Kentucky Derby Results: Solid Finishers Who Should Challenge Orb in Preakness

There is no denying that Orb was the best horse in the 139th running of the Kentucky Derby as he made a late charge to win the first leg of the Triple Crown on Saturday. There were several other horses that acquitted themselves well, though, and their handlers would be wise to give them another crack at Orb in the Preakness Stakes.

According to Melissa Hoppert of the New York Times, the majority of the Kentucky Derby field will be held out of the Preakness. That includes the likes of Golden Soul and Revolutionary, who finished second and third respectively. While they likely won't be in the mix, a few others are still being considered.

Here are three Kentucky Derby horses who have yet to be ruled out of the Preakness and should be entered into the second jewel of the Triple Crown in order to upend Orb.

Kentucky Derby Finishing Order

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

Normandy Invasion

There was some question as to whether or not Normandy Invasion would be part of the Preakness Stakes, but according to USA Today, Normandy Invasion is now being considered as a possible entrant. Even so, there is a great deal of mystery surrounding Normandy Invasion's status. According to Fox Hill Farm, which owns Normandy Invasion, no decision has been made regarding the Preakness Stakes at this point.

This seems like gamesmanship more than anything at this point as Normandy Invasion's handlers probably want to keep Orb's group in the dark. Normandy Invasion was among the top contenders in the Kentucky Derby and ultimately finished fourth, so he is definitely a threat to halt Orb's pursuit of the Triple Crown. In fact, he is probably the biggest threat among the Kentucky Derby starters.

Jockey Javier Castellano is one of the best in the business and Chad Brown is an emerging trainer as well, so Normandy Invasion has the right people around him. He isn't an overly-experienced horse, with just six races to his credit, but he has run against the best of the best over the past couple months and is better prepared to challenge Orb than perhaps any other horse.

Mylute

Mylute was a favorite of many bettors thanks to the presence of female jockey Rosie Napravnik, but they proved to be much more than a nice story as they were in the mix throughout and ultimately finished fifth. Mylute is among the highest-finishing Kentucky Derby horses being considered for the Preakness, and there is no question that he should be entered.

Mylute is an extremely experienced horse with 10 races underneath him, so he won't be rattled by the big stage. While he has only won two out of his 10 starts, he is always in the mix and seems to be on the verge of breaking out. He finished second to Revolutionary in the Louisiana Derby, so it is clear that he can hang with the top horses. The main question is whether or not Napravnik will be aboard Mylute once again in the Preakness if he runs, according to Chris Korman of the Baltimore Sun.

While it would be great to see Napravnik ride him again, Mylute has had six different jockeys already, so another change probably wouldn't affect him. Whatever the case, Mylute is a very solid horse with plenty of potential, so it would make a lot of sense for trainer Tom Amoss to try his luck in the Preakness.

Oxbow

Hall-of-Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas entered two horses into the Kentucky Derby, and while neither of them ultimately finished in the money, they both looked strong and are among the candidates to start in the Preakness Stakes. The better performer of the two was Oxbow, who was ridden by the great Gary Stevens. While Oxbow would probably be a long shot in the Preakness despite his Kentucky Derby experience, he is one of those seasoned horses who can potentially sneak up on people.

After finishing a disappointing fifth in the Arkansas Derby, a sixth-place finish in the Kentucky Derby was actually very promising for Oxbow. He was among the horses who benefited from the blistering pace set by Palace Malice as he had something left in the tank late and found himself in an advantageous position.

Oxbow may not have the late kick necessary to beat an elite horse like Orb, but that doesn't mean he will be a non-factor. Strange things happen in horse racing all the time, so Orb could potentially struggle out of the gates in the Preakness and never find his bearings. If that is the case, then Oxbow is a horse that can potentially shock the world and steal a victory.

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