Arkansas Derby

General Quarters is heading home to the Kentucky Derby. The 3-year-old colt overtook pacesetter Join in the Dance at the top of the stretch, then held off favorite Hold Me Back by 1 1/2 lengths to win the $750,000 Blue Grass Stakes on Saturday at Keeneland in Lexington, Ky. General Quarters, owned and trained by retired Louisville principal Thomas McCarthy and ridden by Eibar Coa, covered the 1 1/8 miles on Keeneland's Polytrack in 1 minute, 49.26 seconds...

Calvin Borel's Triple Crown prediction notwithstanding, horse racing connections were busy Monday lining up for a shot at Super Saver in the 135th Preakness Stakes. Officials for Pimlico Race Course said 17 horses were under consideration for the race, including two who already are confirmed: Super Saver, who won the Kentucky Derby on Saturday, and Dublin, who finished seventh. The Preakness has a 14-horse limit. But the big news of the day was that Noble's Promise, who fleetingly held the lead at the quarter pole in Louisville, Ky., before finishing fifth, might head to Baltimore instead of England, as originally planned.

NEW YORK -- So, this is how horse racing clears up the picture for its May 3 Kentucky Derby? A weekend of three Derby prep races and not one favorite wins? In the Wood Memorial, here at Aqueduct Racetrack, favorite War Pass ran hard but was beaten by a half length by Tale of Ekati, who had finished sixth in his previous race. In Chicago, Illinois Derby favorite Denis of Cork suffered his first career defeat, finishing fifth. Recapturetheglory, whose only other victory had come in a maiden race, won for trainer and owner Louie Roussel.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- Todd Pletcher learned more than horsemanship during his 6 1/2 years as assistant to Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas. Pletcher also learned math. In his first appearance on his own in the Kentucky Derby, Pletcher, 32, will train four of the expected 20 starters. That's one more than Lukas, who has started more horses in the Derby, 35, than any other trainer. Pletcher's four: More Than Ready, last year's 2-year-old sensation who tailed off in the fall after a long campaign.

The computer program came up with Hansen, and he certainly has a shot. However, Hansen's last prep race was very telling, and not in ways that suggest he can win. Many observers felt his Breeders' Cup Juvenile victory last fall demonstrated some distance limitations, and those concerns seem to have been validated in the Blue Grass Stakes, where he gave up the lead in the stretch. Additionally, his owner suggested that he would not go to the lead in the Blue Grass, but he surged to the lead and carved out fairly solid fractions.

NEW YORK -- The road is long, and nobody said it was easy. But for 3-year-old thoroughbreds across the country -- no, the world -- the journey is drawing to a close. Today, in major races in Kentucky, Arkansas and New York, 34 horses will take their final strides in competition along the road that leads to America's spring classics: the Kentucky Derby May 6 at Churchill Downs, the Preakness May 20 at Pimlico and the Belmont June 10 at Belmont Park. For some, such as Mighty, Snuck In and Fusaichi Pegasus, the races today are minor hurdles to overcome; their Derby tickets are punched.

Horses trained by John Shirreffs and Kiaran McLaughlin came from nowhere a year ago to finish 1-2 in the Kentucky Derby. Giacomo, the gray son of Holy Bull trained by Shirreffs for Jerry and Ann Moss, won at 50-1, edging the McLaughlin-trained long shot Closing Argument. After what happened Saturday on opposite coasts, the two trainers might have another shot at the world's most famous race May 6 at Churchill Downs. A.P. Warrior, a huge disappointment in his first start of 2006 in the El Camino Real Derby at Bay Meadows, bounced back with a 7-1 surprise in the $250,000 San Felipe Stakes at Santa Anita Park.

The Preakness could showcase the top three finishers in the Kentucky Derby, as well as the Derby's morning-line favorite. Kristin Mulhall, trainer of Imperialism, a closing third in the Derby, said the 16-race veteran will likely run in the Preakness after returning to the track at Hollywood Park and training aggressively. Imperialism would join Derby winner Smarty Jones, Derby runner-up Lion Heart and the Derby's morning-line favorite, The Cliff's Edge, who finished fifth after losing both of his front shoes, in the Preakness starting gate.

Animal, plan it Neil Milbert Chicago Tribune Granted, Animal Kingdom outran a relatively weak field when he made his dirt racing debut and won the Kentucky Derby as a 20-1 long shot. Going into the Derby with six weeks of rest, he proved to be the best and raced the final quarter in a razor-sharp 24.55 seconds. All of that suggests the well-bred colt is capable of a comparable performance at Pimlico — where he will be facing an even weaker field than the one he dominated at Churchill Downs.

NEW YORK - The Wood Memorial Stakes has spawned such stars as Assault, Count Fleet, Gallant Fox, Native Dancer, Secretariat and Seattle Slew. The 80th running of New York's premier Kentucky Derby prep tomorrow at Aqueduct could showcase another equine hero. But this is an undistinguished 11-horse field in which the top three favorites have won a grand total of one stakes - and that wasn't even graded. What's more, several of the potential stars in the field risk having to sit out the Derby because of a lack of earnings in graded stakes.