The South Florida series of Kentucky Derby points preps gets underway Saturday, February 3 with the Holy Bull Stakes (G3) at Gulfstream Park! The race offers a $250,000 purse and 20-10-6-4-2 points toward the Run for the Roses. Though winning the race does not guarantee a berth at Churchill in May, it does get a horse going the right way.
The Gulfstream Park series has been one of the most important groups of Kentucky Derby preps in recent memory. Several recent winners of the Holy Bull have won very important races: 2020 winner Tiz the Law won the Belmont (G1) and the Travers (G1), while White Abarrio won the Florida Derby (G1) and then won the Breeders’ Cup Classic (G1) as a four-year-old!
Who will continue in their shoes this year? Keep reading to find out, and to see the best places to bet horse racing online with real Vegas odds!
This is the official field for the 2024 Holy Bull Stakes including draw numbers, trainers, and jockeys:
Closer to the race date Gulfstream Park will release a morning line. They can be a useful betting guide, but they are no guarantee of what price you will get on a horse come race day. Late action means there can be sharp swings with just a few minutes to post, and if you bet at the track you won’t know your price until the gates open.
Your best bet is to play the Holy Bull at an online sportsbook. Just like you can in Las Vegas, you can get fixed odds on major stakes races. That way, you know your price the moment you place your bet, and any overlay you have is locked in. Then, you can watch the race confident in the price you’ll see when your horse wins!
You can get real Las Vegas excitement and real Las Vegas odds from anywhere by betting online! All of the best betting sites recommended by our experts give you real Vegas odds, trusted money management, and great user interfaces.
They also give you great betting bonuses that you’ll never find at the track. Online sportsbooks offer perks like sign-up and deposit bonuses, referral benefits, and even horse-racing rebates that pay you real money on every single bet you make. Different bonus structures benefit different bettors most, so taking a few minutes now to read the reviews and find the best one for you can build your bankroll by hundred or even thousands of dollars in the long run!
Here are our top recommended betting sites for the Holy Bull Stakes:
Now that you know where you plan to bet horse racing online, it is time to get into the fun part: picking which horses to bet! Read on, and get to know the best horses in the 2024 Holy Bull Stakes.
Fierceness will be a defined favorite in the Holy Bull, but that is for rock-solid reason. In both of the races in which he has gotten good starts, he has run far faster than anything anyone else in this race has done so far, even controlling for the fact that three-year-olds can take sharp steps up. And, the outside draw should allow him to get a good, clean start.
Expect him to work a good outside stalking trip and stay the distance well. He has already proven he can get the trip, as his Breeders’ Cup Juvenile win makes him the only horse with a win at the distance. And, even though he has been laid off since November, his debut win and his trainer Todd Pletcher’s strong strike rate with layoff horses mean he should be ready.
Domestic Product is the most interesting contender to complete the exacta underneath Fierceness. He is a proven two-turn horse, as his maiden win came at 1 ⅛ miles on the Aqueduct dirt. Although he faltered in the Remsen (G2) next out, that came in the mud. The Holy Bull should be a dry, sunny day. Expect him to stalk the pace and be part of the action start to finish.
Otello, already a local winner in the one-mile Mucho Macho Man, also has upside in his first two-turn try. Though he hasn’t tried this distance yet, his parents were top-class route horses: Curlin and Isabella Sings. Experienced local rider Luis Saez should keep him forward from start to finish, though he won’t have to get burned up if somehow a duel unfolds. In short, he has upside.
For deeper exotic plays, Dancing Groom has plenty of upside. He has some two-turn experience, with a win at a mile at Saratoga and an attempt in the Kentucky Jockey Club (G2) last fall at Churchill. Though he didn’t run his best that day, the new blinkers are a strong statistic for local trainer Antonio Sano, who spots horses well. He is not likely to find enough to win, but a reasonably sharp sophomore debut puts him in the frame.
These are the best bets for the 2024 Holy Bull Stakes!
