Who do you like in Saturday's Kentucky Derby?
Do you like the favorite, a longshot or will you play your favorite numbers.
Here are some facts on all 20 starters that hopefully will help you make up your mind.
1. DADDY LONG LEGS
Trainer - Aidan OBrien
Jockey - Colm ODonoghue
LAST THREE STARTS
3-31 UAE Derby 1-1
11-5 Breeders Cup Juvenile 12-19
9-24 Royal Lodge Stakes 1-3
Will try to become the first horse to parlay a victory in the United Arab Emirates Derby into a victory in the Kentucky Derby after scoring in Dubai in March. Hes won three of five starts but none on the dirt, where he finished 12th in last years Breeders Cup Juvenile over this track. OBrien and ODonoghue are both o-fers in the Derby.
2. OPTIMIZER
Trainer - Wayne Lukas
Jockey - jon court
LAST THREE STARTS
4-14 Arkansas Derby 9-20
3-17 Rebel Stakes 2-
2-25 Risen Star 9-13
Got lucky to get into the field when Mark Valeski scratched on Tuesday. The colt will be Lukas record 45th Derby starter and will try to become his fifth Derby winner. Closed powerfully to be second in the Rebel Stakes but failed to lift a hoof last month in the Arkansas Derby. This is Courts second Derby mount.
3. TAKE CHARGE INDY
Trainer - Patrick Byrne
Jockey - Calvin Borel
LAST THREE STARTS
3-31 Florida Derby 1-1
1-29 Allowance 2-2
11-5 Breeders Cup Juvenile 5-6
May have an ace in the hole with Borel. The 45-year-old has won three of the last five Derbies and is closing in on 5,000 career winners. This will be the first Derby starter for Byrne who made a controversial but correct decision of scratching out of the Tampa Bay Derby to run in the Florida Derby which they won defeating Union Rags in the process.
4. UNION RAGS
Trainer - Michael Matz
Jockey - Julien Leparoux
LAST THREE STARTS
3-31 Florida Derby 3-1
2-26 Fountain of Youth 1-4
11-5 Breeders Cup Juvenile 2-head
Had legitimate excuses in his lone two losses, including the Florida Derby, where he was pinned in throughout before finding room too late finishing full of run to be third. Prior effort was a breathtaking victory in the Fountain of Youth. This will be Matz third Derby starter, winning it in 2006 with Barbaro, while Leparoux is winless in five starts.
5. DULLAHAN
Trainer - Dale Romans
Jockey - Kent Desormeaux
LAST THREE STARTS
4-14 Blue Grass 1-1
3-11 Palm Beach Stales 2-1
11-5 Breeders Cup Juvenile 4-6
Was impressive taking the Blue Grass Stakes last month but both of his wins have come at Keeneland over the synthetic Polytrack. He is a half-brother to the 2009 Derby winner Mine That Bird but no sibling of a Derby winner has ever come back to win the Derby. Desormeaux is seeking his fourth Derby winner however and Romans his first.Southwest Stakes earlier this year. The colt finished second in his lone start over this surface and put in a bullet workout here last Friday covering 5f in :59.40.
6. BODEMEISTER
Trainer - Bob Baffert
Jockey - Mike Smith
LAST THREE STARTS
4-14 Arkansas Derby 1-9
3-10 San Felipe 2-
2-11 Maiden 1-9
Went from almost not making Derby field to the favorite after a smashing score in the Arkansas Derby. The colt, named after Bafferts son Bode and would cap a touching story as Baffert is recovering from a heart attack in March. He has never raced as a 2-year-old and the last horse to win the Derby without running at 2 was Apollo in 1882.Southwest Stakes earlier this year. The colt finished second in his lone start over this surface and put in a bullet workout here last Friday covering 5f in :59.40.
7. ROUSING SERMON
Trainer - Jerry Hollendorfer
Jockey - Jose Lezcano
LAST THREE STARTS
4-1 Louisiana Derby 3-2
3-10 San Felipe 5-7
2-4 Robert Lewis 4-6
Got into Derby despite going winless this year from three starts. The bulk of his graded earnings came last year when second, beaten just a neck, in the Grade I Futurity at Hollywood Park. The colt is trained by Hall of Famer Jerry Hollendorfer, who in winless in four Derby attempts, while Lezcano is winless from three mounts.
8. CREATIVE CAUSE
Trainer - Michael Harrington
Jockey - Joel Rosario
LAST THREE STARTS
4-7 Santa Anita Derby 2-nose
3-10 San Felipe Stakes 1-
2-19 San Vicente Stakes 3-1
This will be the first Derby starter for the 71-year-old Harrington and his prized pupil looked like the best horse on the west coast until he lost the Santa Anita Derby when Harrington took the blinkers off the colt. He will race without the blinkers in the Derby and that may prove a costly mistake. Rosario is winless from two Derby mounts.
9. TRINNIBERG
Trainer - Bisnath Parboo
Jockey - Willie Martinez
LAST THREE STARTS
4-7 Bay Shore Stakes 1-3
3-10 Swale Stake 1-6
11-4 Breeders Cup Juv. Sprint 7-13
Derby Fever apparently afflicted the connections of this horse. A confirmed sprinter whos never run further than seven furlongs in his career will attempt to stretch out his brilliant speed to the mile-and-a-quarter distance of the Derby. It will be Parboos first Derby starter and the fifth Derby mount for Martinez.
