While a majority of the runners in this year’s Kentucky Derby will indeed be returning to “My Old Kentucky Home” when they step onto the track for the post parade, a handful of colts serve as standard-bearers for state and regional breeding programs looking to add to their history or add international flavor to America’s most storied race.

By Joe Nevills and Nicole Russo

A closer look at the pedigrees of the entrants in Friday's 141st running of the $1 million Kentucky Oaks, in post position order.

Grade 1 winner Jimmy Creed will join Warrior’s Reward among the inaugural stallion roster at Spendthrift Australia for the upcoming Southern Hemisphere season.

The 6-year-old son of Distorted Humor will participate in Spendthrift’s Share the Upside program, standing for a fee of $8,637 ($11,000 Australian), or $6,908 ($8,800 Australian) for a standard live-foal contract.

Spendthrift announced the purchase of Yalambee Stud in Victoria, Australia, on April 7 and renamed the property with plans to expand into breeding, racing, and sales.

Darley Australia has revealed the advertised fees for its 21-horse stallion roster for the 2015 breeding season, led by U.S. shuttle sire Medaglia d’Oro.

Sheikh Mohammed Al-Maktoum’s Australian breeding operation spans two farms, with the majority residing at Kelvinside Stud in Aberdeen, New South Wales, and seven stallions standing at Northwood Park in Seymour, Victoria.

Spendthrift Farm is loaded for bear with representatives by its stallions in this Kentucky Derby – and that appears unlikely to change in future years, as some of those stallions are just getting started.

Of the 20 horses in the main body of the Derby field as of Monday morning, sires standing at Spendthrift’s Lexington, Ky., base accounted for six. Those include three first-crop sires – Line of David, Temple City, and Warrior’s Reward.

Following a bullet work at Churchill Downs, juvenile champion American Pharoah, an open-lengths winner of both his starts this year, looms as the heavy favorite for the Kentucky Derby. The colt, who races for his breeder, Zayat Stables, and is trained by Bob Baffert, is the son of another standout for the same connections – WinStar Farm stallion Pioneerof the Nile, who finished second in the 2009 Kentucky Derby.

The race records of the half-brothers Ghostzapper and City Zip are, in a sense, mirror images of each other. City Zip was a top-class 2-year-old, winning the Grade 1 Hopeful and three other graded stakes from 11 starts, but he was not quite as effective at 3, though still a very fast horse, and retired to stud at 4. Ghostzapper, by contrast, raced only twice at 2 but did not win his first stakes until late fall of his 3-year-old season.

Grade 1 winner Archarcharch was represented by his first winner at stud on Friday at Keeneland when Tia Flor won a maiden special weight for 2-year-olds by 9 ¼ lengths.

The dark bay or brown filly completed the 4 ½-furlong race in :52.63 seconds to break her maiden in her second start. Her first start came at Keeneland on April 15, where she finished fifth. Marco Castaneda trains the filly for owner Eladio Acevedo, and she was ridden by Rolando Aragon.

Grade 1 winner and young sire Warrior’s Reward will shuttle to the newly-founded Spendthrift Australia for the 2015 Southern Hemisphere breeding season.

The 8-year-old son of Medaglia d’Oro will participate in Spendthrift’s Share the Upside program while in Australia, standing for an advertised fee of $10,695 ($13,750 Australian), or $8,555 ($11,000 Australian) for a standard live foal contract.

Champion Uncle Mo got his first winner with his first starter on April 23 at Keeneland, as Outwork handily scored in a maiden special weight for 2-year-olds and could be headed to stakes company next.

Outwork, the post-time favorite, won by 2 1/4 lengths while stopping the clock in :52.79 seconds for the 4 1/2 furlong sprint. The colt races as a homebred for Mike Repole, is trained by Todd Pletcher, and was ridden by John Velazquez - the same connections as his sire.