Kentucky Derby Contenders: Horses Worth Rooting for in Elite Race

The Kentucky Derby is an amazing spectacle. When the horses make the final turn heading toward the finish line and the massive crowd goes wild, each person with unique rooting interests for the field of 19, it's easy to see why derby day has become such a popular event.

There is no shortage of different angles. Some prefer favorites, perhaps hoping to see the 35-year Triple Crown drought end, while others like underdogs. Another group is looking for a good story to emerge. And, of course, a lot of people are simply cheering for whichever horse they picked.

Regardless, everybody discovers a rooting interest and that makes it interesting. Let's take a look at the full list of horses ready to take center stage at Churchill Downs along with three horses worth rooting for during the "Most Exciting Two Minutes in Sports."

Complete Field

Post	Horse	Jockey	Trainer	Odds
1	Black Onyx	Joe Bravo	Kelly Breen	SCR
2	Oxbow	Gary Stevens	D. Wayne Lukas	23-1
3	Revolutionary	Calvin Borel	Todd Pletcher	5-1
4	Golden Soul	Robby Albarado	Dallas Stewart	32-1
5	Normandy Invasion	Javier Castellano	Chad Brown	7-1
6	Mylute	Rosie Napravnik	Tom Amoss	13-1
7	Giant Finish	Jose Espinoza	Anthony Dutrow	40-1
8	Goldencents	Kevin Krigger	Doug O'Neill	6-1
9	Overanalyze	Rafael Bejarano	Todd Pletcher	14-1
10	Palace Malice	Mike Smith	Todd Pletcher	24-1
11	Lines of Battle	Ryan Moore	Aidan O'Brien	33-1
12	Itsmyluckyday	Elvis Trujillo	Eddie Plesa Jr.	9-1
13	Falling Sky	Luis Saez	John Terranova II	39-1
14	Verrazano	John Velazquez	Todd Pletcher	9-1
15	Charming Kitten	Edgar Prado	Todd Pletcher	29-1
16	Orb	Joel Rosario	Claude McGaughey III	7-1
17	Will Take Charge	Jon Court	D. Wayne Lukas	30-1
18	Frac Daddy	Victor Lebron	Kenny McPeek	23-1
19	Java's War	Julien Leparoux	Kenny McPeek	21-1
20	Vyjack	Garrett Gomez	Rudy Rodriguez	37-1

Odds as of 10 a.m. ET (via KentuckyDerby.com)

Horses Worth Rooting For

Oxbow

Oxbow has done nothing to stand out from the crowd. At least not yet. He's registered just two wins in nine career starts and is coming off a lackluster showing in the Arkansas Derby. But the reason to root for him is jockey Gary Stevens.

After more than seven years in retirement, Stevens returned to action in early 2013. He has won the Kentucky Derby three times before, most recently on Silver Charm in 1997. Now the 50-year-old jockey is back looking for another win on the big stage.

The Arkansas Derby was the first race in which he rode Oxbow. He should now have a much better feel of what needs to be done in order to get him into the winner's circle. If they can pull off the upset, it would be a tremendous comeback story for Stevens.

Giant Finish

Underdog stories are always interesting. Giant Finish almost missed out on the derby entirely before a rash of withdrawals opened a spot for him (see video). He's the longest shot in the field, at least for now, at 40-1 odds after mixed results so far in 2013.

The long shots in today's race should all be getting an extra look. In yesterday's Kentucky Oaks, Princess of Sylmar shocked the Churchill Downs crowd by winning despite 38-1 odds. It provides a boost of confidence for those cheering on overlooked horses in the derby.

Giant Finish has shown some solid early pace. His best option is to try to get near the front and hope for a reasonable pace. It would leave him some energy for the stretch run and give him a chance to make it two marquee surprises in a row.

Revolutionary

It's hard to root against Calvin Borel, so why not root for him? The veteran jockey has three derby winners under his belt already, including a win aboard Street Sense in 2007, which really caused his stock to skyrocket.

What makes him so fun to watch is the sheer joy that comes with every victory. He always takes a chance to soak in the moment and anybody with such a likeable personality is going to attract a lot of fans and supporters.

His track record has caused Revolutionary to take over as the favorite for the 139th running of the race. Whether that status will hold as the race moves closer is unclear, but Revolutionary will have a lot of fans cheering him on, many because of Borel.