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Field Notes

While we’re waiting for the numbers from DataTrack (which I could easily see myself playing with all day if I didn’t have real work to do), here’s my official rundown of the field:

Sedgefield – I like this horse a lot. I am a big fan of his full brother, English Channel and as a […]

Does Steve Know?

More on the post positions tomorrow, but in the meantime, I offer this photo from Philly.com — does Steve Asmussen know about this?

Aside from the Derby news (which obviously is tricky this week), congrats to John Servis on win number 1000. Hopefully that makes up for not training Hard Spun any more…I wonder what […]

Current Derby Odds

The Courier-Journal has posted Mike Battaglia’s Derby odds on their blog (and this before the post position draw):

Curlin 7-2Street Sense 4-1Circular Quay 8-1Nobiz Like Shobiz 8-1Scat Daddy 10-1Any Given Saturday 12-1Hard Spun 15-1Great Hunter 15-1Tiago 15-1Sam P. 20-1Cowtown Cat 20-1Dominican 20-1Liquidity 30-1Storm in May 30-1Teuflesberg 30-1Zanjero 30-1Stormello 30-1Sedgefield 50-1Bwana Bull 50-1Imawildandcrazyguy 50-1

Initial observations: […]

Hard Spun Spin, The Return

With all the discussion about Hard Spun’s speedy work (too fast? just that good? what does it mean?), it’s been hard to determine exactly what (if anything) it might mean. I’ve finally come down on the side of it being a positive; the Courier-Journal helped nudge me in that direction with this note:

The thing […]

Who Would You Toss Today?

While it seems Cobalt Blue may be on the ‘no’ list (which is just where he wants to be if his last race and workout are anything to go by), there are plenty of other horses who either aren’t quite ready or just should not be in the Derby starting gate come Saturday. My super-biased […]

They Smile When They Are Low

The New York Times is in full pre-Derby mode with three feature stories (and more to come); one on Michael Matz and a nicely detailed piece on the road Nobiz Like Shobiz has followed to get to the Derby. It includes some interesting statistics which are probably not news to most hard-core racing fans, but […]

Derby Trial

Teuflesburg is entered in the Derby Trial as a fallback in case he doesn’t make the Derby field, but given his old-school experience so far, wouldn’t it be interesting to see him bring the race back as a Derby prep? True, it hasn’t been successful since the vastly-under-rated Tim Tam (who is number one on […]

Crystal Ball, Anyone?

Slew’s Tizzy and Xchanger are both on the potential ‘no go’ list at this point; Slew’s Tizzy’s connections will make a decision by tomorrow, while Xchanger’s future seems to rest on whether or not he’s bought by someone looking for a trip to the Derby. But let’s be honest – Xchanger is not a bad […]

Doing the Graded Earnings Shuffle

While the graded earnings dance carries on this week, it’s useful to remember that the 20 horses who usually fill the Derby starting gate are not always those who most deserve to be there — recalling some of the gamesmanship that’s kept worthy horses out of the field in the past (think Rock Hard Ten) […]

The Superfecta Derby Top Ten (and a half)

I finally decided to commit my Derby Top Ten to the interweb, for good or ill:

Great Hunter – I’ve long suspected he’s Doug O’Neill’s only real shot; I like the fact that he’s never been out of the money and he’s a good PA-bred. His legal quagmire should provide a great backstory come Derby […]