As you may know, Mattress Mack has a great promotion going where if the Derby favorite wins, your furniture is free. (See the flyer below). While Forte is the likely favorite, if something happens to him, Tapit Trice will likely be favored on race day. So let’s get to know your possible rooting interest:
Tapit Trice is extremely well bred by the super sire Tapit. He was a $1.3 million dollar yearling purchase – you don’t spend that kind of money unless you think you have something special. He won the Tampa Bay Derby with relative ease before grinding out a win in the Blue Grass. Like Forte, Tapit Trice is trained by Todd Pletcher and his last start was not his most impressive.
Still, this is a horse that should relish the Derby’s distance, although he might be even better come Belmont.
After a third in his debut last November, he reeled off four wins in a row including the two stakes. While he only beat Verifying by a neck in the Blue Grass, he was finishing well – as he did in Tampa, when he closed wide from the back of the pack.
In both races, he was hard-ridden on the turn and appears to be a horse that needs to be pushed along to get going. But he finishes well despite that. In both races, he had wide trips, and has overcome adversity. All of that makes him a legitimate contender on the first Saturday in May.
Here are the Caesar’s current odds for the Top 10 contenders:
| Horse | Trainer | Current Odds |
| Forte | Todd Pletcher | 3-1 |
| Tapit Trice | Todd Pletcher | 8-1 |
| Practical Move | Tim Yakteen | 10-1 |
| Kingsbarn | Todd Pletcher | 14-1 |
| National Treasure | Tim Yakteen | 15-1 |
| Reincarnate | Tim Yakteen | 18-1 |
| Red Route One | Steve Asmussen | 20-1 |
| Geaux Rocket Ride | Richard Mandella | 22-1 |
| Confidence Game | Keith Desormeaux | 22-1 |
| Verifying | Brad Cox | 22-1 |