THIS weekend sees the running of one of the great horseracing events of the international calendar, the Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs. The indications, at this stage, are that we do not have a California Chrome or an American Pharoah (the superior winners in 2014 and 2015) waiting in the wings, but that is what the race itself is meant to show.

A big field often means there is a need for luck, and I would not be especially keen on the two shortest-priced horses at the time of writing – Always Dreaming and Classic Empire – for all that they have solid claims.