Kentucky Derby 2019 Live

The 2019 Kentucky Derby is just around the corner, as 20 horses will vie for the world-famous garland of roses. The full field goes to post at 6:50 p.m. ET on Saturday, May 4. Last year, Justify took the Run for the Roses and the Triple Crown. A handful of horses lead the charge in the live 2019 Kentucky Derby odds, led by a pair of 7-2 co-favorites in Omaha Beach, who's coming off wins in two Kentucky Derby prep races, and Roadster, who's fresh off a victory at the Santa Anita Stakes. Eight more horses are at 20-1 Kentucky Derby odds or lower, and three are 7-1 or better: Bob Baffert-trained horses Improbable (5-1) and Game Winner (6-1) as well as Maximum Security (5-1), who's unbeaten in four races. With such a talented and deep set of 2019 Kentucky Derby horses at Churchill Downs, some expert help can go a long way. That's why you'll want to hear what longtime horse racing handicapper Richard Eng has to say before placing any 2019 Kentucky Derby picks of your own.

Not only was Eng the turf editor and handicapper for the Las Vegas Review-Journal for 20 years, he literally wrote the book on wagering on the sport. In fact, he was the author of "Betting on Horse Racing for Dummies," the preeminent book for newcomers to horse racing. Prior to his work for the Review-Journal, Eng worked as a publicist for the New York Racing Association, Garden State Park, Monmouth Park, Santa Anita Park and Turfway Park. He's lived and breathed horse racing and knows a winner when he sees one. 

To say that Eng was all-in on 2018 Kentucky Derby winner Justify early would be a massive understatement. He picked Justify when that horse was a huge long shot at 100-1 odds in the Kentucky Derby Futures Book -- in January, before the horse made his racing debut. By race day, Justify was a 7-2 co-favorite, but Eng knew he'd be a winner much earlier than anyone else. He picked Justify to win all three Triple Crown races, cashing big each time. Anyone who has followed Eng's lead is way, way up. 

Now with the 2019 Kentucky Derby just one week away, Eng is releasing his early 2019 Kentucky Derby leaderboard over at SportsLine, revealing his thoughts for every horse in the field and projected order of finish. 

We can tell you Eng is extremely high on Tacitus, a 14-1 darkhorse among the 2019 Kentucky Derby contenders. Tacitus has already had a pair of impressive victories in the Tampa Bay Derby and Wood Memorial. His victory at the Wood Memorial was considered arguably the best final-race effort for any horse coming into the Kentucky Derby 2019

Instead, Eng is all over an under-the-radar horse who looks a lot like Justify did leading up to last year's Kentucky Derby. This horse has all the tools to put together a complete run and win the 2019 Kentucky Derby, and if the horse hits as Eng expects, you could be looking at a massive payout at horse racing's biggest event.