Racing: Prairie Bayou favourite in Kentucky

PRAIRIE BAYOU is expected to start favourite for the Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs tonight as he attempts to become the first gelding to win America's premier Classic since 1929.

Prairie Bayou is currently the 5-2 market leader with the Las Vegas oddsmakers, having won five of his eight starts, and will start from a favourable low draw, in stall five of 19.

The race will also mark the first attempt by Bill Shoemaker, the most successful rider in racing history, to take the Kentucky Derby as a trainer. Shoemaker, who has been confined to a wheelchair since a road accident in 1991, will send out Diazo.

Another interesting contender is El Bakan, who has raced only once outside Panama. El Bakan is quoted at 8-1, but was beaten on his only start in the US and is drawn on the wide outside at stall 19, and faces a long trek if he is to get a favourable rails pitch by the first turn.

Silver Of Silver, another 8-1 chance, is trained by 74-year-old Skippy Shapoff, who underwent heart bypass surgery just a month ago.