Anita

This year’s favorite is based at Santa Anita.

Citizen Bull was an early favorite for the Derby, but a disappointing and uninspiring fourth in the Santa Anita Derby made people look elsewhere.

Baffert was hoping Barnes, a $3.2-million purchase, would make the Derby but his fifth- and last-place finish in the Santa Anita Derby left him short of qualifying points.

Journalism has won four in a row, including the Santa Anita Derby, where he beat Citizen Bull and Baeza, and the San Felipe Stakes, where he beat Barnes and Rodriguez.

If there were one race that stamped Journalism as the Derby favorite it was the Santa Anita Derby, where he overcame extreme trouble when a horse backed up on him, forcing him to re-rally, which he did to win convincingly.