Get to know the trainers who will have horses running in the 2022 Kentucky Derby

Editor's note: A previous version of this story incorrectly said 2021 Kentucky Derby in the fifth paragraph and has been changed to reflect the correct year.

Much of the talk about trainers leading up to the 2022 Kentucky Derby has centered on the one who is not allowed to participate in the race this year.

But while Bob Baffert serves his suspension following the disqualification of 2021 winner Medina Spirit, there is no shortage of storylines revolving around the trainers who will have horses in the 148th iteration of the race this year.

The trainer of the points leader holds the record for most Kentucky Derby starters without a win. Louisville native Brad Cox was credited with the win after Medina Spirit’s disqualification a year ago, but he will hope to remove the asterisk on his first win with two chances to have one of his horses cross the finish line first this year.

Six trainers are in position for their first Kentucky Derby starts. Four others could have multiple horses in the field.

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Want to factor in the trainer to your Derby bets? Here is what you need to know about the 2022 Kentucky Derby trainers:

Steve Asmussen

Kentucky Derby horses: Epicenter

Asmussen holds the record for most Kentucky Derby starters without a victory (23). He has finished second in the race twice with Nehro (2011) and Lookin At Lee (2017). He has won the Preakness twice and Belmont once. Epicenter led all horses in qualifying points and won the Louisiana Derby in his last start.

Chad Brown

Kentucky Derby horses: Zandon

The Eclipse Award winner for outstanding trainer for four consecutive years from 2016 to 2019, Brown is 0 for 6 in Kentucky Derby starts. His best finish was second with Good Magic in 2018. Brown won the Preakness with Cloud Computing in 2017. The 2022 Derby looked to be the second time Brown had multiple horses in the field, but he announced the weekend before the Derby that Early Voting would wait until the Preakness for his next race.

Brad Cox

Kentucky Derby horses: Cyberknife, Tawny Port, Zozos

A Louisville native, Cox was credited with his first Kentucky Derby win last year when Mandaloun was elevated to first place following Medina Spirit’s disqualification. Cox-trained Essential Quality was also elevated to third after the disqualification. Essential Quality won the 2021 Belmont Stakes. Cox is the two-time reigning Eclipse Award winner. He also trained the winner of the Breeders’ Cup Classic last year. Despite his recent success, this is just Cox’s second Kentucky Derby.

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Saffie Joseph Jr.

Kentucky Derby horses: White Abarrio

Joseph returns to the Derby for his second start. He previously trained Ny Traffic to an eighth-place finish in the delayed 2020 Derby. This will be Joseph’s first Derby run on its traditional first Saturday in May date. A native of Barbados who began training in south Florida in 2011, Joseph ranked 10th in earnings and wins last year, marking the first time he had broken into the Top 10 in either category.

Brian Lynch

Kentucky Derby horses: Classic Causeway

An Australian who originally moved to the United States in 1986 to ride bulls on the rodeo circuit, Lynch is poised for his first Kentucky Derby 30 years after taking out his Thoroughbred training license. A former assistant for trainer trainer Bobby Frankel, Lynch won his first Breeders' Cup race in 2016 with Oscar Performance in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf.

Kenny McPeek

Kentucky Derby horses: Tiz the Bomb, Smile Happy

The Lexington-based trainer is poised to return to the Derby for the first time since 2013. McPeek has trained six previous Derby starters. His best finish came in his first Kentucky Derby with second-place Tejano Run in 1995. McPeek could have two horses in the Derby for the second time in his career. He also trained two Derby horses in 2013 but neither finished better than 13th.

Doug O’Neill

Kentucky Derby horses: Happy Jack

O’Neill has two Kentucky Derby winners on his résumé — I’ll Have Another (2012) and Nyquist (2016) — in seven career starts. He finished second last year with Hot Rod Charlie after Medina Spirit’s disqualification. This would mark the third time O’Neill has trained a Derby horse in back-to-back years. The two previous times featured a win in the first year and a 17th-or-worse finish in the second year.

John Ortiz

Kentucky Derby horses: Barber Road

The son of former jockey Carlos Ortiz, John Ortiz is in position for his first Kentucky Derby less than six years after his first win as a trainer. Ortiz moved to the United States from Columbia at age 5 when his father moved his tack to New York. He began his career as a hot walker for trainer Bill Mott. Ortiz bases his training operation in Lexington and has made headlines for paying all his exercise riders, grooms, foremen and hot walkers a fixed salary rather than by the horse.

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Todd Pletcher

Kentucky Derby horses: Mo Donegal, Charge It, Pioneer of Medina

A seven-time Eclipse Award Trainer of the Year winner, Pletcher is the record holder for most career Kentucky Derby starts (59). In those 59 career starts, he has won the race twice with Super Saver (2010) and Always Dreaming (2017). His horses have finished on the board six other times. Pletcher trained four horses in the Derby last year but none finished better than eighth.

Eric Reed

Kentucky Derby horses: Rich Strike

A Lexington-based trainer, Reed is in line for his first Kentucky Derby thanks to a late scratch on the eve of the race. The career highlight comes just more than five years after a devastating fire caused by lightning killed 23 horses at his Mercury Equine Center in Lexington. Reed has one graded stakes win in his career.

Antonio Sano

Kentucky Derby horses: Simplification

Sano could make his second Kentucky Derby five years after training Gunnevera to a seventh-place finish. Sano began his career in his native Venezuela, where he won more than 3,000 races across 19 years, but he moved to the United States after being kidnapped and held for ransom for a second time in 2009. Since moving to the U.S., Sano has trained five graded stakes winners.

Bhupat Seemar

Kentucky Derby horses: Summer Is Tomorrow

Seemar took out his training license in November after his uncle Satish Seemar, who he previously served as an assistant, was suspended by the Emirates Racing Authority. Now, just six months later Seemar is in position for his first Kentucky Derby after Summer Is Tomorrow’s second-place finish in the UAE Derby. The Derby would be Seemar’s first U.S. race as a trainer, but he previously worked as an intern at Taylor Made Farm in Nicholasville and spent five years working for Baffert.

Koichi Shintani

Kentucky Derby horses: Crown Pride

Just two years removed from his first race as a Japan Racing Association trainer in 2020, Shintani is in line for his first Kentucky Derby with Crown Pride, who would be the second Japanese-bred horse to race in the Derby. Crown Pride’s win in the UAE Derby was Shintani’s first graded stakes victory.

Tim Yakteen

Kentucky Derby horses: Tabia, Messier

A former assistant to Baffert, Yakteen is in line for his first Kentucky Derby after the previously Baffert-trained Messier and Taiba were transferred to his stable following Baffert’s suspension. A native of Germany, Yakteen moved to the United States in 1982. According to the Los Angeles Times, Yakteen has been a staunch supporter of Baffert and got into an altercation with trainer Richard Baltas at Santa Anita Park in April 2020 after Baltas was “bad-mouthing” Baffert.

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Kentucky Derby 2022: These trainers could have horses in the field