Kentucky Derby 2015 Contenders: Horse Pedigree and Jockey Info for Top Favorites

American Pharoah and Dortmund are going to be the 2015 Kentucky Derby contenders that get the most play leading up to the 141st annual Run for the Roses at Churchill Downs this Saturday.

Both horses are trained by a Hall of Famer in Bob Baffert and figure to continue being the odds-on favorites until the starting gates open in Louisville less than a week from now. The field is yet to be finalized, but the race's official website has a list of probables.

Also found at KentuckyDerby.com is basic information on all those horses, along with a brief overview of pedigree and jockey information and plenty of other tidbits about The Most Exciting Two Minutes in Sports.

Victor Espinoza won last year's Kentucky Derby aboard California Chrome and is slated to be in the saddle for American Pharoah. The combination of Baffert and Espinoza paired with a horse as talented as American Pharoah is a tough line of connections to beat.

Baffert has to figure Espinoza can help him get off the skids at Churchill Downs, since it was Espinoza who rode War Emblem to the winner's circle in 2002. Pioneerof the Nile, the 2009 Derby runner-up, is American Pharoah's sire.

Another Hall of Fame trainer in D. Wayne Lukas had high praise for American Pharoah, per The Courier-Journal:

But Dortmund, sired by 2008 Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner Big Brown, is unbeaten in six starts and raced to victory by 4¼ lengths at the Santa Anita Derby.

Jockey Martin Garcia noted after Dortmund's sixth win in as many starts how there's still room for improvement, per America's Best Racing:

Let's keep the focus on the duo from Baffert's barn that will generate the most buzz. Odds Shark lists American Pharoah as the prohibitive 5-2 favorite, with Dortmund garnering respectable odds at 4-1. Next closest is Carpe Diem at 15-2—nearly twice as long of odds as Dortmund has.

This provides an idea of just how out in front of the field American Pharoah and Dortmund are perceived to be. Baffert appears to have a great chance of seeing a winner from his stable for the first time since 2002's War Emblem.

Steve Penrod, a longtime horse trainer who now works at Churchill Downs, spoke of legends when referring to American Pharoah, per The Courier-Journal's Jennie Rees:

"

There's never been anything in modern time like this. You think back to the years like Secretariat and Seattle Slew. But those were single entities. Secretariat's stablemate was Angle Light, who beat Secretariat in the Wood. But nobody thought of him like these two. I can't remember anything like that, as close as those two. You'd have to go back to the Calumet era.

"

Rees brought up another relevant survey from not long ago:

That last part of Penrod's quote refers to Calumet Farm, who produced Citation and Coaltown in 1948. Citation went on to win the Triple Crown that year, while Coaltown finished runner-up in the Kentucky Derby.

So all the hype around Baffert's two top-tier contenders is well-deserved.

Garcia has won the Preakness Stakes but never the Kentucky Derby, though he did win the Breeders Cup Classic last year. There's no question he has the instincts to get it done at Churchill Downs. The question is whether American Pharoah is simply too tough with Espinoza in the irons.

The one advantage Dortmund might have is an edge in size and strength, which could help in terms of endurance over 10 furlongs. However, Dortmund's pace was too ambitious at first in the Santa Anita Derby, and he's not quite as gifted in terms of speed as American Pharoah is.

Baffert will take either horse who crosses the finish line first. All signs point to American Pharoah being the one.