Who is the youngest of the bunch? That would be Wood Memorial (gr. I) winner Bob and John who won't celebrate his actual 3-year-old birthday until May 17. He is the lone member of the contender list that will face the starter prior to being a full three years old.

Of this year's top 21 contenders, only one was foaled in January. Six were foaled in February; eight in March; four in April; and two in May.

Last year's winner, Giacomo, was a Feb. 17 foal. Of the last six Derby winners, four were February foals: Giacomo, Smarty Jones (Feb. 28), War Emblem (Feb. 20), and Monarchos (Feb. 9). The other two were April foals: Funny Cide (April 20) and Fusaichi Pegasus (April 12).

For hunch/numbers players, there are a pair of exacta boxes worth examining this year. Both Point Determined and Showing Up were foaled Feb. 6, and Cause to Believe and Jazil were foaled Feb. 11.

How about a trifecta of Keyed Entry, Sweetnorthernsaint, and Flashy Bull, who were foaled on March 11, 12, and 13, respectively?

Below are the foaling dates for the Derby contenders (as of late Monday). For those who will be reading their horoscopes on Derby day, there are no Capricorns in this year's field, as the oldest Derby contender is Bluegrass Cat who was foaled Jan. 23. Those foaled Jan. 20-Feb. 18 are under the sign of Aquarius. Pisces babies were foaled Feb. 19-March 20; Aries runners were born March 21-April 19; and Taurus' sign runs from April 20-May 20.

Horse (state foaled) - Date of Foaling