Kentucky Derby Field 2019: Pinpointing Contenders from All Horses and Jockeys
The 19-horse field for the 2019 Kentucky Derby is littered with contenders.
A legitimate case could be made for close to half of the field to come out on top of the first leg of the Triple Crown.
This is a complete difference from last year's race, when Justify entered as the overwhelming favorite and took home first place for trainer Bob Baffert.
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With so many contenders and recent winners from major stakes races competing in the race, there is a chance for Saturday's race to be one of the most competitive ones in its 145-year history.
Kentucky Derby Field, Post Position and Jockeys
2. War of Will (Jockey: Tyler Gaffalione)
3. Tax (Junior Alvarado)
4. By My Standards (Gabriel Saez)
5. Gray Magician (Drayden Van Dyke)
6. Improbable (Irad Ortiz Jr.)
7. Vekoma (Javier Castellano)
8. Maximum Security (Luis Saez)
9. Tacitus (Jose Ortiz)
10. Plus Que Parfait (Ricardo Santana Jr.)
11. Cutting Humor (Mike Smith)
12. Code of Honor (John Velazquez)
13. Win Win Win (Julian Pimentel)
14. Master Fencer (Julien Leparoux)
15. Game Winner (Joel Rosario)
16. Roadster (Florent Geroux)
17. Long Range Toddy (Jon Court)
18. Spinoff (Manny Franco)
19. Country House (Flavien Prat)
20. Bodexpress (Chris Landeros)
Pinpointing Contenders In the Field
Game Winner
It is a good idea to take at least one of the three horses trained by Bob Baffert as one of your Kentucky Derby picks.
If you choose the winner based on name alone, Game Winner has to be your choice.
Game Winner comes into the Kentucky Derby with four consecutive top-two finishes after second-place marks at the Rebel Stakes and Santa Anita Derby and wins in 2018 in the American Pharoah Stakes and Breeders' Cup Juvenile.
The Breeders' Cup Juvenile win is the one that means the most since the race occurred at Churchill Downs.
Game Winner has the rare experience of winning a major race at Churchill Downs before the Kentucky Derby, and that could prove to be valuable as the race progresses.
However, there is an argument against taking Game Winner since he lost to fellow favorite Roadster at the Santa Anita Derby and only one beat one Kentucky Derby participant, Code of Honor, at the Breeders' Cup Juvenile.
Win Win Win
The other horse with "win" in his name has not been as successful as Game Winner, but Win Win Win has put up some solid results in the buildup to the Kentucky Derby.
Win Win Win took second to fellow Kentucky Derby participant Vekoma at the Blue Grass Stakes in April and third in the Tampa Bay Derby won by Tacitus in March.
Although Win Win Win did not come away with a victory in either of those races, he proved he could be near the front of the pack in a pair of races with a wide array of entrants.
Win Win Win should feel comfortable among the pack, and he is going to need that experience coming from post No. 14.
Work has to be done from the outside post positions to get involved in the pack, but it would be wise of jockey Julian Pimentel to lead Win Win Win behind Roadster and Game Winner, who should try to break early from posts No. 15 and No. 16.
If Win Win Win can latch on to two of the Baffert-trained horses and move up throughout the field, he could end up with an opportunity to steal the victory for trainer Michael Trombetta.
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