Jockeys help guide thoroughbreds to the finish line. Trainers help prep the horses for raceday.
But owners foot the bills. Without their investment, hopes and dreams of Kentucky Derby glory would be just that — aspirations instead of reality.
Here's a look at the owners lineup in this year's Run for the Roses, listed in alphabetical order by horse's name (those with multiple Derby entrants are grouped together):
Admire Daytona
Owner: Junko Kondo
What to know: Kondo, in her Derby debut as an owner, is the widow of the late Riichi Kondo, who The Sydney Morning Herald once noted was "one of the Japanese racing industry's biggest players.