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Kentucky Derby Final Expert Picks And Predictions For Churchill Downs

We are closing in on the final hours before the 137th Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs. The 2011 race is one of the stranger fields to handicap, according to one expert who picked Dialed In, Mucho Macho Man, Midnight Interlude, and Soldat as his top four finishers in the field of 19 contenders.

Matt Gardner says this about the race Dialed In will need to run on Saturday afternoon.

While Dialed In is a deep closer, he has the ability to get into the race coming into the far turn. The key for Dialed In on Saturday is if jockey Julien Leparoux can get him to make a big move to get him close mid-way on the turn. If he can, I think he'll have an excellent chance to run down the leaders in the long Churchill Downs stretch drive.

Another interesting prediction out there is for Soldat (12/1) who is a speed horse who would do well if the track is wet and muddy. The latest weather prediction is for cloudy with only a 10 percent chance of rain at post time. Earlier in the day, thunder storms looked much more likely in the late afternoon but the latest weather report has them pushing off until the evening.

Here's the latest odds from Bodog.

1 ARCHARCHARCH 10/1
2 BRILLIANT SPEED 30/1
3 TWICE THE APPEAL  20/1
4 STAY THIRSTY 20/1
5 DECISIVE MOMENT  30/1
6 COMMA TO THE TOP  30/1
7 PANTS ON FIRE  20/1
8 DIALED IN  4/1
9 DERBY KITTEN  30/1
10 TWINSPIRED 30/1
11 MASTER OF HOUNDS  30/1
12 SANTIVA  30/1
13 MUCHO MACHO MAN  12/1
14 SHACKLEFORD  12/1
15 MIDNIGHT INTERLUDE  10/1
16 ANIMAL KINGDOM  30/1
17 SOLDAT  12/1   
18 UNCLE MO SCRATCHED
19 NEHRO  6/1
20 WATCH ME GO  50/1

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LOUISVILLE, KY - MAY 07: Fans admire horses and enjoy the atmosphere in the paddock area during the 137th Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs on May 7, 2011 in Louisville, Kentucky. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)

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 the SB Nation 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.