LOUISVILLE, Ky. – How do you deal with the nerves of your first Kentucky Derby? The answer for this year’s class: stay busy. “Every day is day by day,” said Vicki Oliver, putting her head down to do the work of saddling horses on a weekday afternoon at Keeneland just hours after sending out Hidden Stash for his final Derby breeze. There are five trainers and four jockeys contesting their first Derby this year. Brad Cox is especially busy in his debut, saddling favored Essential Quality as well as Mandaloun. “I’m too busy to be nervous,” Cox said. “We have a lot going on. Just trying to stay focused.” Since 2000, eight trainers have won the Derby in their first attempt, most recently Art Sherman with California Chrome in 2014. Only two first-time Derby riders have won the Derby in that same span, most recently Mario Gutierrez on I’ll Have Another in 2012. Before seeing if they can join that winning group, the rookies entered in the race have one goal first: stay in. Cox lost a third potential entrant when Caddo River had an elevated temperature and white cell count last weekend. And Oliver noted that the Derby horses had made it all the way to the paddock last year when Thousand Words had to be scratched. “It’s not [real] till the minute they open the gates,” Oliver said. “Get to the gate and out of the gate. But it’s exciting.” And although this year’s rookies outside of Cox are associated with longshots, once that gate opens, everyone has a one-in-20 shot at the roses. “You have no chance if you’re not in it,” said Marcelino Pedroza, who rides O Besos. “And we’re in.” Kendrick Carmouche, jockey, Bourbonic Age: 37 Birthplace: Vinton, La. Major horses/accomplishments: Rode first Grade 1 winner last December, taking the Cigar Mile on True Timber en route to first NYRA meet title. Recipient of the 2017 Mike Venezia Memorial Award, bestowed upon a jockey who exemplifies extraordinary sportsmanship and citizenship. Carmouche, the son of a jockey, began riding professionally in 2000, at age 16. He climbed the ranks to become a perennial leading rider at Parx Racing, and now is a prominent rider in the tough New York jockey colony. Carmouche will be the first Black jockey to ride in the Derby in eight years. “These past six months of my career have just been what you dream of,” Carmouche said after upsetting the Wood Memorial on Bourbonic. David Cohen, jockey, Keepmeinmind Age: 36 Birthplace: Torsen, Calif. Major horses/accomplishments: His more than 1,500 victories include a dead heat win in the Grade 1 Travers Stakes on Golden Ticket and a pair of Grade 1 victories on Proud Tower Too. Cohen has been deeply involved in the development of his Derby mount throughout the colt’s career. He works him for trainer Robertino Diodoro and has been aboard in all but one of his races. In the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile, he rode another horse for Diodoro. In Keepmeinmind’s final Derby breeze, Cohen sent the colt inside of horses to work on getting him comfortable in tight spots, and surely deserves credit if they emerge from the 20-horse pack on Saturday. “That was one thing he was dealing with early on in his career,” Cohen said after that work. “He wasn’t wanting to go into some tight spots and kind of sucking out and giving up some much-needed ground, which he did in the Breeders’ Cup prep and the Breeders’ Cup as well.” :: Get Kentucky Derby Betting Strategies for exclusive wager recommendations, contender profiles, pedigree analysis, and more Brad Cox, trainer, Essential Quality, Mandaloun Age: 45 Birthplace: Louisville, Ky. Major horses/accomplishments: Saddled two winners of the Kentucky Oaks in Monomoy Girl (2018) and Shedaresthedevil (2020). Earned his first Eclipse Award as the nation’s outstanding trainer last year after winning four Breeders’ Cup races, including with champions Monomoy Girl and Essential Quality. Cox would be the first Louisville-born trainer to win the Derby, a race he says he’s been dreaming about since he was 14. “It’s the biggest race in the world to me,” he said. His Derby debut comes just three years