Kentucky Derby 2018 trail: Robert B. Lewis odds and analysis

A field of 3-year-olds looking to break away from the big horses certainly found the right spot with Saturday’s Grade 3, $150,000 Robert B. Lewis Stakes. The 1 1/16-mile race at Santa Anita Park will also award the first four finishers points on a 10-4-2-1 basis toward a spot in the 2018 Kentucky Derby starting gate. Seven of the nine entrants will be looking to beat winners for the first time, while two are still maidens.

Headlining the group is Spendthrift Farm and Town and Country Racing's promising colt, Peace. A well-regarded maiden winner on the West Coast, his connections are hoping to step up on the Derby trail. And in a field without so much as an allowance race, Peace graduate to stakes winner.

Post time is set for 5:30 p.m. ET. Here's a look at the contenders with early odds by Horse Racing Nation:

1.) Ayacara, 15-1 (Violence – Keith Desormeaux – 5-1-1-0 – $72,945): After trying dirt, synthetic and turf, Ayacara is returning to the main track. He finished a distant fourth in the FrontRunner Stakes (G1) on dirt, was a close second in the Gold Rush Stakes on synthetic and was most recently sixth in the Eddie Logan Stakes on turf. Better prospects in the field.

2.) Pepe Tono, 8-1 (Bodemeister – Victor Garcia – 2-1-0-0 – $32,745): Pepe Tono showed a big improvement in only his second start, winning after running sixth in his debut. He has already finished in front of Blame the Rider and Regulate, but can he beat this field's other big prospects? Step up in competition.

3.) Dark Vader, 15-1 (Tale of Ekati – Peter Eurton – 4-1-1-0 – $37,845): Dark Vader showed potential in his debut at Los Alamitos when he rallied to a head loss, but did not finish as well in his following two starts, one being the Juvenile Stakes at Belterra Park and the other being a maiden special weight on turf. Most recently, the Ohio-bred was back on dirt at Los Alamitos and got up for a nose victory. Will need something to run off.

4.) Lombo, 5-1 (Graydar – Michael Pender – 3-1-0-1 – $39,225): From the first crop of Graydar, Lombo has shown improvement with each start. Although he finished a distant third to a stakes-quality horse in Ax Man, he was a 3 1/2-length winner in his next start out. He will also be taking on some bigger names compared to his maiden victory. Better each start.

5.) Shivermetimbers, 3-1 (Shanghai Bobby – Jerry Hollendorfer – 4-1-0-2 – $49,200): Shivermetimbers has tangoed with some top Derby prospects on the West Coast, losing to McKinzie twice and holding off Peace to break his maiden. He was the second choice to McKinzie in the Jan. 6 Sham Stakes (G3) but ran a disappointing fourth. Chance to take down the favorite.

6.) Inscom, 12-1 (Distorted Humor – Simon Callaghan – 5-1-2-0 – $57,825): Inscom’s lone start on dirt was his debut, when he finished last. He went on to break his maiden on turf and earned two close seconds to Pubilius Syrus, one of which was in the Eddie Logan Stakes. After showing a liking for the turf, he’ll have to prove he likes the dirt just as much. Surface switch a question.

7.) Peace, 5-2 (Violence – Richard Mandella – 3-1-2-0 – $52,800): This highly regarded colt was second to both Mourinho, Oaklawn Park's eventual Smarty Jones Stakes winner, and Shivermetimbers in maiden company. Peace also finished ahead of the Lecomte winner Instilled Regard his first time out. The colt finally got a win in his third start. While this stakes should be a relatively easy first test for him, he’ll still have to prove he can take that next step. Top contender.

8.) Regulate, 10-1 (Quality Road – Bob Baffert – 3-0-1-0 – $11,490): The Juddmonte Farms homebred has some storied connections, but is still looking for his first win. Regulate has already been beaten by Dark Vader, Peace and Pepe Tone in other races. Although only second to Peace by 3/4 of a length on Dec. 30, he appeared to regress next out, running sixth on Jan. 19. Needs to rebound.

9.) Blame the Rider, 20-1 (Jimmy Creed – Doug O’Neill – 3-0-0-1 – $7,825): The second maiden in the field, Blame the Rider’s best effort was a third-place effort behind Pepe Tono last out. He will also need to show major improvement to make noise here. Breakthrough win unlikely.