WHAT TO EXPECT AT THE Kentucky Derby

Here are five horses to watch at the Kentucky Derby, which will be run Saturday at Churchill Downs, plus three story lines to consider and a look back at the 2008 race:

Five to watch

* I Want Revenge, Joe Talamo (jockey), Jeff Mullins (trainer). I Want Revenge has momentum going into the Derby with consecutive victories in the Gotham Stakes and the Wood Memorial.

* Friesan Fire, Gabriel Saez, Larry Jones. The third Derby entry in three years for trainer Jones, Friesan Fire has three graded-stakes wins in his last three outings.

* Dunkirk, Edgar Prado, Todd Pletcher. Dunkirk has a short resume with just three starts. After two impressive wins in Florida, he was second in the Florida Derby. His breeding is impeccable.

* Pioneerof the Nile, Garrett Gomez, Bob Baffert. Running on Santa Anita’s synthetic surface, he has three victories in three outings as a 3-year-old. Moving to dirt is the obvious concern.

* Musket Man, Eibar Coa, Derek Ryan. This sleeper has five wins in six starts, including his most recent outing, the Illinois Derby, a Grade II.

* Bonus horse: Quality Road, John Velazquez, Jimmy Jerkens. The colt would have been one of the top five contenders, but a quarter crack was discovered on the inside of his right front hoof Thursday. This is after a crack just healed on his hind hoof. He beat Dunkirk in the Florida Derby with ease.

Prediction: Friesan Fire

--

Story lines

* With Friesan Fire, the hard-luck connection of trainer Jones and part-owner Rick Porter bring their third straight starter to Churchill Downs. After finishing second with Hard Spun in 2007, Jones and Porter saw their filly, Eight Belles, finish second last year, break down after crossing the finish line and be euthanized. A few weeks ago, Jones and Porter retired their colt Old Fashioned, a favorite for this year’s Derby, because of a knee injury.

* General Quarters is owned and trained by Tom McCarthy, 72. In fact, General Quarters is the only horse he owns. The horse had only one win in seven starts in 2008, but, as victor in the Blue Grass Stakes, he will be the Louisville crowd’s favorite son.

* Joe Talamo, 19, the jockey aboard presumptive favorite I Want Revenge, is making his first Kentucky Derby start. Teenagers who rocketed to fame are part of Derby lore -- jockeys such as Ronnie Franklin and Steve Cauthen -- and Talamo, the latest in a line of Cajun riders, has a head start on stardom, having been featured in an Animal Planet reality TV show called “Jockeys.”

--

A look back

The 2008 Kentucky Derby was marked by Big Brown’s powerful performance and the tragic death of Eight Belles. Big Brown lived up to his billing as favorite, overcoming his far outside post position as the No. 20 horse and sweeping past the field to record a 4 3/4 -length triumph. But also impressive was that a filly, Eight Belles, had hung on to finish second. However, once the field crossed the finish line, Eight Belles broke both front ankles and had to be euthanized on the track, setting off an outcry among critics of the sport, congressional hearings and further measures to make horse racing safer.

--

bill.ordine@baltsun.com