Pretty Mischievous wins 2023 Kentucky Oaks; betting favorite Wet Paint finishes fourth
Pretty Mischievous won the 149th running of the Kentucky Oaks on Friday at Churchill Downs. Here’s what you need to know:
- Pretty Mischievous took first place with a time of 1:49.77. The 3-year-old horse has won five of its seven races.
- Gambling Girl (13-1) and The Alys Look (30-1) finished second and third, respectively. Wet Paint, the betting favorite at 8-5 entering the race, was fourth.
- It was the first career Kentucky Oaks win for trainer Brendan Walsh and jockey Tyler Gaffalione.
- Saturday’s Kentucky Derby post time is 6:57 p.m. ET.
The Athletic’s instant analysis:
Biggest betting takeaways
Pretty Mischievous had a great trip to win the Kentucky Oaks. Wearing blinkers for the first time, she established a great position and held off Gambling Girl by a neck at the finish line. It was a disappointing ride for Wet Paint as she didn’t have her usual kick down the stretch and had to move back inside and couldn’t catch Pretty Mischievous.
A $2 bet paid $22.74 and a $2 exacta bet on Pretty Mischievous and Gambling Girl to finish first and second paid $403.13. More than $7.5 million was bet on the race with more than $2.1 million bet on the favorite Wet Paint alone. — DeWitt
What to watch for in the Kentucky Derby
Forte (7-2) is still the betting favorite for Saturday’s 149th running of the Kentucky Derby despite injury rumors swirling around the 3-year-old colt. He’s riding a five-race win streak heading into the race.
Tapit Trice (6-1), Angel of Empire (6-1), Two Phil’s (8-1) and Derma Sotogake (8-1) round out the top five betting favorites. A favorite hasn’t won the Kentucky Derby since Justify in 2018. Remember, Rich Strike won the 2022 Kentucky Derby as an 80-1 long shot. — DeWitt
