Click on a horse name for its pedigree profile, strengths and weaknesses.

:: (Pdf)

:: (Pdf)

:: (Pdf)

:: (Pdf)

:: (Pdf)

:: (Pdf)

:: (Pdf)

:: (Pdf)

:: (Pdf)

:: (Pdf)

:: (Pdf)

:: (Pdf)

:: (Pdf)

:: (Pdf)

When he crushed the Wood Memorial by more than 17 lengths while earning a colossal 120 Beyer Speed Figure, Bellamy Road did more than seize the role of Kentucky Derby favorite. The performance also stamped him as a potential freak. Aside from low odds and an abbreviated two-start spring campaign, he enters with many attributes.

WASHINGTON - Most racing fans spend many hours studying the horses in the Kentucky Derby, but they can make the mistake of analyzing the race too much. Over the years I have often been guilty of this error, failing to pick standout winners such as Secretariat, Affirmed, and Seattle Slew. It is easy to become obsessed by nuances and lose sight of the big question: Is there a horse in the field with such superior talent that the nuances are irrelevant?

That may indeed be the case in the 131st Derby. Bellamy Road could very well be in a class by himself.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Will he or won't he? That is the question surrounding Bellamy Road, the solid favorite in the 131st on Saturday at Churchill Downs.

Will he run back to his crushing victory four weeks ago in the Wood Memorial, which he won by 17 1/2 lengths while earning a stratospheric Beyer Speed Figure of 120?

"If that's the performance he brings to the Derby, we all might be running for second," said jockey Jerry Bailey, who rides High Fly.

NEW YORK - In many years, handicapping the Kentucky Derby is an exercise in uncovering subtleties, hunting for small nuances and overlooked virtues in hopes of discovering a 20-1 shot who is as plausible as some overrated favorites.

LEXINGTON, Ky. - If the odds are against the little guy in racing, you'd never know it by looking at the breeders of this year's Kentucky Derby contenders. In a game dominated by the vast stables of such owners and breeders as Coolmore Stud and Sheikh Mohammed al-Maktoum, the breeders of this year's Derby horses include an improbably high number of small-timers who don't seem to know that Thoroughbred racing is supposed to belong to the Goliaths.

INGLEWOOD, Calif. - Three years ago, in a rush to prepare for his first Kentucky Derby, a small detail caught trainer Jeff Mullins by surprise.

"What should I wear?" he asked a visitor to his Santa Anita barn. "Should I wear a sport coat?"

He did, but since then it's safe to say Mullins' life has drastically changed - and so has his wardrobe.

When Mullins starts Buzzards Bay in Saturday's Kentucky Derby, he will be dressed for the occasion.

"I haven't decided if I'm wearing my yuppie uniform or my cowboy uniform," he said last weekend.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - It has been 23 years since Live Oak Plantation participated in its one and only Kentucky Derby, finishing second behind Gato del Sol with Laser Light.

Or, as Charlotte Weber, the head of Live Oak, puts it: "When I had a Derby contender before, I was on the front nine. Now I'm on the back nine.''

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - It would be misleading to hang a rookie label on Javier Castellano or Jeremy Rose. After all, both have become highly accomplished jockeys over the last few years on their respective East Coast circuits.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - A year ago, Smarty Jones looked and trained the best of all the Kentucky Derby contenders stabled at Churchill Downs coming into the race. He then validated that opinion by not only capturing the Derby but nearly sweeping the Triple Crown.

This year, the horse who has looked and trained the best is Bellamy Road, who gives every appearance of being a worthy favorite Saturday. He was just one of several members of the field, however, who left favorable impressions in the final, very chilly 10 mornings leading up to the 2005 Kentucky Derby.