LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Forget becoming a Hall of Famer or a legend. All these folks want to do Saturday is emulate the likes of jockeys Ronnie Franklin and Stewart Elliott or trainers Barclay Tagg and Chip Woolley. And just what did those guys do? Well, their first time up at the Kentucky Derby, they absolutely knocked it out of the park. They were Derby rookies who tasted victory in their first go-around – an extraordinary act that five jockeys and five trainers will be trying to accomplish Saturday in the 141st Run for the Roses at Churchill Downs. Talk with any of them, and a common theme will surface: Simply being in the Derby is a dream fulfilled, and a big effort from their horses obviously would make the experience all that much sweeter. “It is a dream come true,” said Miguel Mena, who has the mount on International Star. “Growing up in Lima, Peru, I always knew about the Derby, that it was the greatest race in America or even the world, and now I am riding in it.” :: ROAD TO THE KENTUCKY DERBY: Prep races, point standings, replays The four other jockeys joining Mena in this rite of passage are Manny Franco, Florent Geroux, Christophe Soumillon, and Ramon Vazquez. The last jockey to win with his first Derby starter was Mario Gutierrez, who won three years ago aboard I’ll Have Another. The trainers with their first starters are Simon Callaghan, Carla Gaines, Mike de Kock, Ron Moquett, and George Weaver. Art Sherman became the latest trainer to pull off the feat last year with California Chrome. De Kock, widely renowned as one of the premier conditioners in international racing, is fascinated by the uniqueness of the Derby. The 51-year-old South African will send out Mubtaahij in the colt’s first start in North America. “They say there’s nothing quite like the Kentucky Derby, and I’ve been getting a feel for that,” said de Kock, who arrived here early this week and has taken up temporary residence in a private home in an affluent Louisville suburb. “I’m sure it’s an experience I won’t soon forget.” Gaines, in from her Southern California base with a colt named Bolo, will become the 16th female trainer in Derby history, the first being Mary Hirsch with No Sir, 13th in 1937. The best finish for a horse trained by a woman was by Casual Lies, second in 1992 for Shelley Riley. Only one woman has had more than one Derby starter – Dianne Carpenter, with two. The Derby is “just a jewel, and everyone wants to obtain it,” said Gaines. “That’s why we’re here. It’s one of the biggest races. It would be so exciting to win the Kentucky Derby. You just don’t get the opportunity that often.” A 62-year-old native of Alabama, Gaines was a youth counselor before taking a break to begin working with Thoroughbreds about 30 years ago. She never went back. “Originally, when I first started in the industry, I kept thinking, ‘Yes, I want to win the Kentucky Derby,’ ” she said. “Eventually, it was just, ‘I want to win races.’ The Yellow Ribbon was a race I always wanted to win. In California, I have a lot of grass horses. But I wouldn’t say the Derby, now at this stage of my life, would be, ‘I’ve got to win the Derby.’ But I’m here, so let’s do it.” The number of Derby rookies this year is fairly typical. Year to year, a handful in either category normally are first-timers. Many of them fail to make it back a second time. As he got older and his career faded, Franklin, the rider of the great Spectacular Bid in 1979, frequently talked about how his first and only shot at wearing the Derby roses represented not only the highlight of his career but his life. Moquett, the trainer of Far Right, grew up in Pocola, Okla., just across the state line from Fort Smith, Ark. He has enough experience at age 43 to be acutely aware that this brief snapshot will last a lifetime. “I’ve been working with horses since I was young,” said Moquett, who makes Churchill and Oaklawn Park his home tracks. “Making it to the Kentucky Derby is a reason we all get up so early in the morning and put in all these long hours. It’s quite a reward for all your hard work to get to lead one over to that paddock and put that saddle on. You’d love for it to be the first of many times you run one, but obviously, you never know. It’ll be something, I’m sure.” Geroux, a 28-year-old native of France, has the mount on the speedy Stanford for trainer Todd Pletcher. Geroux began riding in America in 2007, but it has been only in the last couple of years that his star really has ascended, with 2014 bringing career-high earnings and a first Breeders’ Cup win with Work All Week in the BC Sprint. “I have been very fortunate,” he said between races at Churchill this week. Geroux said he heard of the Derby “when I was maybe 8 or 9 years old. But it is over here [in the U.S.]. At home, the Arc de Triomphe is right there, and that is the race. But now that I’m here, this is the race I want to win.” While Geroux is endearing himself to fans in the Midwestern region of the U.S., Soumillon, 33, has become a superstar on a considerably larger stage, having won major races in France, England, Ireland, Japan, and Dubai. A native of Belgium, he began his career in France in 1999 and is a perennial champion jockey on what is widely regarded as the premier circuit in Europe. Callaghan, 32, also hails from overseas as a native of England. He moved his stable from Newmarket to Southern California in 2009 and steadily has upgraded his profile on that highly competitive circuit. “It would be a big sense of accomplishment to win,” said Callaghan, who will saddle Firing Line. “It’s what we’re trying to do. We’ve got a group of owners buying that type of horse. Hopefully, that will be a goal every year.” Before opening a stable in his homeland, Callaghan was a seasonal worker in the mid-2000s for Pletcher, who has four starters in this Derby. So, too, was Weaver an employee of Pletcher’s, having worked as a top assistant for him before going out on his own in 2002. Weaver will be represented Saturday by Tencendur. Weaver, 44, grew up in Louisville, and although his stable is based primarily in New York, he never forgot what the Derby means. “It’s the pinnacle,” he said. According to how the Churchill tote board will look Saturday, de Kock and Soumillon (Mubtaahij) probably have the best chances to become the latest Derby newcomers to prevail, although Callaghan (Firing Line) and Mena (International Star) also have horses being given decent upset shots. But in the end, all the Derby rookies are grateful for the opportunity. “When I was younger, all I wanted to do was ride in this country,” said Mena. “I did that. Then riding the Derby became the goal, and I’m doing that. It’s very exciting.” – additional reporting by Steve Andersen and Nicole Russo