10. DADDY NOSE BEST
Trainer - Steve Asmussen
Jockey - Garrett Gomez
LAST THREE STARTS
3-25 Sunland Derby 1-
2-18 El Camino Real Derby 1-nose
12-31 Eddie Logan 5-3
One of two starters for Trainer Steve Asmussen, who is winless from 10 Derby starters. The colt has won two straight, including an impressive score in the Sunland Derby. Showed the unique ability to handle any surface as hes won on turf, dirt and synthetic and has won at four different tracks. Gomez is winless from eight Derby mounts.
11. ALPHA
Trainer - Kiaran McLaughlin
Jockey - Rajiv Maragh
LAST THREE STARTS
4-7 Wood Memorial 2-neck
2-4 Withers Stakes 1-3
1-7 Count Fleet 1-2
Enters Derby off a narrow miss in the Wood where he encountered trouble on the first turn only to come up a neck short. The colt has been first or second in five of six starts but lone off-the-board finish came at Churchill when 11th in the Breeders Cup after being fractious in the gate.
12. PROSPECTIVE
Trainer - Mark Casse
Jockey - Luis Contreras
LAST THREE STARTS
4-14 Blue Grass 6-6
3-10 Tampa Bay Derby 1-
2-4 Sam F. Davis 2-1
Finished 13th and last in the Breeders Cup Juvenile last year over this surface but has won two of four starts this year, including the Tampa Bay Derby, where he wore blinkers for the first time. Ignore his last start where he failed to handle the Polytrack in the Blue Grass. This is Contreras first Derby mount and second for Casse.
13. WENT THE DAY WELL
Trainer - Graham Motion
Jockey - John Velazquez
LAST THREE STARTS
3-24 Spiral Stakes 1-3
3-3 Maiden 1-1
2-4 Maiden 4-1
Will history repeat itself? Last year Animal Kingdom won the Derby for Motion, Velazquez and owner Team Valor and theyre set up for a repeat after this colt won the Spiral Stakes in his final prep, the same race Animal Kingdom used before his Derby score. Hell wear blinkers in the Derby. Velazquez is 1-for-13 in Derby, Motion is 1-for-3.
14. HANSEN
Trainer - Michael Maker
Jockey - Ramon Dominguez
LAST THREE STARTS
4-14 Blue Grass 2-1
3-3 Gotham Stakes 1-3
1-29 Holy Bull Stakes 2-5
Last years champion 2-year-old hasnt been worse than second from six career starts, winning four of them, including the Breeders Cup Juvenile over this strip. Dominguez, who is winless from eight Derby starts, chose to ride this near-white colt over Alpha and his tail wont be dyed blue for the race, according to eccentric owner Kendall Hansen.
15. GEMOLOGIST
Trainer - Todd Pletcher
Jockey - Javier Castellano
LAST THREE STARTS
4-7 Wood Memorial 1-neck
3-16 Allowance 1-7
11-26 Kentucky Jockey Club 1-1
Enters the Derby undefeated and two-for-two over Churchills main track, including a victory in last years Kentucky Jockey Club. Owned by WinStar Farm, this colt will try to give Pletcher his second Derby winner as WinStar and Pletcher teamed up with Super Saver in 2010. Castellano is winless from five Derby mounts.
16. EL PADRINO
Trainer - Todd Pletcher
Jockey - Rafael Bejarano
LAST THREE STARTS
3-31 Florida Derby 4-3
2-25 Risen Star Stakes 1-nose
1-29 Allowance 1-2
Looked like a promising Derby candidate after taking the Risen Star Stakes in February, but was a dull fourth in the Florida Derby and then turned in a slow workout Sunday. Pletcher says Derbys extra distance could turn things around for the chestnut colt. Bejarano is 0-for-7 in the Derby, while Pletcher is 1-for-29.
17. DONE TALKING
Trainer - HAMILTON SMITH
Jockey - SHELDON RUSSELL
LAST THREE STARTS
4-7 Illinois Derby 1-
3-3 Gotham Stakes 10-20
11-26 Remsen 4-1
Gives both 67-year-old Smith and 24-year-old Russell their first Derby starter. After a successful 2-year-old campaign, the colt flopped in the Gotham Stakes over a good strip before rebounding with a last-to-first finish in the Illinois Derby. Despite the win appears one of the slowest of the bunch.
18. SABERCAT
Trainer - Steve Asmussen
Jockey - Corey Nakatani
LAST THREE STARTS
4-14 Arkansas Derby 3-9
3-17 Rebel Stakes 8-6
11-19 Delta Jackpot 1-4
A win here for the colt would snap the Derby losing streaks of both Asmussen and Nakatani, who are 0-for-10 and 0-for-15 respectively in the Run for the Roses, the longest current losing streaks for a Trainer and Jockey. Last year, they were close at Churchill, when they teamed to finish second with Nehro.
19. ILL HAVE ANOTHER
Trainer - Doug O'Neill
Jockey - Mario Gutierrez
LAST THREE STARTS
4-7 Santa Anita Derby 1-nose
2-4 Robert Lewis 1-2
9-5 Hopeful Stakes 6-19
Enters the race as perhaps the best horse in California after taking both the Robert Lewis and the Santa Anita Derby. Was actually put on the vets list on April 20 after receiving shock-wave treatment to his back, but has since been cleared to race. This is Gutierrez first Derby mount while ONeill is winless from two starters.
20. LIAISON
Trainer - Bob Baffert
Jockey - Martin Garcia
LAST THREE STARTS
4-7 Santa Anita Derby 6-9
3-10 San Felipe 4-5
2-4 Robert Lewis DNF
Was spectacular as a 2-year-old, winning three of four starts a year ago, but has been winless this year from three starts. Baffert blames the hard surface of Santa Anita and says the horse has thrived since arriving at Churchill Downs and will race with blinkers. Switches to Garcia, who won the Preakness for Baffert in 2010 aboard Lookin at Lucky.