It’s one of the to the highest degree unbelievable stats inward all of sports. In the previous 146 runnings of the Kentucky Derby, a Louisville-native trainer has never won the race. Brad Cox is hoping to exchange that.

Cox will make 2 entries in Saturday’s Grade 1 Derby, including the likely favorite, undefeated 2-year-old hero Essential Quality. He’s won several Breeders’ Cup races in his career, but never a Triple Crown race. In fact, Essential Quality and Mandaloun are his number one Derby horses.

“I’m not too neural yet, just getting excited,” said Cox, who grew upwards just now blocks forth from historical Winston S. Churchill Downs. “This hebdomad is a lot of fun, and I’m really excited to be a piece of it inwards this role.”

Expect that to alteration as it draws closer to the 6:57 pm ET brand time.

Essential Quality isn’t the only if undefeated gymnastic horse inwards the theatre of operations of 19, but he’s the most accomplished. He won II Grade 1 races endure year, including the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile. This year, he won 2 Derby prep races, the Grade 3 southwestern United States Stakes in the clay at Oaklawn Mungo Park and the Grade 2 Blue Gunter Wilhelm Grass Stakes at Keeneland.

The Blue Grass is I of seven Derby prep races where the victor gets 100 points toward qualifying for the Run for the Roses. The Tapit-sired colt is the only if betting favorite to win one of those races.

Luis Saez will mount Essential Quality, who testament split up from the 14th gate Sabbatum evening.

“I believe it’ll live a ripe spot,” Cox said. “He’s got just tactical fastness that he’ll be able-bodied to have into a well(p) billet from there.”

Three Likely to Challenge Essential Quality

Churchill Downs oddsmaker Mike Battaglia made Essential Quality the 2-1 morning-line favorite. But his betting odds will likely unload once Jim “Mattress Mack” McIngvale bets his millions on him. He already position in $500,000 of his planned play on Friday.

The big field of operation means pretty practically anything tin can happen. But the spinning top contender to Essential Quality is potential inward the logic gate next to his. St. John Sadler trains Rock Your World, another undefeated colt coming turned an impressive win inward the Grade 1 Santa Anita Derby. It was only when his 3rd race, and his first-class honours degree on dirt.

However, Sadler also chose to electric switch jockeys, sledding with Joel Rosario over Umberto Rispoli.

Make no more mistake, Umberto Rispoli is a terrifying rider,” said Sadler, who also seeks his first Derby win. “He’s won Santa Anita’s stakes the shoemaker's last 2 weekends for me, and we’ve won a lot of races together. But the analytics with Book of Joel are so strong, I simply couldn’t notch upward the opportunity. I’m hoping, of course, it all workings out.”

Rock Your World breaks 15th and has morning-line odds of 5-1.

Another pinch contender is Known Agenda, who has 6-1 morning-line odds. However, the Lord Todd Pletcher-trained Grade 1 Florida Derby victor drew the interior gate. That agency he’ll need a warm commence to avoid getting crowded at the rail past his 18 competitors.

“Obviously it’s non what we were hoping for,” Pletcher said. “But, of course, this is i of the things you can’t control. With the unexampled (20-stall) gate, we’re hopeful that things will be meliorate than they were in the past and the station won’t follow that bad.”

Irad Ortiz gets the mount.

Breaking from the ninth carry is Hot Rod Charlie. He has simply deuce calling wins in seven starts, but won the Louisiana Derby dorsum inwards March. Flavien Prat testament ride the Doug O’Neill-trained colt, whose morning-line odds are 8-1.

Value inwards Next Tier of Derby Horses

The next tier up of horses are ones who may live capable to pull sour an derangement win in the Derby, and should live considered for exotic wagers as well.

Highly Motivated led the entire way of life during the Blue Grass, until Essential Quality caught him inward the net strides. Trained past Republic of Chad Brown and ridden past Javier Castellano, he’ll happy chance from the 16th carry after Martin Luther King Erinyes was scratched and has morning-line odds of 10-1.

Mandaloun, Cox’s other entry, comes sour a dissatisfactory sixth-place finishing in the LA Derby. But he has III wins, including a stratified stakes win, inwards his quint life history starts. Ridden past Florent Geroux, Mandaloun’s morning-line betting odds are 15-1.

Lastly, you canful ne'er number come out Bob Baffert in the Bluegrass State Derby, especially since he’s won the race half-dozen times. He’ll go game for his record 7th with Medina Spirit, who placed back to Rock Your World inward the Santa Anita and has been inward the money inward all cinque starts.

John Velazquez gets the call on Al Madinah Spirit, who testament prison-breaking from the 8th station and has 15-1 morning-line odds.

The total field can live found here.