Ante-post favourites Midterm and Foundation are among those to stand their ground for the Investec Derby.
A total of 136 horses go forward for June 4 showpiece at Epsom, up from 102 at the same stage 12 months ago.
Trained by John Gosden and owned by Highclere Thoroughbred Racing, Foundation won his first three starts last season before suffering trouble in running in the Racing Post Trophy at Doncaster.
Midterm is by 2001 Derby hero Galileo and the first foal of six-time Group One heroine Midday, narrowly beaten in the 2009 Oaks.
Owned by Khalid Abdullah, who has enjoyed success three times in the premier Classic, Midterm was the comfortable winner of a mile maiden at Newbury in October.
Racing manager Teddy Grimthorpe said: "At the moment he's just a maiden winner and people can start getting excited when he's achieved a bit more. There are no plans as yet."
French trainer Andre Fabre landed the 2011 Derby with Pour Moi and is represented by the unbeaten Ultra, a Group One winner last year in the Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere at Longchamp.
Ultra is owned by Godolphin, who can call on a team of 14, also featuring Champagne Stakes hero Emotionless (Charlie Appleby) and Moonlight Magic (Jim Bolger).
Aidan O'Brien has won three of the last four renewals of the Derby and five in total, and has more horses left in than any other trainer, with 36 contenders in total.
These include Racing Post Trophy runner-up and subsequent Group One Criterium International winner Johannes Vermeer and impressive maiden winners Cook Islands and Idaho.
As well as the O'Brien-trained horses, owners Sue Magnier, Michael Tabor and Derrick Smith also have an interesting contender in the Gosden-trained Royal Artillery, who was successful in a maiden at Doncaster in October.
Another eyecatching possible for Gosden is Sheikh Hamdan-owned Nottingham maiden winner Wajeez.
Saleh Al Homaizi and Imad Al Sagar saw their colours carried to Derby victory by Authorized and Frankie Dettori in 2007. The pair have two potential runners this year, headed by Mr Khalid who is from the first crop of Pour Moi.
Trained by Marco Botti, Mr Khalid was third on his debut at Lingfield in September before making all for an impressive seven-length success in a maiden at Nottingham in October.
Botti said: "I am very pleased with Mr Khalid. He has wintered really well and looks a different horse to last year - he is much stronger and more furnished.
"I thought he ran well first time out on a track that was probably too sharp for him. He then got his ideal conditions at Nottingham - a stiff mile with an ease in the ground - and was really quite impressive.
"It was encouraging but the form of some of those back-end maidens can be questionable.
"He is coming along nicely at the moment. He is bred to make a much better three-year-old and we are looking forward to getting him out in the spring.
"We have no plans set in stone for him as things stand, although he could be on nice handicap mark (85).
"He is one of our three-year-olds that we hold in high regard and we hope that he will progress all through the year."
The Aga Khan has seven remaining entries, including Zarak (Alain de Royer-Dupre), out of the unbeaten champion Zarkava, and impressive Leopardstown maiden victor Tirmizi (Dermot Weld).