"That's like asking me which kid I love more," Baffert said without hesitation.

Baffert’s game plan is to let the theatre of the Triple Crown play out on the racetrack.

Dortmund, unbeaten in five starts, is expected to start in the $1 million Santa Anita Derby on April 4 while once-beaten champion 2-year-old male of 2014 American Pharoah is aiming for the Arkansas Derby on April 11 at Oaklawn Park.

Dortmund, a colt of more than 17 hands, is a son of 2008 Kentucky Derby winner Big Brown and is owned by Kaleem Shah.

American Pharoah is a colt by the Empire Maker stallion Pioneerof the Nile and is owned and bred by Ahmed Zayat's Zayat Stables.

"Dortmund is tall," Baffert said. "He's got a good mind on him and he's a smart horse.

“He gets a little rambunctious in the paddock, but other than that, he's pretty good.

"They're really two different types of horses, although they're both quick and light on their feet.

“I've seen Dortmund stumble and break a little awkward, but he can get up in the next jump and be right there.

“He's really quick and very athletic for a big horse. Big horses aren't that way, usually. I've worked him in the mornings. You can stop and go with him.

"Pharoah has a very efficient, kind of effortless stride. He does things really, really easy.

“I think he can handle any surface, whether it's deep, fast, whatever. He's fast, but he's not a speed-crazy type.

"The reason they find themselves on the lead is because they do it effortlessly.

“You'd have to really slow them down, get them down to a gallop, to have them stalking a horse. I don't know what would happen if there was some ridiculous speed out there.

"It's something I don't really worry about until the gates open, as long as their riders put them where they're comfortable.

“I've never seen them rank or run off. I've never seen that."

If all goes well, the two will meet in the Kentucky Derby the first Saturday in May.