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Meet the 20 horses in Kentucky Derby field

The Courier-Journal's Jason Frakes tells you the names you need to know for this year's Kentucky Derby.
Courtesy USA Today Sports

LOUISVILLE, KY. — Here’s a look at the 20 horses entered in the 144th Kentucky Derby. Post time is 6:46 p.m. ET Saturday (NBC).

1. Firenze Fire (50-1)

Owner: Mr. Amore Stable

Trainer: Jason Servis

Jockey: Paco Lopez

Record: 4-1-0 in nine starts

Notable: Firenze Fire won three of his first four races as a 2-year-old before finishing seventh in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile.

2. Free Drop Billy (30-1)

Owner: Albaugh Family Stables

Trainer: Dale Romans

Jockey: Robby Albarado

Record: 2-3-2 in eight starts

Notable: After winning his maiden race at Churchill Downs last June, Free Drop Billy has competed in nothing but graded stakes. He was ninth in November’s Breeders’ Cup Juvenile at Del Mar.

3. Promises Fulfilled (30-1)

Owner: Robert Baron

Trainer: Dale Romans

Jockey: Corey Lanerie

Record: 3-0-1 in five starts

Notable: Promises Fulfilled was ninth in his last race, the Florida Derby on March 31. The horse was purchased for $37,000 at the Keeneland September 2016 Yearling Sale.

4. Flameaway (30-1)

Owner: John Oxley

Trainer: Mark Casse

Jockey: Jose Lezcano

Record: 5-2-0 in nine starts

Notable: With nine career races, Flameaway will be one of the most experienced horses in the field. He finished sixth in his only race at Churchill Downs, the Grade 3 Iroquois last September.

5. Audible (8-1)

Owners: China Horse Club International, Head of Plains Partners, Starlight Racing and WinStar Farm

Trainer: Todd Pletcher

Jockey: Javier Castellano

Record: 4-0-1 in five starts

Notable: Trying to take the same path as Pletcher’s 2017 Derby winner Always Dreaming, who also entered after a victory in the Florida Derby. Audible won the Florida Derby by 3 lengths over Hofburg.

6. Good Magic (12-1)

Owners: E Five Racing Thoroughbreds and Stonestreet Stables

Trainer: Chad Brown

Jockey: Jose Ortiz

Record: 2-2-1 in five starts

Notable: Won the Eclipse Award for 2-year-old juvenile male after winning the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile at 11-1 odds last November. In April won the Blue Grass by 11/2 lengths over Flameaway.

7. Justify (3-1)

Owners: China Horse Club International, Head of Plains Partners, Starlight Racing and WinStar Farm

Trainer: Bob Baffert

Jockey: Mike Smith

Record: 3-0-0 in three starts

Notable: Justify will try to become the first Derby winner since Apollo in 1882 who didn’t race as a 2-year-old. The horse won the Santa Anita Derby by 3 lengths over Bolt d’Oro on April 7.

8. Lone Sailor (50-1)

Owner: G M B Racing

Trainer: Tom Amoss

Jockey: James Graham

Record: 1-3-1 in eight starts

Notes: Gayle Benson is the widow of Tom Benson, the former owner of the New Orleans Saints and New Orleans Pelicans. He died March 15.

9. Hofburg (20-1)

Owner: Juddmonte Farms

Trainer: Bill Mott

Jockey: Irad Ortiz Jr.

Record: 1-1-0 in three starts

Notable: Given his relative inexperience and strong stretch run in the Florida Derby, where he finished second, Hofburg is considered by many this year’s wiseguy horse for the Derby.

10. My Boy Jack (30-1)

Owners: Don’t Tell My Wife Stables and Monomoy Stables

Trainer: Keith Desormeaux

Jockey: Kent Desormeaux

Record: 3-3-2 in 10 starts

Notes: The Desormeauxs are the first trainer-jockey sibling duo in the Derby since Randy (jockey) and Gerald (trainer) Romero with Dixieland Heat, who was 12th in 1993.

11. Bolt d’Oro (8-1)

Owner/trainer: Mick Ruis

Jockey: Victor Espinoza

Record: 4-1-1 in six starts

Notes: Bolt d’Oro won his first three career starts and was the favorite in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile before finishing third. He was second to Justify in the Santa Anita Derby on April 7.

12. Enticed (30-1)

Owner: Godolphin

Trainer: Kiaran McLaughlin

Jockey: Junior Alvarado

Record: 3-1-1 in six starts

Notable: McLaughlin said Enticed deserved to win the Wood Memorial after some bumping down the stretch, but Vino Rosso was held up as the winner after an inquiry and Enticed was second.

13. Bravazo (50-1)

Owner: Calumet Farm

Trainer: D. Wayne Lukas

Jockey: Luis Contreras

Record: 3-1-1 in eight starts

Notes: Bravazo earned his spot in the Derby by winning the Grade 2 Risen Star on Feb. 17 at Oaklawn Park at 21-1 odds.

14. Mendelssohn (5-1)

Owners: Derrick Smith, Susan Magnier and Michael Tabor

Trainer: Aidan O’Brien

Jockey: Ryan Moore

Record: 4-1-0 in seven starts

Notes: Mendelssohn was the highest-priced American yearling of 2016, a

$3 million purchase at the Keeneland September 2016 Yearling Sale. He won the UAE Derby by 18 lengths on March 31.

15. Instilled Regard (50-1)

Owner: Oxo Equine

Trainer: Jerry Hollendorfer

Jockey: Drayden Van Dyke

Record: 2-2-1 in seven starts

Notes: Hollendorfer originally declared Instilled Regard off the Derby trail after his fourth-place finish in the Santa Anita Derby but later reconsidered.

16. Magnum Moon (6-1)

Owners: Lawana and Robert Low

Trainer: Todd Pletcher

Jockey: Luis Saez

Record: 4-0-0 in four starts

Notable: His first race was on Jan. 13, a 4½-length score at Gulfstream Park. He’ll try to become the first Kentucky Derby winner who didn’t race as a 2-year-old since Apollo accomplished the feat in 1882.

17. Solomini (30-1)

Owner: Zayat Stables, Susan Magnier, Michael Tabor and Derrick Smith

Trainer: Bob Baffert

Jockey: Flavien Prat

Record: 1-3-2 in six starts

Notable: Solomini will give Zayat Stables its first Derby starter since American Pharoah, who won the Triple Crown in 2015.

18. Vino Rosso (12-1)

Owners: Repole Stable and St. Elias Stable

Trainer: Todd Pletcher

Jockey: John Velazquez

Record: 3-0-1 in five starts

Notes: Vino Rosso won the Wood Memorial by 3 lengths over Enticed.

19. Noble Indy (30-1)

Owners: WinStar Farm and Repole Stable

Trainer: Todd Pletcher

Jockey: Florent Geroux

Record: 3-0-1 in four starts

Notable: Noble Indy got passed by Lone Sailor in the final furlong of the Louisiana Derby before battling back along the rail to win.

20. Combatant (50-1)

Owners: Winchell Thoroughbreds and Willis Horton Racing

Trainer: Steve Asmussen

Jockey: Ricardo Santana Jr.

Record: 1-3-1 in seven starts

Notable: Post positions have been a problem for Combatant. He broke from the

No. 9 post in a field of nine for the Arkansas Derby and from No. 10 in a field of 10 for the Rebel on March 17.

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