Let’s face it, there are only a few ways a Kentucky Derby field can be described in the days leading up to the race. It is either – ◗ A one-horse show with a definitive favorite who needs only to escape the traps of the anticipated stampede to take his place in history, or …◗ A mystifying collection of 3-year-olds with thin résumés coming together for a one-shot chance at a glory they soon will squander, or …◗ A stimulating puzzle with an intriguing top tier of half a dozen or so contenders who have proven their chops by all common metrics.This year’s 145th Derby appears to offer the third of those choices. As the race approaches on Saturday at Churchill Downs, the most serious conversations have been bouncing around among Roadster, Omaha Beach, Game Winner, Tacitus, Improbable, and Maximum Security, and none of their people would trade places with any of the others.At the same time, the occasional diversions to By My Standards, Code of Honor, War of Will, and Vekoma have not been roundly mocked as contrarian indulgences. Rather, their chances are being taken to heart as legitimate alternatives before circling back to the super six at the top. It helps that superfecta betting is encouraged.The abiding hope is that come mid-June – or Sunday morning, for that matter – the game will not have heard the last of these talented, lightly raced colts. But for now, the sport must go to battle with the Derby it has been given. And the first volley is traditionally fired by the linemaker – in this case, Churchill’s Mike Battaglia – who must sift through fact and fancy in an attempt to estimate the odds each of the 20 runners will end up offering when the flag drops.Linemaking is a job every horseplayer thinks they can do, until they try, and then keep doing it over the weeks, months, and years required to gain a credible reputation. The morning linemaker’s craft is part alchemy, part art, and all homework. The point of the exercise is not to predict the winner, but to anticipate the betting, although the morning line can have an undeniable impact on the betting. This inevitably brings to mind chickens, eggs, and which came first.“To me, the trickiest horse to make a morning line on in this year’s Derby is Maximum Security,” said Jon White, Santa Anita’s linemaker. “He’s a very polarizing horse. He’s undefeated. He has two of the only three triple-digit Beyers in the entire field, and those drive betting. Yes, he got away with a slow pace in the Florida Derby, and the second-place horse was a maiden, but his final three furlongs were impressive however you look at it.”White offered a soft “wow” of appreciation when reminded it was the 50th anniversary of a 1969 Kentucky Derby with just eight runners, four of them at 4-1 or less. Unbeaten Majestic Prince was 7-5 and Florida Derby and Flamingo winner Top Knight was 2-1, while both Wood Memorial winner Dike and Blue Grass winner Arts and Letters were 4-1.“That’s real quality,” White said. “That was also the first Derby where I made public selections. I was very much on the Majestic Prince bandwagon, and I certainly would have made him the favorite. But I had no idea how good Arts and Letters was, that’s for sure.”Majestic Prince defeated that rival narrowly in the Derby and then again in the Preakness, but the rest of the season belonged to Arts and Letters, who was voted Horse of the Year.Modern linemakers were stoutly challenged by the 2010 Derby, when 16 of the 20 runners ended up 25-1 or less. Super Saver, who won neither of his preps, was first as the 8-1 second choice.“I think that stemmed from Giacomo and Mine That Bird,” White said, referring to a pair of 50-1 Derby winners during the first decade of the century. “Money started to be spread out more because of them. That’s why I hesitate to make too many horses 50-1, even though on paper they should be 80-1 or 100-1.”Any linemaker’s task for the 2019 Derby in some ways echoes the challenge of 2006, when a jumble of contenders figured to be well bet. Brother Derek, Barbaro, Lawyer Ron, and Sinister Minister all were convincing winners of the top regional races. Then there was Sweetnorthernsaint, who romped in the Illinois Derby at Sportsman’s Park over a modest field, while earning the best Beyer Speed Figure of the spring. The buzz was there, but faint.After the money weighed in, Brother Derek went from the 3-1 morning-line favorite to 7-1, while Sweetnorthernsaint, 10-1 on the morning line, ended up the post time favorite at 5-1. Barbaro, second choice on the line, was second choice in the race.“In a situation like that, if I missed the favorite I want to know if I dropped the ball, and I’ll go back and look at everything to try and figure it out,” White said. “You would be somewhat vindicated in that Barbaro won impressively. But in that example, I would have never made Sweetnorthernsaint the favorite.”White paused, then indulged in a bit of linemaker humor. “There are some cases,” he said, “where you just have to look at the bettors and say, ‘Well, the bettors were wrong.’ ”