Editor’s Note: Once again, Anthony Stabile will be providing LIVE COVERAGE of the 135th running of the Kentucky Derby all weekend. His expert selections for the Kentucky Derby are available for purchase, or you can receive his winners for the entire Triple Crown.

Kentucky Derby Preview: Part I - Part II - Part III

Kentucky Derby Analysis

Kentucky Derby Future Odds

135th Running of the Roses

Post Horse Trainer/Jockey Pros Cons 1 West Side Bernie Kelly Breen Stewart Elliot Making third start off a layoff, one of my favorite angles. Runs well over almost any surface; this will be his seventh different track in eight starts. All seven starts have come around two turns. Elliott won this in 2004 aboard Smarty Jones. Pedigree suggests he'll have distance limitations. Will be making his third start in six weeks. After winning first two starts he's winless in his last five; has a little hang in him. Terrible, terrible post; will break behind inner rail and must navigate his way around it. Trainer is making debut on big stage; never faced this kind of pressure. 2 Musket Man Derek Ryan Eibar Coa Has won five of six career starts and was third in lone defeat. Doesn't need to take his track with him as he's won over four different courses. Pedigree suggests he'll have distance limitations. Hasn't really faced or beaten much; ducked the big boys until now. Terrible draw; must worry about rail horse getting over and others dropping in on him. Trainer is making debut on big stage; never faced this kind of pressure. 3 Mr. Hot Stuff Eoin Harty John Vela Gets positive rider change from Nakatani to Johnny V. Though he's never raced on dirt, he's a full brother to 2008 Travers winner Colonel John. Bred to handle added distance. Has fared well since stretching out and removing blinkers. Eligible for entry level allowance contest. Highest Beyer figure is a 96. Despite pedigree, he has never raced on dirt. Johnny V. is winless in 10 tries. Not a great post position. 4 Advice Todd Pletcher Rene Douglas Not a single thing to like about this horse. Lone start on dirt, a fifth place finish in the Sunland Derby, wasn't good. Wheels back in just two weeks off Lexington score. Was terrible in G1 try and is eligible for a second level allowance race. Highest Beyer figure to date is a 94. 5 Hold Me Back Bill Mott Kent Desormeaux Running style and pedigree suggests he'll love the added distance. Will be making his third start off a layoff. Won G2 Lane's End off four month layoff before bouncing a bit when second in Blue Grass; rounding into a top number? Desormeaux won this in 1998 aboard Real Quiet, in 2000 aboard Fusaichi Pegasus and last year aboard Big Brown. Mott's one of the best in the business and has had plenty of recent success with Desormeaux. Lone dirt start in Remsen last year was awful despite a wide journey. Making his third start in six weeks. Mott is winless in six tries. Running style, combined with post, in a big field like this can get him into trouble. 6 Friesan Fire Larry Jones Gabriel Saez Has won last three, all in graded stakes, with blinkers. Stalking running style reminds me of 2003 Derby winner Funny Cide. Sire A.P. Indy won 1992 Belmont Stakes; pedigree suggests his handle added distance. Handled wet track well in Louisiana Derby romp last out over return winner Papa Clem. Saez is three for three aboard him; was second in debut last year aboard Eight Belles. Jones trained place horse in last two runnings - Hard Spun in 2007, Eight Bells last year. Hasn't run in seven weeks; everyone thought Mike Matz was crazy when he waited five weeks with Barbaro. Best race was over sloppy track; did he move up because of track? Has never raced past 1 1/16 miles. What's the mindset of Saez after last years' Eight Belles tragedy? What will he be thinking? :57 4/5 move on 4/27 was a little fast for my liking; worked three times over Keeneland Polytrack before that work. 7 Papa Clem Gary Stute Rafael Bejarano Successfully made the transition from synthetic to dirt with a second in slop in the La. Derby and a win in the Arkansas Derby over a fast dirt track. Pedigree is presents a nice blend of stamina and speed. Rated nicely last out after spending bulk of career as a front runner. Raced well against California's best when second in Bob Lewis three back. Has looked terrible in his two works over the Churchill strip. Trainer is making debut on big stage; never faced this kind of pressure. I think Bejarano is overrated and hasn't had any Derby success. 8 Mine that Bird Bennie "Chip" Woolley Jr. Calvin Borel Sire Birdstone won 2004 Belmont Stakes; pedigree suggests his handle added distance. Will be making his third start off a layoff. Switches riders to Borel, who won this in 2007 aboard Street Sense. All four career wins have come over the synthetic surface at Woodbine as a two-year-old. Tired in both dirt starts at Sunland Park; appears to have distance limitations. Hasn't faced or beaten much. Trainer is making debut on big stage; never faced this kind of pressure. 9 Join in the Dance Todd Pletcher Not a single thing to like about this horse. Lone win was in sprint; has tired at the end of both his route races; appears to have distance limitations. Save Tampa Bay Derby, other stakes races haven't been good. Pletcher has terrible Derby record. 10 Regal Ransom Saeed bin Suroor Alan Garcia Sire Distorted Humor sired 2003 Derby winner Funny Cide; pedigree suggests he'll handle added distance. Seems to be training very well since arriving at Churchill. Won UAE Derby over speed biased course that was likely altered to his liking so he'd get necessary earnings to get into this field. Figures to be used as pacesetter for stablemate Desert Party. Trainer hasn't had any Derby success thus far and the Derby debuting Garcia isn't riding well right now. 11 Chocolate Candy Jerry Hollendorfer Mike Smith Has been close to Pioneerof the Nile, including last out in G1 Santa Anita Derby, on two separate occasions. Smith won this in 2005 aboard longshot Giacomo. Two biggest wins came up in Northern California against much lesser foes. Times have been awfully slow. Has never raced on dirt. Isn't training as well as some of the others over the course. Highest Beyer figure is a 94. 