Small Derby field puts weight on jockeys' shoulders

LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- Pulpit, trained by Frank Brothers and ridden by Shane Sellers, has checked into Barn 31, Stall 2 here on the history-rich backside of Churchill Downs.

As you may know by now, Pulpit will be trying to become t he first entry in 115 years to win the Kentucky Derby without having raced as a 2-year-old.

The Claiborne Farm colt has been installed as the pre-race favorite, yet remains unmoved, unlike race day when he gets excited and his dark coat gets wringing wet, a la his grandpappy, Seattle Slew, who began his Triple Crown trek on this very same track 20 years ago Saturday.

As you also may know, Pulpit will be trying to become the first favorite to win this race since Spectacular Bid in 1979.

WHEW! THAT'S A LOT OF HYPE for one horse, and that's not all Pulpit is carrying around. The wagering odds are 2-1 ... and 10-1.

That's 2-1 for Pulpit, 10-1 for Sellers. Churchill Downs oddsmaker Mike Battaglia -- lowering Pulpit's odds from 5-2 after his middle-of-the-track post position was drawn Wednesday -- set the horse's odds. CBS SportsLine set the jockey's.

That's because a 13-horse field not only takes some of the chance out of the race for the animal, but it puts more emphasis on the skill of the human.

"This is a rider's race," Brothers said. "I can remind (Sellers) ahead of time to let Pulpit run his race, but it'll really be up to Shane to make those decisions once they get going."

This is the smallest Derby field since Spend a Buck went wire-to-wire to blow away a 13-horse field by 5 3/4 lengths in 1985.

BATTAGLIA BELIEVES SATURDAY'S DERBY WILL be "a jockey's race, a tactical race," even though not all the top tactical jockeys are matched up with mounts with the shortest odds.

For example, two-time Derby winner Jerry Bailey will ride 12-1 longshot Phantom On Tour while Churchill Downs favorite Pat Day will start from the rail aboard 10-1 hopeful Crypto Star.

Conversely, George Steinbrenner's Concerto, an 8-1 choice, will have Carlos Marquez Jr., rather than one of the top jockeys, in the irons. Likewise, Free House, another 8-1 choice, will be ridden by Kentucky Derby first-timer David Flores.

All in all, there are 10 jockeys who will go to Saturday's post with 69 years of previous Derby experience. Day, with 14 previous Derby mounts, leads the way, followed by Gary Stevens with 11 and Bailey with nine. At the other end of the spectrum are three first-timers to the Derby.

Four jockeys in this year's field represents six Kentucky Derby wins -- Bailey and Stevens, two each, Day and Craig Perret, one apiece.

STEVENS, WHO WILL RIDE 5-1 SILVER CHARM Saturday, has made two noteworthy trips to the winner's circle -- Winning Colors ('88), last filly to win a Kentucky Derby, and Thunder Gulch ('95), a 24-1 longshot. Day's lone Derby winner came aboard Lil E. Tee ('92), a 17-1 longshot.

Veteran jockey Chris McCarron will miss Saturday's 123rd Run for the Roses because of shoulder and rib injuries sustained in two separate major wrecks only seven days apart -- March 29 at the Jim Beam Stakes and April 5 at the Santa Anita Derby. He has a fractured rib and no power in his right arm when he tries to raise it above his head.

McCarron has made 14 Derby starts, winning twice (Alysheba '87 and Go For Gin '94) and is bummed that he has to spend Saturday in an analyst's role for ABC.

"It can't be a rider's race unless you have some horse," said McCarron. "But in a race like this with only 13 horses, of which six or seven can win without it being a surprise at all, I think the rider becomes more important than normal."

FOR JOCKEYS, SPILLS ARE PART of the game, along with debilitating injuries.

These wrecks normally occur at 35-40 mph, usually in heavy traffic, always involving animals that weigh 1,000-1,100 pounds ... and a man or woman weighing about 1/10th that much.

Francisco Torres, who will ride 50-1 longshot Celtic Warrior, is nursing strained shoulder muscles of his own after a mishap here last Sunday in which his mount, Bibury Court, broke down and had to be destroyed. As sad as that is, that's also an occupational hazard.

"I'm a little body sore, especially the shoulders and arms ... (the result of) trying to keep him up," said Torres.

HOW ARE DERBY JOCKEYS SELECTED? IT'S GENERALLY a chess match between jockey and owner/trainer to see how the mounts play out.

Phantom On Tour, for example, had a regular rider named Larry Melancon until two weeks ago when owner W. Cal Partee and trainer Lynn Whiting replaced him with Jerry Bailey.

"Larry Melancon has done a fine job," Whiting said at the time, "but Jerry Bailey was sitting without a (Derby) mount. I don't think you can leave Michael Jordan on the bench in the last minute of the game."

Melancon accepted his fate without a squawk, and that shouldn't come as a surprise, either.

Jockeys, more than anyone in racing, know the ups ... and downs.

Ray Buck is CBS SportsLine's national columnist.

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