Kentucky Derby Entries 2016: Horses in the Field Best Suited for Churchill Downs

The 2016 Kentucky Derby features plenty of talent across the board among the entries for this coming Saturday's race at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky, but several stand out as notable contenders.

Some horses are simply more accomplished and proven than others and are therefore better suited to handle the 10-furlong jaunt around Churchill Downs on the grand stage of the Triple Crown opener.

Based on the quantity of races, distance traveled therein and bottom-line results, a select few stand out as prime, savvy bets to win the 142nd Run for the Roses.

Continue reading for a complete list of prospective Kentucky Derby entries, followed by a breakdown of those who project best to thrive at Churchill Downs.

Standing	Horse	Trainer	Jockey	Points
1	Gun Runner	Steven M. Asmussen	Florent Geroux	151
2	Nyquist	Doug F. O'Neill	Mario Gutierrez	130
3	Exaggerator	J. Keith Desormeaux	Kent J. Desormeaux	126
4	Outwork	Todd A. Pletcher	John R. Velazquez	120
5	Brody's Cause	Dale L. Romans	Luis Saez	114
6	Creator	Steven M. Asmussen	Ricardo Santana Jr.	110
7	Lani	Mikio Matsunaga	N/A	100
8	Mor Spirit	Bob Baffert	Gary L. Stevens	84
9	Mohaymen	Kiaran P. McLaughlin	Junior Alvarado	80
10	Danzing Candy	Clifford W. Sise Jr.	Mike E. Smith	60
11	Destin	Todd A. Pletcher	Javier Castellano	51
12	Suddenbreakingnews	Donnie K. Von Hemel	Luis Quinonez	50
13	Oscar Nominated	Michael J. Maker	Robby Albarado	50
14	Shagaf	Chad C. Brown	Irad Ortiz Jr.	50
15	Whitmore	Ron Moquett	Victor Espinoza	44
16	Tom's Ready	Dallas Stewart	Brian Hernandez Jr.	44
17	My Man Sam	Chad C. Brown	Julien R. Leparoux	40
18	Majesto	Gustavo Delgado	Javier Castellano	40
19	Trojan Nation	Patrick Gallagher	Aaron T. Gryder	40
20	Mo Tom	Thomas M. Amoss	Corey J. Lanerie	32

Horses Best Fitted for Churchill Downs

Nyquist

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The resume speaks for itself when it comes to trainer Doug O'Neill's consensus favorite, who's listed by Odds Shark at 10-3 odds, with a comfortable cushion between the next closest horses at 8-1.

Nyquist has seven starts and seven victories. Some Kentucky Derby horses have shown flashes of dominance, but none have been as consistent.

Like a tennis player whose polished game translates to all courts, Nyquist is the type of horse who'll run well anywhere. He racked up three Grade 1 wins during his 2015 campaign, which is an indicator of just how prolific he is.

"He's really thriving on training," said O'Neill late last month, per the Courier-Journal's Jonathan Lintner. "He's loving Kentucky, and we couldn't be happier with the way he's acting and looking."

The Florida Derby was Nyquist's chance to back up the hype, and he did so against a field that featured previously undefeated Churchill Downs entrant Mohaymen.

Although he had an advantageous No. 4 post position at Gulfstream Park, Nyquist was a near wire-to-wire winner and still showed extra energy at the finish. One could argue Nyquist could've been pushed harder, but with the race in hand and Louisville on the horizon, there was no need.

Nyquist ran 1 1/8 miles in his last start. He won't have to go but a furlong farther at Churchill Downs. Plus, he's won two other Grade 1 races at 1 1/16 miles in the FrontRunner Stakes and Breeders' Cup Juvenile.

With a tremendous workload to date, raging success therein and the stamina developed as a byproduct of the heavy schedule, the transition to Churchill Downs shouldn't change how Nyquist runs too drastically. He's in as good of shape to shine as anyone.

Exaggerator

Eclipse Sportswire/Getty Images

A sloppy track at Churchill Downs may not be good news for the vast majority of horses and their connections. The same can't necessarily be said for Exaggerator based on his rousing triumph at the Santa Anita Derby.

The 6 1/2-length romp displayed the explosiveness and upside Exaggerator has—but of course, it also begs the question of where it's been in many of his other appearances.

Exaggerator doesn't boast the type of steady results Nyquist and some of the other horses do. If recent form and the circumstances surrounding it—a la adverse track conditions—are to be any indication, though, bettors should by into Exaggerator's booming stock.

Even as the co-second favorite with Mohaymen at 8-1 from Odds Shark, Exaggerator is a wise wager. At those odds, it'd be worth seeing whether his rare blend of strength and speed at Santa Anita Park was his peak—or if it was a sign of bigger things yet to come.

And beyond how well the horse ran in his last start, his jockey may well have a lot to do with his favorable chances to win the Run for the Roses.

Kent Desormeaux will get the mount in Louisville and is a three-time Kentucky Derby champion. He hasn't won since 2008 and is arguably due to return to the winner's circle, and what a special year it would be to do so with his brother's debut in the race as a trainer.

Four wins in nine starts isn't a bad ratio for Exaggerator; he's never finished worse than his debut of fifth and has only finished out of the top three one other time. It's not hyperbolic to declare him a Kentucky Derby favorite.

Brody's Cause

Andy Lyons/Getty Images

In terms of the complete package among the horses who aren't necessarily drawing a ton of attention, it doesn't get much better than Brody's Cause.

Trainer Dale Romans explained to the Daily Racing Form's Marty McGee on Monday why he feels great about Brody's Cause entering the Triple Crown opener.

"You can check all the boxes with this one," said Romans of Brody's Cause. "He's run well over this racetrack, his pedigree and his races say he can handle the mile and a quarter, and he's run in big fields. Plus, he's as fit as I can get him, and I love how he's doing."

BloodHorse.com's Steve Haskin witnessed firsthand particular qualities in Brody's Cause that make him a prime candidate to finish in the money at Churchill Downs:

So it seems Brody's Cause not only has the physical tools to get the job done but also the temperament and intangibles that can be most unpredictable.

The clear caveats to the evidence presented thus far: Romans has significant bias in favor of the horse he has trained, and Brody's Cause could get riled up the day of the Kentucky Derby.

However, Romans wouldn't put forth such a strong endorsement only to see his horse fail, especially one with the size to handle 1 1/4 miles. To the second point of Haskin's analysis, at least Brody's Cause is showing encouraging signs early on of not being fazed by the venue.

Brody's Cause's strong all-around skill set was present in a Grade 1 Blue Grass Stakes victory in his most recent outing at 1 1/8 miles and also during a triumph in last year's Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Futurity over runner-up Exaggerator.

Poised to be a bargain if his line from Odds Shark holds at 12-1 odds or thereabouts, Brody's Cause is also a prototypical big horse for the course at Churchill Downs.

Stats courtesy of HorseRacingNation.com.