Jockey: Martin Garcia
Trainer: Bob Baffert
Liaison won a Grade 1 race in December, before stablemate and Derby favorite Bodemeister had made even one start. But Liaison's 3-year-old season has produced three clunkers in three races. Baffert chalked it up to a dislike of the Santa Anita surface, where all three poor efforts occured, then gave Liaison the green light after a strong workout at Churchill Downs.

Jockey: Mario Gutierrez
Trainer: Doug O'Neill
With two stakes wins in two starts this year, I'll Have Another nosed out Creative Cause in the Santa Anita Derby last month. His speed figures seem a bit wanting, but he's lightly raced and has plenty of room to move forward. Whether you think he's worth a bet Saturday probably depends on your view of the horses coming out of California prep races. He's met every challenge out West.

Jockey: Corey Nakatani
Trainer: Steve Asmussen
Sabercat's biggest win came in the Grade 3 Delta Downs Jackpot, so he appears several notches below the top contenders. He finished 9-3/4 lengths behind Bodemeister in his previous start, the Arkansas Derby. The biggest factor in his corner is Asmussen, the nation's leading trainer who guided Curlin and Rachel Alexandra to Horse of the Year campaigns.

Jockey: Sheldon Russell
Trainer: Hamilton Smith
At 24, Russell is the youngest jockey in the Derby field, but he rode this horse to victory in the Illinois Derby in April. That win came against far inferior competition than what's coming at Churchill Downs on Saturday. Done Talking faced a much tougher field in the Gotham Stakes at Aqueduct in March and finished 10th, more than 20 lengths behind winner and fellow Derby entrant Hansen.

Jockey: Rafael Bejarano
Trainer: Todd Pletcher
Won the Grade 2 Risen Star at the Fair Grounds in Louisiana but was a disappointing fourth in the Florida Derby on March 31. The latter result raises some questions about the colt's ability to compete at the highest level, especially if the track is fast. Two of his three wins came on wet tracks. Weather could be a factor Saturday, with a chance of thunderstorms in the forecast.

Jockey: Javier Castellano
Trainer: Todd Pletcher
Unbeaten in five starts and certainly one to watch for Saturday. Gemologist, the son of two-time Breeders' Cup Classic winner Tiznow, is coming off an impressive win in the Wood Memorial on April 7. Held off Derby rival Alpha down the stretch to get that victory. Trainer Pletcher won the 2010 Kentucky Derby with Super Saver.

Jockey: Ramon Dominguez
Trainer: Mike Maker
It will certainly be easy to pick this horse out of the crowd. The white wonder appears to have the speed to separate from the pack, as well. Hansen served notice by winning the Breeders' Cup Juvenile last November at Churchill Downs, besting a field loaded with future Derby entrants. Hansen is in good hands with Dominguez, who was the 2010 and 2011 Eclipse Award winner for Outstanding Jockey.

Jockey: John Velazquez
Trainer: Graham Motion
We know Went the Day Well is in good hands. His owner (Team Valor), trainer and jockey teamed last year to win the Derby with Animal Kingdom. Like his stablemate last year, Went the Day Well made his last pre-Derby start in a non-traditional prep race, the Spiral Stakes at Turfway Park. He won impressively, but that was his first race outside maiden company. He doesn't have the usual credentials, but his handlers certainly do.

Jockey: Luis Contreras
Trainer: Mark Casse
Casse, one of the top trainers in Canada, tries his luck in the US classic. Prospective has a nice win on his resume, the Tampa Bay Derby, but he was a badly beaten sixth in the Blue Grass Stakes at Keeneland in his most recent start. Owner John Oxley won the 2001 Derby with a long shot, Monarchos.

Jockey: Rajiv Maragh
Trainer: Kiaran McLaughlin
Alpha ran second by a neck to Gemologist in the Wood Memorial on April 7, after back-to-back wins at Aqueduct in January and February. Those performances are a bit tempered, though, by some unpredictable behavior, like that exhibited in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile last fall. Alpha was severely agitated at the starting gate and went on to finish 11th. Intriguing talent but perhaps a risky proposition.