12 General Quarters Thomas R. McCarthy Julien Leparoux Has improved vastly, winning Sam F. Davis and Blue Grass, in three starts since removing blinkers; encountered trouble in lone defeat in the Tampa Bay Derby. Though it came in his debut, he's the only horse in the field with a win over the course. Appears to be rounding into form after topping out three starts back some ten weeks ago. Leparoux is white hot and one of the best riders in the country and knows the course well. Skeptical about what he faced down at Tampa and in Blue Grass. Trainer is making debut on big stage; never faced this kind of pressure. Not thrilled with his pedigree. 13 I Want Revenge Jeff Mullins Joe Talamo Has really turned the corner since making the synthetic-to-dirt transition, winning the Gotham by 8 ½ and overcoming a ton of trouble to win the Wood Memorial last out with remarkable ease. Addition of blinkers three back seems to have helped as well. Raced well in California against some of the best the Left Coast has to offer. Though he's making his Derby debut, Talamo played off the terrible start and trip in the Wood coolly and deftly guided this colt through traffic trouble. Bounced last out in Wood off his Gotham score; did those two races take too much out of him? Mullins at the center of medication controversy in N.Y. and is under constant scrutiny in California; also has had little Derby success thus far. Has worked three times since Wood, which may be a bit too much in my opinion. Reared at the start in the Wood where Talamo said the horse to his outside bothered him; how is he going to react when he's surrounded by 19 horses and over 100K screaming fans? 14 Atomic Rain Kelly Breen Joe Bravo Not a single thing to like about this horse. Won or placed in all four starts without blinkers; finished third in three starts with. Lone win was in sprint; has tired at the end of all his route races; appears to have distance limitations. Eligible for entry level allowance contest; overmatched in his previous stakes tries. Appears to be here to serve as a rabbit for stablemate West Side Bernie. Trainer is making debut on big stage; never faced this kind of pressure. 15 Dunkirk Todd Pletcher Edgar Prado Showed amazing professionalism in his debut score when he was off slow and encountered traffic on the far turn. Overcame even more troubled when he got bounced around got caught seven wide on the first turn in his first start around two turns and against winners which he won easily as well. Made an eye-opening middle move to hook leaders on far turn over speed biased Gulfstream Park course in lone defeat when second in Fla. Derby last out. Running style and pedigree suggest he'll handle the added distance. Has trained well since last start. No horse has won the Derby without running as a two-year-old since Apollo in 1882; Curlin tried and failed. Don't like the fact that Gomez abandoned him; Prado isn't riding well at all. Five weeks between races isn't an ideal scenario. Pletcher has terrible Derby record. 16 Pioneerof the Nile Bob Baffert Garrett Gomez Has won all four starts, in graded stakes, including CashCall Futurity and Santa Anita Derby last out; since changing barns. Started career on turf and trained on dirt before his debut so he has some experience on a surface other than synthetic tracks. Looks great over the Churchill strip; both works solid and not too demanding. Baffert won this in 1997 with Silver Charm, in 1998 with Real Quiet and in 2002 with War Emblem. Has evolved from one run closer to stalking type due to lack of early pace in last pair; great asset to add to the arsenal. Gomez is at the top of his game right now and chose this one over Dunkirk. Though he's bred to handle it and is training brilliantly over it, he has never raced on dirt. His highest Beyer figure is a 96 while final times are a tad on the slow side. Started his career with Bill Mott on East Coast and made his first two starts on turf; why not on dirt? 17 Summer Bird Tim Ice Chris Rosier Closed well to finish third in Arkansas Derby last out, coming from dead last. Sire Birdstone won 2005 Belmont Stakes while broodmare sire Summer Squall won 1990 Preakness. Will be making just the fourth start of his career that began just about two months ago. Eligible for entry level allowance contest. Trainer and jockey are making their debuts on big stage; never faced this kind of pressure. 18 Nowhere to Hide Nick Zito Three best races, including lone win, came with blinkers, which are back on. Zito won this in 1991 with Strike the Gold and in 1994 with Go for Gin. Eligible for entry level allowance contest; has never seriously threatened in his previous stakes tries. Has drawn a terrible post and figures to get lost in the shuffle. Not a big fan of Bridgmohan. 19 Desert Party Saeed bin Suroor Ramon Dominguez Good second in G2 UAE Derby last out when running against a speed bias course. His sire, Street Sense, sired 2007 Derby winner Street Sense while grandsire Tabasco Cat won 1994 Preakness and Belmont, so distance shouldn't be a problem. Only horse to have already carried 126 lbs. Seems to be training very well since arriving at Churchill. Been training in Dubai and will not have a prep in U.S. Godolphin method of starting horses here, bringing them to Dubai then shipping back here for the classics has been unsuccessful so far. Trainer and jock have had little Derby success so far; Dominguez is overrated. Will have trouble saving ground from post 19. 20 Flying Private D. Wayne Lukas Robby Albarado Sire Fusaichi Pegasus won 2000 Derby while broodmare sire Unbridled won it in 1990. Lukas won this in 1988 with Winning Colors, in 1995 with Thunder Gulch, in 1996 with Grindstone and in 1999 with Charismatic. Eligible for entry level allowance contest; lone major dirt stakes try wasn't good. " Highest Beyer figure is a 94. " Lone win came in maiden sprint. " Is winless in two starts at Churchill. " Albarado hasn't had any Derby success.