There are lots of ways to lose the Kentucky Derby, including a bad trip from an inside post. But if KNOWN AGENDA gets beat from the rail, the likely reason is he simply was not good enough. Much improved when he added blinkers two back, he employs a versatile style and is comfortable eating dirt inside and behind traffic. He is bred for 1 1/4 miles and established his class scoring a decisive Grade 1 victory last out in the Florida Derby. What’s not to like about Known Agenda? For one thing, he is not fast enough. The Beyer Speed Figure par for the Kentucky Derby is 103; Known Agenda earned a 94 last out. Nit-picking perhaps, but worth acknowledging. He can win only if he improves. The gamble is he will, same as Derby winners Animal Kingdom (94 to 103) and Nyquist (92 to 103). The rail is a concern, of course. But this is the first 20-horse Derby with the new Churchill Downs starting gate. Runners breaking from the inside post do not go straight toward the inner rail, as before. Known Agenda can run straight ahead with no inner-rail worry. The Derby pace should be legit, as usual. Yet watching closer Known Agenda run, the feeling is he is not pace-dependent. He can save ground in midpack, weave through traffic, finish fast, and give trainer Todd Pletcher his third Derby, jockey Irad Ortiz Jr. his first. :: Get Kentucky Derby Betting Strategies for exclusive wager recommendations, contender profiles, pedigree analysis, and more Lightly raced ROCK YOUR WORLD is short on seasoning, long on ability. His up-front style should lead to a comfortable trip setting or pressing the pace from post 15. His Santa Anita Derby romp earned a 100 Beyer, tops in the field. Can a horse win the Kentucky Derby in just his fourth start? Big Brown (2008) and Justify (2018) both did. ESSENTIAL QUALITY is an undefeated champion who won the 2020 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile and is 5 for 5 after winning both starts this year. But he beat a suspect field two back, and last out won by a neck over an ungraded stakes winner coming off a third in a Grade 3. Essential Quality, the favorite, commands respect. Value is elsewhere. :: Get DRF Clocker Reports for the Kentucky Derby and Oaks cards to access exclusive insights from morning training SUPER STOCK, who won the Arkansas Derby going away, enters with an eight-start foundation. Super Stock is Grade 1-placed last year, a Grade 1 winner this year, and his Hall of Fame trainer seeks his first Kentucky Derby win. Super Stock is similar to Known Agenda, an improving late-runner who is not fast enough. Yet. Bombs away? Medina Spirit is a cut below, but should influence the pace. He is trained by a six-time Derby winner. Hot Rod Charlie has done nothing wrong in dirt routes. BC Juvenile runner-up, his recent Grade 2 win was decisive, albeit in a race not known for producing Derby winners.