Although Zanjero has placed five times in graded stakes, he has yet to win one. That might change Saturday in the Grade 3, $750,000 West Virginia Derby at Mountaineer Race Track.

Zanjero, the 3-1 morning-line favorite in the 10-horse field, will break from the No. 9 post position under jockey Shaun Bridgmohan. His competition appears formidable -- it will include Grade 1 Blue Grass winner Dominican, Grade 2 Ohio Derby winner Delightful Kiss, Grade 2 Lexington Stakes winner Slew's Tizzy, Grade 3 El Camino Real Derby winner Bwana Bull and three other horses that are graded stakes-placed.

"It's the finest field ever assembled in West Virginia racing history," said ESPN racing analyst Chris Lincoln.

Steve Asmussen, winner of the 2005 West Virginia Derby with Real Dandy, trains Zanjero for the mother-and-son team of Joan and Ron Winchell. A son of North American sprint champion Cherokee Run, Zanjero was purchased for $700,000 at the 2005 September Yearling Sale.

But Dominican, the 4-1 second choice, has impressive credentials, too. In the Blue Grass, he closed powerfully to nose out subsequent Kentucky Derby winner Street Sense as Zanjero finished third.

Dominican will be ridden by former North American apprentice champion Eddie Castro and will break from the eighth hole. Trained by Darrin Miller, Dominican will be the first Grade 1 winner to run in the West Virginia Derby since Hal's Hope, who finished second to Mass Market in 2000.

Delightful Kiss, the 9-2 third choice, will be ridden from the No. 4 spot by Jeffrey Sanchez. Delightful Kiss is the sole horse currently trained by Pete Anderson, who, in the 1970s was the first jockey to ride Hall of Fame gelding Forego.

The remainder of the West Virginia Derby field will include Sam P. (Rene Douglas, 5-1), Slew's Tizzy (Robbie Albarado, 6-1), Bwana Bull (Dana Whitney, 8-1), Moyer's Pond (Mark Guidry, 10-1), Song of Navarone (Fernando Jara, 12-1), Dr Googles Boogles (no rider named, 20-1) and Norjac (no rider named, 30-1).

Post time for the nine-stakes card is 2 p.m.