after Monomoy Girl gave him his first Grade 1 victory, in April 2018 at Keeneland. “It feels like that was six months ago, to be honest,” Cox said. “Time flies. I mean, these good horses, they definitely get time rolling by quick.” Robertino Diodoro, trainer, Keepmeinmind Age: 47 Birthplace: Calgary, Alberta, Canada Major horses/accomplishments: Has trained graded stakes winners Broadway Empire, Chief Know It All, Inside Straight, Keepmeinmind, Sky Promise, and Subtle Indian. Diodoro comes from a racing family in Canada, and took out his own license in 1995. After scoring his first graded stakes victories on the Canadian circuit, he has now become a leading trainer at Oaklawn Park. Vicki Oliver, trainer, Hidden Stash Age: 48 Birthplace: Harrodsburg, Ky. Major horses/accomplishments: Saddled Personal Diary to win the Grade 1 Del Mar Oaks in 2014, and has also trained multiple Grade 2 winners Frivolous and She’s Not Here and Grade 3 winner Direct Line. Oliver would be the first woman to train a Derby winner. From 17 starts in the race by 16 women (Dianne Carpenter sent out two starters), the best finish came when Shelley Riley was second with Casual Lies in 1992. “It would be nice going down in history,” Oliver said. “Any woman with a starter would love to win it and be the first one to win it. Of course that’s always on your mind.” Marcelino Pedroza, jockey, O Besos Age: 28 Birthplace: Panama City, Panama Major horses/accomplishments: Has won more than 1,100 races, including multiple graded stakes. While waiting for O Besos to move into the top 20 and make the Derby field, Pedroza put his faith in higher powers while waiting to see if he would indeed have his first Derby mount. Those included his mother, who died of cancer two years ago. “I leave it up to God,” Pedroza said. “It was out of our hands. I always believe in God. I have my angel, my mom. I always believed that she was gonna help me and He was gonna help me, and they did.” Umberto Rispoli, jockey, Brooklyn Strong Age: 32 Birthplace: San Severino Marche, Italy Major horses/accomplishments: Multiple Group 1-winning rider overseas has won 15 graded stakes in the U.S. since the start of 2020, including the Grade 1 Santa Anita Derby with Rock Your World. Those who believe in karma may want to keep an eye on Rispoli in his first Kentucky Derby. After winning the Santa Anita Derby aboard Rock Your World, he was taken off the horse in favor of a more experienced Derby rider in Joel Rosario. Rispoli remained positive, and will have his first Derby mount after all in Brooklyn Strong, the final horse into the field. Daniel Velazquez, trainer, Brooklyn Strong Age: 37 Birthplace: Bensalem, Pa. Major horses/accomplishments: Saddled his first stakes winners last year when Brooklyn Strong and Laobanonaprayer defeated New York-bred company. Brooklyn Strong later gave him his first graded win. Mid-Atlantic based Velazquez was a jockey for several years before turning to training when he became too big to ride, taking out his license in 2009. In March, he was involved in a freak accident at Parx. A riderless horse collided with Velazquez’s stable pony, leaving the trainer with a lacerated liver, torn muscles, and a concussion, among other injuries. A Derby win could be the best medicine. :: DRF's Kenucky Derby Headquarters: Contenders, latest news, past performances, analysis, and more Wesley Ward, trainer, Like the King Age: 53 Birthplace: Selah, Wash. Major horses/accomplishments: A former Eclipse apprentice jockey. In 2009 he became the first American trainer to win at Royal Ascot and has saddled 11 overall winners there, including European champion Lady Aurelia. Also trained Eclipse champion Judy the Beauty, one of his four Breeders’ Cup winners. Ward wrapped up his seventh Keeneland training title before sending out Like the King for his final Derby breeze. Ward is based at Keeneland. “If this would have come years earlier, when I didn’t have as much going on, there’d have been a lot of sleepless nights,” he said. “But with everything I have going on right now, I hit the pillow at night, I’m out.”