Frankie Dettori Kentucky Derby 2024: Jockey set for 33/1 shot

Retirement was so last year for Frankie Dettori as the Italian jockey has postponed his expected goodbye to the world of Horse Racing for a sojourn in the USA and that has led to him getting a ride in the biggest race that he has yet to win, the Kentucky Derby.

We take a look at how we got here and whether the 53-year-old can pull off the 33/1 upset and win the Run for the Roses…

Last year, Betfred took a giant farewell card to Doncaster ahead of the St Leger where over 2,000 fans passed on their best wishes for the popular jockey, as he headed towards the end of the road for his UK based career. A farewell tour saw him greeted fondly wherever he went but his career as a jockey wasn’t fully in the rearview mirror, as a stint over in California at Santa Anita beckoned.

One of the reasons for this extension to his time riding was the potential to mount a horse at the Kentucky Derby. Only once before in his career had he been able to, piloting China Visit to sixth-place back in 2000.

There was however a pretty big obstacle in his way, the fact the trainer he was primarily racing for was currently banned from entering horses into the race, following the disqualification of 2021 winner Medina Spirit after the failure of a post-race drug test. This incident, coupled with others that the trainer had been found guilty of in the past, led Churchill Downs to ban him from entering horses at the track for two years. That ban has subsequently been extended. Therefore, Dettori was having to search around to find a mount.

That chance has come in the form of 33/1 long shot Society Man, who has made it into the field on the back of a shock runner-up finish in the Wood Memorial as a 106/1 shot Stateside.

Sired by multiple Grade 1 winner, Good Magic, this three-year-old was not remotely on the radar heading into this prep race, having finished a lowly eighth in the Grade 3 Withers back in February. Yet finishing as runner-up in any of the eight biggest races on the Road to the Kentucky Derby earns 50 qualifying points and is all but certainly enough to get a horse into the Run for the Roses.

He will not be heavily backed Stateside and has opened as the joint-outsider in the pool betting at 50/1. In the UK though, we'll no doubt see some love for Frankie and his nous to win big races may not be as appreciated over the pond as it is here. Still, it would be fair to say that the odds are not unfair and even with the legendary jockey on him, Society Man is not expected to be in the mix as they hit the final furlong.

Trainer Danny Gargan has two horses entered into this race, both of whom were sired by Good Magic, although Dornoch is expected to be the more fancied of the two, having won the Remsen and Fountain of Youth before going down to Keeneland and running well in a top-class field in the Blue Grass, which was ultimately won by Derby favourite, Sierra Leone.

As for Frankie Dettori though, he will for only the second time in his long and storied career get to ride a horse in the Kentucky Derby and after the rank-outsider Rich Strike won the race just two years ago, who knows whether his time in the States will end up with the popular jockey winning the one that he really wants.

Society Man can be backed at 33/1 to win the race on our Ante Post market and we’ll have a full preview of the race later in the week.

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