KY Derby Features Trainer With Success At Maryland’s Preakness Stakes

A horse racing trainer whose horses have won the Preakness Stakes twice is looking to add a Kentucky Derby win to his resume.

Trainer Chad Brown has two horses in this year’s Derby: Sierra Leone and Domestic Product. One enjoys the second-best odds of crossing the finish line first, while the other won the Tampa Bay Derby in March.

The 150th running of the Kentucky Derby is Saturday at Churchill Downs in Louisville. Marylanders can wager with the FanDuel Racing app.

Sierra Leone is considered the best closer in this year’s Derby

Maryland horse racing has a long and storied history. Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore is the second-oldest racetrack in the country, behind only Saratoga in New York. Pimlico opened in 1870.

The track’s marquee event is the Preakness Stakes, the second leg of the Triple Crown, which includes the Derby and Belmont Stakes. This year’s Preakness runs May 18, and the Belmont is June 8.

Sierra Leone has the second-best odds of winning the 2024 Derby, sitting at 3-1. He’s jockeyed by Tyler Gafflione. The horse won the Blue Grass Stakes and the Risen Star and is one of the best closers in this year’s Run for the Roses.

Domestic Product is a 30-1 favorite to win on Saturday. Jockeyed by Irad Ortiz Jr., Domestic Product won the Tampa Bay Derby but hasn’t raced in eight weeks.

Brown’s mentors were two Hall of Fame trainers

Brown made a name for himself in Maryland in 2017 when a horse he trained won the 142nd Preakness. Cloud Computing upset favorite Always Dreaming, who had won the Derby that year. Cloud Computing had not competed at the Derby. Before his win, only three other horses had won the Preakness after not competing in the Derby.

Early Voting, another horse trained by Brown, won the Preakness in 2022.

Brown was awarded the Eclipse Award for Outstanding Trainer in 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019. He perfected his skills under two of the greatest horse trainers in US history, Hall of Famers Shug McGaughey and Robert Frankel.

Brown, 45, is a native of Mechanicville, NY. He boasts more than 1,800 career wins.

How to bet on the 2024 Kentucky Derby in Maryland

Maryland residents have several options to place bets on the 2024 Kentucky Derby. Online sportsbooks offering odds on the Derby include FanDuel and DraftKings.

MGM National Harbor, Ocean Downs, Hollywood Casino Perryville, or Horseshoe Baltimore will handle the action for those looking to place a bet at a physical location. Additional off-track locations are G. Boone’s in Boonsboro and Timonium OTB in Lutherville-Timonium.

When it comes to betting on the Derby (or any horse race), bettors can wager on a horse to win (place first), place (finish first or second), and show (first, second, or third in the race).

There are also several other types of wagers a bettor can place in Maryland.

• Exacta: Wager on a specific horse to win and another to place.
• Quinella: Similar to exacta, but the order does not matter as long as they are the first two to cross the finish line.
• Trifecta: Picking the top three horses to finish in the correct order.
• Superfecta: Picking the top four horses in the exact order of their finish.
• Pick 3, Pick 4, Pick 5, etc.: Pick the winning horses in a series of races.

Maryland fans can watch the Kentucky Derby Saturday on NBC. They can also stream the action with Peacock and FanDuel TV. Post time is 6:57 p.m. ET. NBC will begin coverage of the event starting at 2:30 p.m.

Kentucky Derby lineups and odds