Jockey: Garrett Gomez
Trainer: Steve Asmussen
Daddy Nose Best raised a few eyebrows with some impressive workouts at Churchill Downs the past two weeks. But how will he hold up in traffic, and against much tougher competition than he's seen in winning Grade 3 stakes races his past two times out? Could challenge the front-runners late if he gets a good trip.

Jockey: Willie Martinez
Trainer: Bisnath Parboo
Trinniberg figures to give his backers a thrill — for the first half of the race. He never has run beyond seven furlongs, a full five furlongs short of the Derby distance. The best-case scenario has him gunning for the lead and showing the way on the backstretch. But his distance limitations will catch up with him before the final turn. With the more-accomplished Hansen and Bodemeister ready to push the early pace, Trinniberg could cave in even sooner than that.

Jockey: Joel Rosario
Trainer: Mike Harrington
With four wins, two seconds and two thirds in eight career starts, Creative Cause might be the best of the five strong California-based horses entered. Finished second by a nose to I'll Have Another in the Santa Anita Derby on April 7. Trainer Harrington is one of the feel-good stories of Derby week, having made it to the Run for the Roses for the first time at age 71.

Jockey: Jose Lezcano
Trainer: Jerry Hollendorfer
Rousing Sermon's only two wins in nine career starts have been against California-bred restricted company. His one-run closing style has allowed him to pick up checks in graded stakes, but he hasn't been a threat to win. He has been defeated by Derby rivals I'll Have Another, Creative Cause, Bodemeister and Liaison. On the plus side, Rousing Sermon has one more win than Giacomo did before his Derby score. If the field gets dragged along on a hot early pace, look for Rousing Sermon in the stretch.

Jockey: Mike Smith
Trainer: Bob Baffert
Became one of the horses to beat by running away from the field and winning the Arkansas Derby by 9-1/2 lengths on April 14. Bodemeister finished second to fellow Derby entrant Creative Cause in the San Felipe Stakes at Santa Anita in March. Jockey Mike Smith won the 2005 Kentucky Derby aboard 50-1 long shot Giacomo.

Jockey: Kent Desormeaux
Trainer: Dale Romans
Dullahan has the kind of closing speed that demands attention, and he used it to win the Blue Grass Stakes at Keeneland his previous time out. There are some questions about whether the dirt surface appeals to him, but there are no doubts about his ability to come from off the pace. And three-time Kentucky Derby winner Desormeaux knows how to navigate this course.

Jockey: Julien Leparoux
Trainer: Michael Matz
Union Rags has the classic foundation once considered essential for Derby success. He won two stakes races at Saratoga as a 2-year-old and was nosed out in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile last fall at Churchill Downs. He moved to the top of the contenders lists with a smasher in the Fountain of Youth at Gulfstream but showed some cracks in his final prep race when he was unable to close into a dawdling pace in the Florida Derby and finished third. Optimists will remember that Matz won the 2006 Kentucky Derby with Barbaro and shrug off the Florida failure. Matz has his eyes on the bigger prize.

Jockey: Calvin Borel
Trainer: Patrick Byrne
Take Charge Indy took a huge step forward with his upset victory over Union Rags in the Florida Derby on March 31. Continued development puts him right there. But that win came on a lonely lead; Take Charge Indy was able to set a leisurely pace of 47.6 seconds for four furlongs. No way that's happening this time around with Trinniberg, Bodemeister and Hansen in the field. But Borel has the call, and he has held the roses after the Derby three times, including a win aboard logic-defying long shot Mine That Bird in 2009.

Jockey: Jon Court
Trainer: D. Wayne Lukas
Lukas will saddle his 45th Derby starter when Optimizer goes to the post. The 76-year-old trainer has won four times. It would be a stunner if Optimizer makes it five. He will be among those trying to make an impact with a late stretch run, but Optimizer is riding an eight-race losing streak.

Jockey: Colm O'Donoghue
Trainer: Aidan O'Brien
Daddy Long Legs doesn't appear to be the right horse for this course. His success has come on turf and synthetic surfaces. His only race on dirt came last November in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile at Churchill Downs. He finished 12th, behind several of the horses he's running against Saturday. Bettors beware.