LOUISVILLE, Ky. – There’s really nothing normal about this, not at all. Stuff 20 3-year-old horses into a metal contraption. Surround them with about 150,000 cheering fans, many lunatics fortified for the previous eight hours with alcoholic beverages. Have them run 1 1/4 miles with tiny, brave humans on their backs. Make them turn left a couple of times. See which one emerges first. Then throw roses on that horse’s back. That’s the Kentucky Derby. Some semblance of that scenario, with a few variations, has occurred here at Churchill Downs since 1875, when Aristides won the first Derby. The Derby has been run every year since, without fail, through two World Wars, the Great Depression, and under the administration of 29 of this country’s 46 presidents. The past two years, owing to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Derby was contested under restrictions. In 2020, the pandemic forced the race to be postponed to September, and it was viewed ontrack by a little more than 10 percent of capacity. Last year, the race returned to its usual spot on the calendar, the first Saturday in May, and though the crowd was bigger than 2020, it still was far from . . . normal. But that’s how this year’s Derby is being billed: a return to normal. The crowds will be back. The mint juleps will be flowing. Fans will be dressed to impress, and to excess. And in the midst of all that partying, they also will run an American classic race, a darn fine one judging by the quality of this field. “It’s going to be a great Derby,” said Steve Asmussen, the winningest trainer in the sport’s history, who will try to win his first Derby with Epicenter, the Louisiana Derby winner. “There are some extremely fast horses doing extremely well.” The final field underwent some minor revision Friday morning, when the longshot Ethereal Road was scratched, allowing the first also-eligible, Rich Strike, to get in. The second also-eligible, Rattle N Roll, also was scratched. The 148th Kentucky Derby on Saturday at Churchill Downs is shaping up as a sensational race, with high-quality runners who have held their form for months and improved their Beyer Speed Figures as the prep season progressed. Zandon, the Chad Brown-trained Blue Grass winner, and Epicenter are acknowledged as the top two betting choices, but there are a number of other horses seemingly capable of having those roses thrown on their back, including the intriguing Crown Pride, a Japanese import who has trained at least as well as the two favorites this week. Crown Pride, winner of the United Arab Emirates Derby for trainer Koichi Shintani, is seeking to become the first horse from Japan to win the Derby. Taiba, who won the Santa Anita Derby in only his second start, will try to become the first horse since Leonatus in 1883 to win the Derby in his third start, and the first horse to win the Derby in his third start without having raced at 2. “It’s the hand they’ve dealt us, but he’s an exceptionally gifted horse,” said Taiba’s trainer, Tim Yakteen. Yakteen also sends out Santa Anita Derby runner-up Messier, and with Messier and Taiba is attempting to win the Derby with horses transferred to him weeks ago owing to the suspension of six-time Derby winner Bob Baffert. Epicenter, Messier, and Taiba already own races in which they’ve earned Beyer Speed Figures in excess of 100. “Unbelievably excited that he’s doing so well with this much on the line,” Asmussen said of Epicenter. Mo Donegal, who beat Zandon in the Remsen last December, comes off a win in the Wood Memorial. He and stablemates Charge It and Pioneer of Medina will try to give trainer Todd Pletcher his third Derby victory. Doug O’Neill also is trying to win his third Derby, with the longshot Happy Jack his lone entrant. Cyberknife and White Abarrio will try to improve upon their victories in the Arkansas and Florida derbies, respectively. Cyberknife, along with stablemates Tawny Port and Zozos, is seeking to give trainer Brad Cox his second straight Derby win, following the elevation of Mandaloun via the disqualification of Medina Spirit for a medication violation. Cyberknife seems to be on a forward trajectory after showing immaturity early in his career. :: Get Kentucky Derby Betting Strategies for exclusive wager recommendations, contender profiles, pedigree analysis, and more “He’s grown up a lot mentally,” Cox said. “Hopefully, he’s over his antics.” White Abarrio would represent the crowning achievement for Saffie Joseph Jr., a champion trainer in Barbados who has become a force in this country. Trainer Kenny McPeek doubles up with Smile Happy and Tiz the Bomb. Barber Road, Rich Strike, and Summer Is Tomorrow are the first Derby starters for trainers John Ortiz, Eric Reed, and Bhupat Seemar, respectively. Simplification will try to give Antonio Sano, the former champion trainer of his native Venezuela, his biggest win in this country, and Classic Causeway will try to give Australian native Brian Lynch and his merry gang of friends yet another reason to party, not that they need an excuse. All starters carry 126 pounds. Two of the entrants – Happy Jack and Pioneer of Medina – are removing blinkers since their last start. No one is adding blinkers. The opening quarter-mile of the race may tell the tale, because if the pace is fast, it could set it up for late-runners, but if the leaders manage to get away with a sensible pace, the profile of recent Derbies is for horses forwardly placed to do best. Epicenter, drawn in post 3, will have to be used at least leaving the gate to try and establish a forward position. Summer Is Tomorrow, his neighbor in post 4, has sprinter’s speed. Messier, in post 6, pressed a hot pace in the Santa Anita Derby. Farther out, Classic Causeway, in post 17, usually breaks like a Quarter Horse, and he’s being fitted with new equipment, including a tongue tie, after stopping badly in the Florida Derby. A host of others – like Charge It, Cyberknife, Pioneer of Medina, Simplification, Taiba, White Abarrio, and Zozos – will be desirous of getting stalking trips, but the number of horses who want that position exceed the number who can get that spot, so expect some aggressive riding, and some potentially compromised trips, in the early going. The best of the late-runners are Crown Pride, Mo Donegal, and Zandon. “I’m excited to see him run,” Brown said of Zandon. “He’s doing super. So far everything’s gone according to plan.” Weather could be a factor. As of Wednesday afternoon, the forecast for Saturday from the National Weather Service was for a 25 percent chance of rain and a high of just 59 degrees, that following a Friday that had an 85 percent chance of rain, including thunderstorms. The Churchill Downs main track dries out quickly, but based on how horses traveled over a sloppy surface Tuesday morning, a horse like Charge It might well move up on off going. “I thought he galloped particularly well on it,” Pletcher confirmed Wednesday. Classic Causeway, Epicenter, and Zandon own wins over off tracks. If the full field of 20 starts, the purse will be $3 million, with $1.86 million going to the winner. The Derby is the 12th race on a marathon 14-race card that begins at 10:30 a.m. Eastern and doesn’t conclude until 10 hours later, at 8:30 p.m. Post time for the Derby is listed as 6:57 p.m., but it usually goes off a few minutes after the listed post time. :: For the first time ever, our premium past performances are free! Get free Formulator now! There are seven other stakes on the card preceding the Derby, six graded, three – like the Derby – Grade 1, including the Derby City Distaff for female sprinters, the Churchill Downs for male sprinters, and the Old Forester Turf Classic for older grass runners. The Churchill Downs features a matchup between Jackie’s Warrior, the Eclipse Award-winning male sprinter of last year, and Aloha West, who beat Jackie’s Warrior in the Breeders’ Cup Sprint in November. There’s nothing normal about this card, not the length, scope, nor the main attraction. After the last two years, though, it has the potential to be a celebration of a return to normalcy, or whatever passes for that these days. It’s Derby Day, on the first Saturday in May, and with a packed house. Get tied on.