 |
| 7 | Mandaloun | 15-1 |
| 8 | Medina Spirit | 15-1 |
| 9 | Hot Rod Charlie | 8-1 |
| 10 | Midnight Bourbon | 20-1 |
| 11 | Dynamic One | 20-1 |
| 12 | Helium | 50-1 |
| 13 | Hidden Stash | 50-1 |
| 14 | Essential Quality | 2-1 |
| 15 | Rock Your World | 5-1 |
| 16 | King Fury | 20-1 |
| 17 | Highly Motivated | 10-1 |
| 18 | Super Stock | 30-1 |
| 19 | Soup and Sandwich | 30-1 |
| 20 | Bourbonic | 30-1 |
