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Kentucky Derby 2011 Picks Roundup: Experts Like Archarcharch, Midnight Interlude

By Jason Kirk

Before you make your last-minute 2011 Kentucky Derby picks, take a look at what the experts predict. So far the betting money is feeling chalk, with Dialed In's odds improving all the way to 3/1, but it looks like the names in the media are picking otherwise, with quite a few taking Archarcharch over the favorite.

The Sporting News' Brad Telias approves of Archarcharch, Dialed In and Soldat, while The Cleveland Plain-Dealer's Bob Roberts thinks Archarcharch will top Dialed In and Midnight Interlude. The Star-Ledger's Ron Rippey finds reason to pick Master of Hounds or Stay Thirsty alongside Archarcharch or Dialed In, adding Pants on Fire, Mucho Macho Man, Midnight Interlude and Soldat to the list of considerations. 

And Down The Stretch They Come's Matt Gardner likes the No. 1 post's contender to overcome his challenging draw, but not enough to show. Gardner has Dialend In, Mucho Macho Man, Midnight Interlude and Soldat taking the top four final spots, with Nehro and Archarcharch close behind and Master of Hounds and Animal Kingdom as longshot plays. The only horses Gardner cautions against picking: Watch Me Go, Twice the Appeal and Comma to the Top.

The Rail's Joe Drape has Animal Kingdom over Archarcharch and Shackelford, with Dialed In and Twice the Appeal rounding out the top five. Bringing up the rear: Master of Hounds and Derby Kitten. 

Leaning towards Nehro? The Albany Times-Union's Tim Wilkin has him topping Brilliant Speed and Dialed In, followed by Archarcharch. Thinking about Midnight Interlude to win? The Erie Times-News' Doug Salvatore has Bob Baffert's trainee beating Dialed In, Nehro and Soldat. 

We'll include Freakonomics' Steven D. Levitt's picks, since those guys seem pretty smart. Levitt likes Mucho Macho Man and disapproves of Dialed In. Dialed In seems pretty good, y'all.

 

 Post No. Horse Jockey Trainer ML

 

 1 Archarcharch Jon Court Jinks Fires 10 / 1

 

 2 Brilliant Speed Joel Rosario Tom Albertrani 30 / 1

 

 3 Twice the Appeal Calvin Borel Jeff Bonde 20 / 1

 

 4 Stay Thirsty Ramon Dominguez Todd Pletcher 20 / 1

 

 5 Decisive Moment Kerwin Clark Juan Arias 30 / 1

 

 6 Comma to the Top Pat Venezuela Peter Miller 30 / 1

 

 7 Pants On Fire Rosie Napravnik Kelly Breen 20 / 1

 

 8 Dialed In Julien Leparoux Nick Zito 4 / 1

 

 9 Derby Kitten Javier Castellano Michael Maker 30 / 1

 

 10 Twinspired Mike Smith Michael Maker 30 / 1

 

 11 Master of Hounds Garret Gomez Aiden O'Brien 30 / 1

 

 12 Santiva Shaun Bridgmohan Eddie Kenneally 30 / 1

 

 13 Mucho Macho Man Rajiv Maragh Kathy Ritvo 12 / 1

 

 14 Shackelford Jesus Castanon Dale Romans 12 / 1

 

 15 Midnight Interlude Victor Espinoza Bob Baffert 10 / 1

 

 16 Animal Kingdom John Velazquez Graham Motion 30 / 1

 

 17 Soldat Alan Garcia Kiaran McLaughlin 12 / 1

 

 18 Uncle Mo John Velazquez Todd Pletcher SCR

 

 19 Nehro Corey Nakatani Steve Asmussen 6 / 1

 

 20 Watch Me Go Rafael Bejarano Kathleen O'Connell 50 / 1

The 2011 Kentucky Derby post time is at 6:24 p.m. (ET) on Saturday, May 7th and SB Nation has everything you need to prepare for it - current Derby odds, contender profiles, field updates and more. You can find all of that and more at our 2011 Kentucky Derby StoryStream. Also, our horse racing blog And Down The Stretch They Come has two must-read resources for Derby fans: A Beginner's Guide To Following Horse Racing and a glossary of horse racing terms.

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Photographs by coka_koehler used in background montage under Creative Commons. Thank you.