Kentucky Derby 2012 Post Time: Under-the-Radar Horses to Keep Your Eye On

When the horses and their jockeys get into position for the 2012 Kentucky Derby at 6:24 p.m. ET there will be a few under-the-radar horses you need to keep your eye on.

Perhaps these horses won't be winners, and perhaps they may not even be close, but every year there is at least one that comes out of nowhere to give the front-runners a scare.

Every now and then a horse with huge odds against will win the thing. That's the beauty of the Kentucky Derby—you just never know.

That being said, pay attention to these under-the-radar horses today:

Trinniberg

Trinniberg is a very interesting horse that very well may go on to shock a lot of people. At 39-1 odds Trinniberg is obviously a huge long shot, but you have to like what you're getting out of him.

He's a sprinter, which means that he'll get out right away and try to set the pace of the race. If Trinniberg can get ahead and the rest of the field gets stuck behind, he very well may be in position to pull it out in the end.

One thing is for certain, and that's that Trinniberg is used to finishing up front. He finished first in his fast two races and has finished in second twice. If he gets ahead, chances are he'll stay there. At 39-1 odds, this could be a very interesting horse.

Optimizer

You have to like Optimizer because of the team he's got taking care of him.

He's trained by Hall-of-Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas, who has won the Kentucky Derby four times. If there is a trainer out there who knows the ropes of the derby, it's Lukas. Optimizer's jockey is Jon Court, a rider with over 3,000 career victories.

Optimizer is being taken care of by the best, and  I have to believe that his staff will play into the way that he races.

His trainer has been a Kentucky Derby champion before, so he knows how to train a horse like a champion. Don't be surprised if he makes those 35-1 odds look silly.

My Pick

While horses like Union Rags and Bodemeister are getting all the publicity right now, it's these two horses that really will play a huge factor in the race.

Personally I really like what Trinniberg is bringing to the table. If he can get ahead and just power through the long race, I like his chances.

Another horse I will be paying attention to though is Perspective, who is at 58-1 odds. As I wrote about here, this is a horse that is described as collected and cool, and I feel that is a very underrated quality, especially in a race as big as this.

If I had to choose one horse to win, though....

AK's Pick: Trinniberg