The Kentucky Derby is the most prestigious horse racing event of the year. It is to horse racing what the Super Bowl is to football or the Daytona 500 is to NASCAR: it’s the big one. While it’s nice to win any race, earn a nice payday for coming in first place and step on the highest part of the podium, there is a special esteem that comes with winning the run for the roses.
While there are tons of 2010 Kentucky Derby Contenders, only 20 horses can actually start in the race. Overall, there will be about 400+ 2010 Kentucky Derby contenders on the nominations list.
The top two-year-old from the previous season will always be among the favorites at the beginning of the year but as we all know, the races aren’t played out on paper. As the Kentucky Derby prep races are run, the list will change depending on the performances of all the various horses.
2010 Kentucky Derby Contenders:
| Horse | Trainer | Jockey |
| Alphie's Bet | Alexis Barba | Alex Solis |
| American Lion | Eoin Harty | Julien Leparoux |
| Awesome Act | Jeremy Noseda | Julien Leparoux |
| Caracortado | Mike Machowsky | Paul Atkinson |
| Connemara | Todd Pletcher | Russell Baze |
| Conveyance | Bob Baffert | Garrett Gomez |
| Dave in Dixie | John Sadler | Joel Rosario |
| D'Funnybone | Richard Dutrow Jr. | Edgar Prado |
| Discreetly Mine | Todd Pletcher | Javier Castellano |
| Drosselmeyer | Boll Mott | Kent Desormeaux |
| Dublin | D. Wayne Lukas | Rajiv Maragh |
| Eskendereya | Todd Pletcher | John Velazquez |
| Homeboykris | Richard Dutrow Jr. | Edgar Prado |
| Interactif | Todd Pletcher | Rafael Bejarano |
| Ice Box | Nick Zito | Jose Lezcano |
| Jacksion Bend | Nick Zito | Jeremy Rose |
| Lookin at Lucky | Bob Baffert | Garrett Gomez |
| Noble's Promise | Ken McPeek | Rafael Bejarano |
| Odysseus | Tom Albertrani | Rajiv Maragh |
| Ron the Greek | Tom Amoss | James Graham |
| Rule | Todd Pletcher | John Velazquez |
| Sidney's Candy | John Sadler | Joe Talamo |
| Super Saver | Todd Pletcher | Calvin Borel |
| TIz Chrome | Bob Baffert | Garret Gomez |
| Vale of York | Saeed bin Suroor | Ahmed Ajtebi |
Associated Press Top 10 2010 Kentucky Derby Contenders:
Others to note: Jackson Bend, Pleasant Prince, Rule, Schoolyard Dreams, Tempted to Tapit.