With all the media that arrives at Churchill Downs to cover the pre Derby activities of the contenders all of a sudden everyone is an expert on how these horses are training.
While Churchill Downs could not be described as being overrun with early-arriving contenders for the Kentucky Derby presented by Yum! Brands (Grade I) at this point, the historic track has over the past few days been the scene of two of the more intriguing workouts of the spring.
The Bluegrass Stakes was being billed as the big showdown a week ago before losing some of its luster when Any Given Saturday opted for the Wood. Well, now it's here with no Pletcher stable representative but still has two of the top Derby contenders in Street Sense and Great Hunter.
After juvenile champion Street Sense made his return to competition with a narrow victory in the Tampa Bay Derby, there was some debate - at least among television analysts - as to whether his narrow win over the very talented Any Given Saturday had taken too much out of the colt.
If you look deep enough there is always some underlying story related to the Kentucky Derby winner that those who like to look beyond handicapping find relevant in choosing the winner.
The opening day of racing at Keeneland and the first tulips that push through the topsoil under the Twin Spires are wonderful indicators that spring has arrived in Kentucky, but to me and many other racing fans the season is heralded annually by the running of the $500,000 Lane's End Stakes (GII) at Turfway Park.
It was nice to see Hard Spun back on course with an impressive win in the Lane's End Stakes at Turfway , but it was Dominican's performance in the Rushaway Stakes that caught my eye.
As college basketball is in full swing with March Madness , I've come up with my team of potential Kentucky Derby contenders headed for the "Elite 8". The problem is that 5 of them all have the same "coach".
