Arkansas Derby

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.

When the connections of Smarty Jones were plotting their potential path to the Kentucky Derby, the prospect of ultimately receiving a $5 million bonus check wasn't even an afterthought. "That was no factor whatsoever," trainer John Servis said yesterday after returning to Pennsylvania following Smarty's rousing victory Saturday in the Churchill Downs mud. "Arkansas was the path of least resistance, and we really liked the way the distances progressed [from 1 1/16th miles in the Rebel Stakes to 1 1/8 in the Arkansas Derby to 1 1/4 in Kentucky]

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.

Trainer Todd Pletcher, who started four horses in his first Kentucky Derby, in 2000, could have five contenders for this year's race running in prep races this weekend. This comes on the heels of Pletcher's winning the Illinois Derby with Pollard's Vision, a one-eyed horse, at Hawthorne on Saturday. The last round of major preps for the Kentucky Derby, which will be run at Churchill Downs on May 1, comes Saturday with the Wood Memorial at Aqueduct, the Blue Grass at Keeneland and the Arkansas Derby at Oaklawn Park.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Shortly after War Emblem won the Kentucky Derby yesterday, the telephone rang at Murmur Farm in Harford County. The person who answered, when asked whether Audrey or Allen Murray, the farm owners, were there, said: "They're in the middle of a celebration." When Audrey came to the phone, she said: "We're drinking champagne." And why not? The Murrays struck pay dirt with Our Emblem, the stallion they bought in November from Claiborne Farm in Kentucky. After the Murrays brought the 11-year-old sire home, one son won the Illinois Derby and another son won the Arkansas Derby.

NEW YORK - Talent overcame experience yesterday in the Wood Memorial Stakes at Aqueduct. Buddha and Medaglia d'Oro, 3-year-olds making just their fourth starts, finished one-two in the critical lead-in to the Kentucky Derby. Neither will probably be favored in the first leg of the Triple Crown May 4 at Churchill Downs. That honor will likely fall to Harlan's Holiday, impressive winner yesterday in the Blue Grass Stakes at Keeneland. The Wood, Blue Grass and Arkansas Derby - the final three major tests for Kentucky Derby candidates - provided racing fans their best look yet at the horses likely to compete in America's most-watched race.

PP Horse Trainer Jockey Record Earnings Last race Tom Keyser's comment Odds 1... Songandaprayer... John Dowd... Aaron Gryder... 6: 3-1-0... $369,480......... 2nd Blue Grass Stakes... Inside post forces him to fire from gate; he'll flame out... 20-1 2...Millennium Wind... David Hofmans... Laffit Pincay Jr.... 5: 3-2-0... $769,920... 1st Blue Grass Stakes... Never worse than second, he's overcome cracked heels, skin rash... 6-1 3...Balto Star... Todd Pletcher Mark Guidry... 8: 4-0-1...

If you saw Fusaichi Pegasus' Kentucky Derby victory, you do not a Ph.D in handicapping to know that he is better than the horses he is competing against. Ordinary horses do not make such smooth, gear-switching moves as "Fusaichi" made in the Derby. Ordinary horses do not resemble sports cars. Indeed, it was a thing of beauty to see jockey Kent Desormeaux guide this well-balanced colt inside of traffic on the backstretch and shift into a faster gear when he swung outside for his winning bid at the top of the stretch.

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.

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.