No bettor likes to brag about backing the favorite — especially in the Kentucky Derby — and this year’s Run for the Roses offers several enticing options to the current top choice.

Florida Derby winner Forte is the worthy morning-line favorite at 3-1 odds, sporting a 2-year-old championship, five straight victories and a 6-for-7 career record for trainer Todd Pletcher.

It’s also worth nothing that post-time favorites have fared well since the current points system used to determine Kentucky Derby qualifiers started in 2013. They’ve landed in the superfecta payout all 10 years — six wins, two seconds and two fourths.

But if you’re looking for options beyond Forte to fill out exacta, trifecta and superfecta wagers, we have you covered.

Feeling confident? Here’s why your horse can — or can’t — win the Run for the Roses

What’s in a name? How Forte, Derma Sotogake and other contenders got theirs

Here are three horses who can beat the favorite:

Kentucky Derby horse Tapit Trice on the track on Sunday. April 23 2023 at Churchill Downs. Tapit Trice, trained by Todd Pletcher, won the Toyota Blue Grass Stakes in April and the Lambholm South Tampa Bay Derby in March.

Kentucky Derby horse Tapit Trice on the track on Sunday. April 23 2023 at Churchill Downs. Tapit Trice, trained by Todd Pletcher, won the Toyota Blue Grass Stakes in April and the Lambholm South Tampa Bay Derby in March.

Pletcher has the top two choices in the morning line, as his Tapit Trice is the second pick at 5-1 odds. Based on recent speed figures, some have speculated Tapit Trice may be ready to pass Forte as the top 3-year-old in Pletcher’s barn.

Tapit Trice has won four straight races and took a big leap with a career-best 99 Beyer Speed Figure while winning the Grade 1 Blue Grass on April 8 at Keeneland.

A $1.3 million purchase at the 2021 Keeneland September Yearling Sale, Tapit Trice is the highest-priced horse in the Derby field.

“He showed talent from the beginning but was just a little later getting started (than Forte),” Pletcher said.

Typically a late-running colt, Tapit Trice showed some tactical speed early in the Blue Grass victory. Pletcher also is excited about the 1 ¼-mile distance of the Kentucky Derby.

“We’ve always felt more distance, he was going to be well-suited for that,” Pletcher said. “We’re happy get him out to a mile and an eighth (in the Blue Grass), and I think a mile and a quarter is going to be even better for him.”

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Kentucky Derby contender Skinner, with exercise rider Donnie Balthazar on board, was led to the track by pony rider Monnie Goetz at Churchill Downs Monday morning May 1, 2023, in Louisville, Ky. Goetz was escorted by trainer John Shirreff's Giacomo to the post in the 2005 Derby then watched him win at odds of 50-1.

Kentucky Derby contender Skinner, with exercise rider Donnie Balthazar on board, was led to the track by pony rider Monnie Goetz at Churchill Downs Monday morning May 1, 2023, in Louisville, Ky. Goetz was escorted by trainer John Shirreff’s Giacomo to the post in the 2005 Derby then watched him win at odds of 50-1.

The third-place finisher in the Santa Anita Derby has just one victory in six career starts, but trainer John Shirreffs is hopeful a jockey change can make a difference.

Victor Espinoza, a three-time Kentucky Derby winner, rode Skinner is his last five races. But Shirreffs and owner Lee Searing opted to go with jockey Juan Hernandez for the Derby.

Hernandez, 31, led the recent Santa Anita Park meet with 63 victories and will be riding in his first Kentucky Derby.

“The horse is running similarly each time (with Espinoza),” Shirreffs said. “We had to figure out some way maybe to get a little different ride, which maybe results in a little different finish. … Juan is a young guy and really ambitious. He’s a student of the game and watches all the film. I think we have a lot of good energy going.”

Skinner is 20-1 in the morning line, but Shirreffs is no stranger to success with Kentucky Derby long shots. He won with 50-1 shot Giacomo in 2005.

Expert picks: Ed DeRosa’s tips for all 14 Kentucky Derby Day races

Betting the gray? What to know about the four gray horses in the Kentucky Derby

Kentucky Derby contender Disarm works out  at Churchill Downs on Monday morning, April 24, 2023 in Louisville, Ky. The chestnut colt is trained by Steve Asmussen.

Kentucky Derby contender Disarm works out at Churchill Downs on Monday morning, April 24, 2023 in Louisville, Ky. The chestnut colt is trained by Steve Asmussen.

He’s 30-1 in the morning line and has just one career victory, but don’t overlook this Steve Asmussen trainee.

Disarm, a son of Gun Runner, has worked well at Churchill Downs in recent weeks, including a bullet breeze of 1:00 over five furlongs on April 24.

“He’s a very durable horse,” Asmussen said, “and I think the best is yet to come from him.”

Asmussen is 0 for 24 all-time in the Kentucky Derby, the most starts of any trainer not to win the race. He just missed last year when Epicenter was passed in the final strides by Rich Strike.

“The anxiousness of not winning the Derby, Epicenter’s close defeat last year, I think has heightened the want-to to do it,” Asmussen said.

Meet the jockeys: What you need to know about all 20 Kentucky Derby riders

Ron Turcotte: How Secretariat helped decorated jockey inspire others

Jason Frakes: 502-582-4046; jfrakes@courier-journal.com; Twitter: @KentuckyDerbyCJ.

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Kentucky Derby: Tapit Trice, Disarm, Skinner could beat favorite Forte

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