Once my head cleared from the confusion that the Kentucky Derby results have not been confusing for the last three years, I tried to put this Derby into proper context while looking back at how I framed my bets.

I liked Dortmund from early March but certainly understood that American Pharoah may have caught and passed his stablemate in the weeks leading up to the Derby. I was not buying into the big-margin hype for American Pharoah because he had not run that fast yet and the competition in the Derby was tested and very fast.

My first day of employment for Daily Racing Form was the Monday after the 1984 Kentucky Derby.

I was hired by Logan Bailey, who will be laid to rest on the Monday after the 2015 Derby.

I took his passing at age 75 hard, tears flowing several times the night after learning the news from another person Logan hired, Tammy Curlin.

I didn’t have to think long to figure out how old Logan was. He used to always say he was from the same crop as Count Fleet.

Racing fans annually lament the low quality of the horses in the Kentucky Derby, and often their assessment proves to be correct. But few such opinions are being voiced before Saturday’s running of America’s greatest race. This is the strongest, deepest, and fastest Derby field since at least 2007 (the year of Street Sense and Curlin), and it could conceivably be the best since the great years of the 1980s.

Victor Espinoza was on the Churchill Downs scene early Derby week, pressing the flesh and posing for pictures as fans did a double take and quickly figured out who he was.

“It was fun,” said Espinoza, who is never far from a camera-ready grin. “They all wanted to know about my Derby horse. Of course, I thought they meant American Pharoah, but they were talking about California Chrome.”

When the United Arab Emirates Derby was run at Meydan Racecourse on March 28, racing fans on both sides of the Atlantic had the chance to watch it live because it was part of the telecast of the rich Dubai World Cup. Most viewers were impressed by the performance of Mubtaahij, who ran away with the $2 million event by eight lengths.

On paper, this is the best Kentucky Derby field in years. The five favorites (American Pharoah, Dortmund, Carpe Diem, International Star, and Materiality) are a combined 13 for 13 this year.

It’s no secret that the racing game was not quite ready for what the West Coast unleashed upon the Kentucky Derby last year. Maybe it was the down-market bloodlines of the victorious California Chrome. Maybe it was Runyonesque trainer Art Sherman, a walking history book. Maybe it was owners Steve Coburn and Perry Martin and their competing moustaches, who just as easily could have been partners in a hardware franchise. Whatever spell they cast definitely freaked people out.

At a certain point this spring, a particular chorus arose from the growing pile of pre-Kentucky Derby speculation:

“This is the best crop of Derby horses the game has seen in a very long time.”

That’s quite a load to dump on the shoulders of the headline names primed for the 141st running of the Kentucky Derby on Saturday. Nevertheless, such things can be fun to say out loud with people listening. It’s the kind of sentiment usually expressed most effectively with a deep conviction unburdened by the messy necessities of provable facts.

An immigrant from India to the U.S., Kaleem Shah embraced the opportunities in his new country, gave up his old citizenship to become a nationalized American, and – when he had the resources to operate a racing stable – chose red, white, and blue silks for his horses to carry. Now he has a chance to make his mark on one of the most distinctive American institutions. He could win the Kentucky Derby on Saturday.

Institutional amnesia can be a beautiful thing, but before the 2015 Kentucky Derby is upon us with all its hurricane force, it can’t hurt to take a look at the field of 19 who performed for the pleasure of millions in the 2014 race. From back to front, here’s what happened to them:

Vicar’s in Trouble, the winner of the Louisiana Derby, was a baffling last in the Kentucky Derby but none the worse for wear. He later won the Super Derby, then fractured his left foreleg in the Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile.