The last round of major Kentucky Derby (Grade I) prep races will begin next weekend, but a couple of races set for this weekend could yield a Derby contender or two.

MIDWEST - KENTUCKY - Buckram Oak Farm's Eurosilver, one of two-time Kentucky Derby winning trainer Nick Zito's trio of Derby contenders, has been knocked out of the April 10 Toyota Blue Grass (GI) at Keeneland by to a fever. The son of Unbridled's Song, who is coming off a runner-up finish in Gulfstream's Swale (GIII), was training at the Lexington, Ky. track when he came down with the ailment.

"This is a day-to-day thing," said Zito, who also conditions Derby contenders Birdstone and The Cliff's Edge. "The Blue Grass is out of the question. You can't go into a Grade 1 race without having your horse at his best. He spiked a temperature and we had to treat him." Zito did not say when his colt would start next. Eurosilver has a career record of 3-2-0 in five starts.

WEST - NEW MEXICO - There is a distinct California flavor to Sunday's $500,000 WinStar Derby, which will be the richest race in the history of New Mexico's Sunland Park.

The race has attracted 10 3-year-olds, including five horses that have shipped to Sunland Park from Southern California. That group consists of a pair of horses trained by Doug O'Neill and three-time Kentucky Derby winner Bob Baffert and one from Vladimir Cerin.

O'Neill's duo is headed by Rod and Lorraine Rodriguez's Hosco. The son of Honour and Glory got off to a sizzling start on his young career, but now hopes to revive his Kentucky Derby hopes in Sunday's race. A January victory in Santa Anita's San Miguel (GIII) marked Hosco's third win in as many races, but he followed that win with a runner-up finish to Imperialism in the San Vicente (GII) and then finished a disappointing fifth in the San Rafael (GII).

O'Neill will also saddle Jaime Royce's Perfect Moon, a bay gelding who also enjoyed success early in his career with wins last summer in the Hollywood Juvenile Championship (GIII) and Del Mar's Best Pal (GII). He has failed to win in five races since his Del Mar victory, but was second to Mambo Train last time out in the Turf Paradise Derby.

Baffert brings Teton Forest and Consecrate into the WinStar Derby. The former has raced just three times but has faced some of Southern California's rising sophomore stars in his last two starts. The son of Forestry finished fifth to Imperialism in the San Vicente and was second to the highly regarded Rock Hard Ten in a Santa Anita allowance race in his most recent start James McIngvale's Consecrate, a son of the Baffert-trained Kentucky Derby winner Silver Charm, was third to Imperialism in his last two starts and hot jockey Javier Santiago flies in for the mount.

CALIFORNIA - Although the "Road to the Kentucky Derby" for Breeders' Cup Juvenile (GI) Minister Eric has not been what trainer Richard Mandella had envisioned, the colt will continue to play catch-up on Saturday as he makes his second start of 2004 at Santa Anita.

The son of Old Trieste will face a field of seven other 3-year-olds in a 1 1/16 mile allowance race. His is coming off a third-place finish on the grass in a 6 1/2 furlong allowance race on March 13. That was Mandella's "Plan B" after the chestnut colt failed to draw in to his scheduled debut in the Baldwin Stakes (GIII).

Minister Eric's race on Saturday will mark his return to the dirt, a surface on which he has compiled a record of 1-2-1 in five starts. He also gets a new rider in Victor Espinoza as his regular pilot, Alex Solis, will be in Dubai on Saturday to ride Breeders' Cup Classic (GI) winner Pleasantly Perfect in the $6 million Dubai World Cup for Mandella.

Minister Eric's chief competition could come from the Vladimir Cerin-trained Boomzeeboom. The son of Explosive Red is coming off his first win in five starts. In that March 6 victory, the colt won by a widening 8 1/2-lengths and was awarded a Beyer Speed Figure of 106, one of the highest earned by a 3-year-old this year.

In other news, a deep and competitive field is taking shape for the $750,000 Santa Anita Derby (GI), a key 1 1/8-mile Kentucky Derby prep that is set for April 3.

The prospective field: Imperialism and Lion Heart, the 1-2 finishers in the San Rafael; Santa Catalina (GII) winner St Averil; Louisiana Derby (GII) victor Wimbledon; unbeaten Rock Hard Ten; Quintons Gold Rush, fourth in the Santa Catalina; Castledale, who won the Generous (GIII) on the grass; Totally Platinum and Lucky Pulpit.

INTERNATIONAL - DUBAI - Although it appears likely that racing powerhouse Godolphin will miss the Kentucky Derby for a second consecutive year, the Dubai-based stable has one last hope set to run in Saturday's $2,000,000 UAE Derby (Gr. II) at Nad Al Sheba. That horse is Great Exhibition, who has not raced since a runner-up finish to Sham Stakes winner Master David in September at Great Britain's Thirsk. The full brother to the highly successful sire Elusive Quality was purchased for $1.8 million at the 2002 Keeneland July Yearling Sale, but has failed to win in just two career starts. Regular Godolphin rider Frankie Dettori will take the mount. The 1 1/8 mile race, which is part of the Dubai World Cup racing card, attracted a field of nine. The race had been run at 1 1/4 miles but was cut back to an eighth of a mile this year.

EAST - MARYLAND - The Kentucky Derby may not be foremost on the mind of the connections of Water Cannon, but the colt is the 3-2 morning line favorite for Saturday's $75,000 Private Terms at Laurel Park. Trained by Linda Albert, the gray gelded son of Waquoit shocked the heavily favored Capac in a win in Laurel's Miracle Wood on February 28. That victory was Water Cannon's third straight and regular rider Ramon Dominguez will be back in the saddle for the Private Terms. "He surprised me with that effort," said Dominguez. "This is a very similar race with some of the same horses in the field. He is at the top of his game and keeps improving, so I wouldn't trade him for anything else in this race."

His chief competition is expected to come from Eastern Bay and Cryptic Skier. The former is trained by Grover "Bud" Delp, who saddled Spectacular Bid to win the Kentucky Derby in 1979.

VISA TRIPLE CROWN DEADLINE - The final round of nominations to the Kentucky Derby and Visa Triple Crown will close on Saturday, March 27. After that deadline passes, the only way to make a horse eligible for those races is to pay a supplemental fee.

To run in the Kentucky Derby, an owner would have to pay a supplemental fee of $150,000. The early nomination phase, which had a deadline of Jan. 17, saw 434 3-year-olds made eligible for the three-race series. The total was the third highest in Kentucky Derby and Visa Triple Crown history.

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