Kentucky Derby Field 2013: Pinpointing Favorites, Dark Horses and Busts

Race day has arrived at Churchill Downs. 

The 2013 Kentucky Derby field is set, as 19 horses will vie for the roses at the Triple Crown's first leg in Louisville, Ky., on Saturday evening. 

But for every favorite this weekend, there is a dark-horse contender and, of course, a bust to be on the lookout for.

With post time fast approaching, we'll break down the field, pinpointing the top favorites, dark horses and busts to watch along the way on Saturday.

2013 Kentucky Derby—Churchill Downs, Louisville, Ky.

Grade I 

Purse: $2.18 Million

Distance: 10 furlongs 

Post Time: 6:24 p.m. ET

Channel: NBC

*Post positions via the Kentucky Derby's official Twitter account. Odds via KentuckyDerby.com.

Post	Horse	Jockey	Trainer	Odds
1	OPEN*	---	---	---
2	Oxbow	Gary Stevens	D. Wayne Lukas	22-1
3	Revolutionary	Calvin Borel	Todd Pletcher	5-1
4	Golden Soul	Robby Albarado	Dallas Stewart	31-1
5	Normandy Invasion	Javier Castellano	Chad Brown	7-1
6	Mylute	Rosie Napravnik	Tom Amoss	13-1
7	Giant Finish	Jose L. Espinoza	Anthony W. Dutrow	39-1
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 R. Velazquez	Todd Pletcher	9-1
15	Charming Kitten	Edgar Prado	Todd Pletcher	29-1
16	Orb	Joel Rosario	Claude R. 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	22-1
20	Vyjack	Garrett Gomez	Rudy Rodriguez	36-1

*Black Onyx has been scratched from post No. 1, according to Churchill Downs PR on Twitter.

Top Favorites

There are five horses that are being viewed as the favorites to win this weekend. Revolutionary, Goldencents, Normandy Invasion, Orb and Verrazano are the top contenders to know on Saturday. 

Each has looked very strong in recent outings, and both Orb and Verrazano enter Saturday's event on four-race winning streaks.

Orb picked up a pair of big victories at Gulfstream Park this year, winning the Grade II Fountain of Youth Stakes and following that up with a win in the Grade I Florida Derby. Meanwhile, Verrazano is unbeaten in four career races, picking up notable wins at the Grade II Tampa Bay Derby and Grade I Wood Memorial Stakes.

Revolutionary's biggest win came at the Grade II Louisiana Derby earlier this spring, while Goldencents put himself on the map with an impressive win at the Grade I Santa Anita Derby in early April.

With three-time Derby winner Calvin Borel on board right off the rail in post No. 3, Revolutionary is my pick to win the 139th Run for the Roses this weekend.

Dark Horses to Consider

Overanalyze is the name to know when it comes to this year's dark-horse contenders. 

One of five 2013 Derby horses trained by Todd Pletcher, the Grade I Arkansas Derby winner is picking up momentum heading into the race. He'll start from post No. 9 with 14-1 odds. Remember, I'll Have Another won with 15-1 odds a year ago.

Two other notable dark horses are Pletcher's Palace Malice and Charming Kitten. Both will start from favorable posts (Nos. 10 and 15 respectively) and will be ridden by Kentucky Derby-winning jockeys in Mike Smith and Edgar Prado.

Palace Malice was a runner-up in last month's Grade I Toyota Blue Grass Stakes at Keeneland in Lexington, while Charming Kitten finished half a length behind that in third place.

Potential Busts

It's difficult to project which horses will come up short at Churchill Downs this weekend, but there are a handful of colts running out of unfavorable posts on Saturday that bettors should be wary of.

Oxbow will look to become the first horse to win the Derby from post No. 2 since Triple Crown winner Affirmed ran out of the second slot way back in 1978. With Black Onyx scratched from post No. 1, stay away from Oxbow, as he'll likely be forced to the rail early, becoming a non-factor down the stretch.

Will Take Charge is another horse to avoid. He'll start from dreaded post No. 17. No horse has ever won the Derby from that outside slot.

With a decent amount of favorites running in this year's race, there are also sure to be some busts at the top of the odds list. Verrazano is one favorite with bust potential. After all, it's been over 50 years since a horse won the Derby from post No. 14, where Verrazano will run out of on Saturday.

Follow Bleacher Report Featured Columnist Patrick Clarke on Twitter.