Breaking down the field
Get the skinny on the Kentucky Derby horses
Here’s a look at the 20 horses entered in the 144th Kentucky Derby by Jason Frakes, who writes for The (Louisville) Courier-Journal. Post time is 6:46 p.m. ET Saturday (NBC).
1. Firenze Fire (50-1)
Owner: Mr. Amore Stable
Trainer: Jason Servis
Jockey: Paco Lopez
Record: 4-1-0 in nine starts
Notable: Firenze Fire won three of his first four races as a 2-year-old before finishing seventh in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile.
2. Free Drop Billy (30-1)
Owner: Albaugh Family Stables
Trainer: Dale Romans
Jockey: Robby Albarado
Record: 2-3-2 in eight starts
Notable: After winning his maiden race at Churchill Downs last June, Free Drop Billy has competed in nothing but graded stakes. He was ninth in November’s Breeders’ Cup Juvenile at Del Mar.
3. Promises Fulfilled (30-1)
Owner: Robert Baron
Trainer: Dale Romans
Jockey: Corey Lanerie
Record: 3-0-1 in five starts Notable: Promises Fulfilled was ninth in his last race, the Florida Derby on March
31. The horse was purchased for $37,000 at the Keeneland September 2016 Yearling Sale.
4. Flameaway (30-1)
Owner: John Oxley
Trainer: Mark Casse
Jockey: Jose Lezcano
Record: 5-2-0 in nine starts
Notable: With nine career races, Flameaway will be one of the most experienced horses in the field. He finished sixth in his only race at Churchill Downs, the Grade 3 Iroquois last September.
5. Audible (8-1)
Owners: China Horse Club International, Head of Plains Partners, Starlight Racing and WinStar Farm
Trainer: Todd Pletcher
Jockey: Javier Castellano
Record: 4-0-1 in five starts
Notable: Trying to take the same path as Pletcher’s 2017 Derby winner Always Dreaming, who also entered after a victory in the Florida Derby. Audible won the Florida Derby by 3 lengths over Hofburg.
6. Good Magic (12-1)
Owners: E Five Racing Thoroughbreds and Stonestreet Stables
Trainer: Chad Brown
Jockey: Jose Ortiz
Record: 2-2-1 in five starts
Notable: Won the Eclipse Award for 2year-old juvenile male after winning the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile at 11-1 odds last November. In April won the Blue Grass by
11⁄ lengths over Flameaway. 2
7. Justify (3-1)
Owners: China Horse Club International, Head of Plains Partners, Starlight Racing and WinStar Farm
Trainer: Bob Baffert
Jockey: Mike Smith
Record: 3-0-0 in three starts Notable: Justify will try to become the first Derby winner since Apollo in 1882 who didn’t race as a 2-year-old. The horse won the Santa Anita Derby by 3 lengths over Bolt d’Oro on April 7.
8. Lone Sailor (50-1)
Owner: G M B Racing
Trainer: Tom Amoss
Jockey: James Graham
Record: 1-3-1 in eight starts
Notes: Gayle Benson is the widow of Tom Benson, the former owner of the New Orleans Saints and New Orleans Pelicans. He died March 15.
9. Hofburg (20-1)
Owner: Juddmonte Farms
Trainer: Bill Mott
Jockey: Irad Ortiz Jr.
Record: 1-1-0 in three starts
Notable: Given his relative inexperience and strong stretch run in the Florida Derby, where he finished second, Hofburg is considered by many this year’s wiseguy horse for the Derby.
10. My Boy Jack (30-1)
Owners: Don’t Tell My Wife Stables and Monomoy Stables
Trainer: Keith Desormeaux
Jockey: Kent Desormeaux
Record: 3-3-2 in 10 starts
Notes: The Desormeauxs are the first trainer-jockey sibling duo in the Derby since Randy ( jockey) and Gerald (trainer) Romero with Dixieland Heat, who was 12th in 1993.
11. Bolt d’Oro (8-1)
Owner/trainer: Mick Ruis
Jockey: Victor Espinoza
Record: 4-1-1 in six starts
Notes: Bolt d’Oro won his first three career starts and was the favorite in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile before finishing third. He was second to Justify in the Santa Anita Derby on April 7.
12. Enticed (30-1)
Owner: Godolphin
Trainer: Kiaran McLaughlin
Jockey: Junior Alvarado
Record: 3-1-1 in six starts Notable: McLaughlin said Enticed deserved to win the Wood Memorial after some bumping down the stretch, but Vino Rosso was held up as the winner after an inquiry and Enticed was second.
13. Bravazo (50-1)
Owner: Calumet Farm
Trainer: D. Wayne Lukas
Jockey: Luis Contreras
Record: 3-1-1 in eight starts Notes: Bravazo earned his spot in the Derby by winning the Grade 2 Risen Star on Feb. 17 at Oaklawn Park at 21-1 odds.
14. Mendelssohn (5-1)
Owners: Derrick Smith, Susan Magnier and Michael Tabor
Trainer: Aidan O’Brien
Jockey: Ryan Moore
Record: 4-1-0 in seven starts Notes: Mendelssohn was the highestpriced American yearling of 2016, a
$3 million purchase at the Keeneland September 2016 Yearling Sale. He won the UAE Derby by 18 lengths on March 31.
15. Instilled Regard (50-1)
Owner: Oxo Equine
Trainer: Jerry Hollendorfer Jockey: Drayden Van Dyke
Record: 2-2-1 in seven starts Notes: Hollendorfer originally declared Instilled Regard off the Derby trail after his fourth-place finish in the Santa Anita Derby but later reconsidered.
16. Magnum Moon (6-1)
Owners: Lawana and Robert Low Trainer: Todd Pletcher
Jockey: Luis Saez
Record: 4-0-0 in four starts
Notable: His first race was on Jan. 13, a
4½-length score at Gulfstream Park. He’ll try to become the first Kentucky Derby winner who didn’t race as a 2-year-old since Apollo accomplished the feat in
1882.
17. Solomini (30-1)
Owner: Zayat Stables, Susan Magnier, Michael Tabor and Derrick Smith
Trainer: Bob Baffert
Jockey: Flavien Prat
Record: 1-3-2 in six starts Notable: Solomini will give Zayat Stables its first Derby starter since American Pharoah, who won the Triple Crown in
2015.
18. Vino Rosso (12-1)
Owners: Repole Stable and St. Elias Stable Trainer: Todd Pletcher
Jockey: John Velazquez
Record: 3-0-1 in five starts
Notes: Vino Rosso won the Wood Memorial by 3 lengths over Enticed.
19. Noble Indy (30-1)
Owners: WinStar Farm and Repole Stable Trainer: Todd Pletcher
Jockey: Florent Geroux
Record: 3-0-1 in four starts
Notable: Noble Indy got passed by Lone Sailor in the final furlong of the Louisiana Derby before battling back along the rail to win.
20. Combatant (50-1)
Owners: Winchell Thoroughbreds and Willis Horton Racing
Trainer: Steve Asmussen
Jockey: Ricardo Santana Jr.
Record: 1-3-1 in seven starts
Notable: Post positions have been a problem for Combatant. He broke from the No. 9 post in a field of nine for the Arkansas Derby and from No. 10 in a field of 10 for the Rebel on March 17.