LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Trainer Todd Pletcher has been bringing horses to the Kentucky Derby for more than two decades. His 62 starters are a record. His 22 Kentucky Derby appearances are second only to his former boss and mentor D. Wayne Lukas (29). He has won the race twice. Never, though, has Pletcher brought to the world’s most famous horse race as accomplished a group as he does for Saturday’s 149th Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs. Forte, a four-time Grade 1 winner and the 2-year-old champion of 2022, is 6 for 7 with four Grade 1 stakes wins. Tapit Trice is 4 for 5 with victories in the Grade 1 Blue Grass and Grade 3 Tampa Bay Derby. Kingsbarns is 3 for 3 after winning the Grade 2 Louisiana Derby. “You could say it’s the deepest squad we’ve brought so far,” Pletcher acknowledged. Forte is the morning-line favorite in the $3 million race, Tapit Trice the second choice. Should they go off the first and second choices, it will be the first time since 2015 that one trainer sent out the two top choices in the Derby. That year, Bob Baffert finished first and third with American Pharoah and Dortmund, respectively. Pletcher has run one favorite in the 1 1/4-mile Derby, Always Dreaming, who won in 2017. Super Saver was 8-1 when he won for Pletcher in 2010. :: DRF Kentucky Derby Package: Save on PPs, Clocker Reports, Betting Strategies, and more. Forte won the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile last fall following a hard-fought victory four weeks earlier in the Breeders’ Futurity. This year, following an easy triumph in the Fountain of Youth, Forte had a tough race, overcoming post 11 and a worthy foe in Mage to win the Grade 1 Florida Derby by one length. In the five weeks since, Pletcher has seen nothing but positive signs from the son of Violence. “He doesn’t always tout himself every morning, he just kind of comes out here and does his job, but you can tell the way he looks, the way he’s maintained his weight, his appetite, his energy level, everything looks just the way you want with him at this stage,” Pletcher said. Forte, owned by Mike Repole and Vinnie and Teresa Viola’s St. Elias Stable, will look to give jockey Irad Ortiz Jr. his first Kentucky Derby victory in what will be his seventh ride. Forte drew post 15. His stablemates, Tapit Trice and Kingsbarns, drew 5 and 6, respectively. Tapit Trice, a strapping gray son of Tapit, has a tendency to get away slow from the gate. His talent and tenacity is unquestioned, though, and jockey Luis Saez is a perfect fit for this horse who needs to be ridden hard for an extended time. The biggest concern regarding Kingsbarns is his inexperience. Justify (2018) and Big Brown (2008) are the only two horses in the last 107 years to win the Derby off just three starts. “He’s displayed the talent level,” Pletcher said. “He’s got a win at a mile and three-sixteenths. It’s just a matter of whether he has enough experience in a big group like this.” The group, a full field of 20 plus three also-eligibles, is not easy to separate. Brad Cox sends out four horses of which Angel of Empire, winner of the Grade 2 Risen Star at Fair Grounds and the Grade 1 Arkansas Derby, may rate the best chance. “If you had asked me in November, December if he was a Derby horse, I would have said he needs to do more,” Cox said. “But guess what? He did do more and he got better the farther he went.” Angel of Empire, who will be ridden by Flavien Prat, drew post 14. :: KENTUCKY DERBY 2023: Derby Watch, point standings, prep schedule, news, and more Hit Show, the Withers winner and Wood Memorial runner-up, and Verifying, beaten a neck by Tapit Trice in the Blue Grass, drew posts 1 and 2, respectively, for Cox. Veryifing has a bit more speed than Hit Show and could use it to be a forward factor in a race where the pace is not easy to define. Jace’s Road, Cox’s other entrant, was well-beaten in the Southwest and Louisiana Derby. The wild card of this year’s Kentucky Derby is Derma Sotogake, who looks to give Japan its first victory in this race. In recent years, Japan-based horses have enjoyed great success internationally, winning two Breeders’ Cup races in 2021 at Del Mar. Derma Sotogake, a son of sprint specialist Mind Your Biscuits, was most impressive winning the UAE Derby by 5 1/2 lengths in front-running fashion. He has shown the ability to win from on or off the pace. In an April 26 workout at Churchill, Derma Sotogake started five lengths behind fellow Japan-based Derby starter Continuar and finished the work in front. In discussing Derma Sotogake’s April 26 move, Masanari Tanaka, the assistant to trainer Hidetaka Otonashi, said through an interpreter he was impressed “with the way he was able to extend himself and switch on that speed so quickly. It was something I hadn’t seen before, that abrupt change of pace. I was really pleased to see that turn of foot.” On Tuesday, Derma Sotogake worked a half-mile by himself in 49.87 seconds per Daily Racing Form’s Mike Welsch. Continuar did not have an additional work, as his connections indicated they are pleased with his fitness level. The Southern California contingent is led by Practical Move, a son of Practical Joke, trained by Tim Yakteen. Practical Move has won three straight races, benefiting from inside trips. “I feel it’s an advantage that the horse is comfortable down on the inside and doesn’t need the outside,” Yakteen said. “But I don’t feel he would have any challenges running on the outside. It’s just the way the races came together.” Yakteen also sends out Reincarnate, formerly trained by Bob Baffert who is serving out the second year of his two-year ban from Churchill, owing to the overage of a therapeutic medication found in Medina Spirit after he crossed the finish line first in the 2021 Kentucky Derby. Reincarnate has the speed to be effective from the start under John Velazquez, a three-time Kentucky Derby winner. Though he has just one win from six starts, Skinner is an intriguing longshot. A son of Curlin, Skinner comes out of a pair of third-place finishes behind Practical Move in the San Felipe and Santa Anita Derby. In each race, he made long, sustained runs but just couldn’t finish the deal. Skinner is trained by John Shirreffs, who won the 2005 Derby with 50-1 Giacomo, who had not dissimilar form to Skinner. Shirreffs is making a rider change to Juan Hernandez, California’s leading jockey. :: Get the full DRF Kentucky Derby Clocker Report by Mike Welsch and the DRF Clocker Team “I think his last two works were sensational because we were really emphasizing his finish because he makes that big, big move and he just needs to sustain it about 100 yards more and that’s what we’re hoping he’s learned over these last two works,” Shirreffs said. Confidence Game has caught the eye in his training this week at Churchill Downs. He is attempting to win the Kentucky Derby off a 10-week layoff, or since he won the Rebel Stakes on Feb. 25 at Oaklawn. Two Phil’s won the Jeff Ruby Steaks over Turfway Park’s synthetic surface impressively and has run well enough on dirt to be a factor. Mage, another who has gate issues, was second to Forte in the Florida Derby in just his third career start. Raise Cain won the Grade 3 Gotham, a race that hasn’t produced a Kentucky Derby winner since Secretariat 50 years ago. Sun Thunder, trained by Kenny McPeek, and Rocket Can, trained by Bill Mott, are both adding blinkers for the Derby. There are three also-eligibles waiting to get into the field should any of the top 20 be forced to scratch before 9 a.m. Friday. In order of preference, they are Cyclone Mischief, Mandarin Hero, and King Russell. The Kentucky Derby goes as race 12 on a terrific 14-race card that begins at 10:30 a.m. Eastern and includes nine stakes. NBC Sports will provide day-long coverage with Derby post slated for 6:57 p.m. Though rain was forecast for Friday, dry conditions and temperatures in the mid-70s are expected for Derby Day. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.