Eight Belles: Kentucky Derby Filly Power

Eight Belles hopes to become the fourth filly to win the Kentucky Derby. (AP Images)

Lately, the Kentucky Derby has lacked a woman's touch.

There hasn't been a filly in the Derby field since 1999, when Excellent Meeting posted a fifth place finish while Three Ring placed 19th. And you'd have to go all the way back to 1988 for a female winner, when Winning Colors turned the trick in dramatic fashion.

This year, Eight Belles enters the field as the lone filly competitor. She'll be ridden by jockey Gabriel Saez, a 20-year-old Panamanian making his Derby debut as well. It's a little girl power mixed with an underdog. And it makes for a great story.

"I'm willing to take a shot," Eight Belles owner Rick Porter told the Associated Press. "I know a lot of people like to see a filly run. I'm always for the underdog, so I'm making myself a good underdog."

But how big of an underdog will Eight Belles really be? While she's currently listed as a 16/1 long shot in the Bodog Sportsbook, there are some reasons to believe she's got a fighter's chance amongst the likes of Big Brown (3/1) and Colonel John (5/1).

Read the remainder of Belle of the Ball in Bodog Nation.