Derby Winner

No one can say with any real certainty whether or not Uncle Mo will be in the starting gate on Saturday when the Kentucky Derby is run for the 137th time at Churchill Downs. He's still battling a gastrointestinal infection that could result in a scratch right up until post time. But even if he does run, there is a good chance he won't be the favorite. For now, that honor goes to Dialed In, the horse Churchill Downs handicapper Mike Battaglia picked as the 4-1 morning line favorite on Wednesday after the Nick Zito-trained colt drew the favorable eighth stall in the Derby post position draw.

Real Quiet, who shocked many horsemen during his life as he moved his skinny, imperfect body from the starting gate into the winner's circle in five Grade I races, including the 1998 Kentucky Derby and Preakness, shocked the horse world again Monday when he died after a fall. Real Quiet, 15, was in his paddock at Penn Ridge Farms near Harrisburg, Pa., when he somehow fell on his left shoulder. A necropsy at New Bolton showed he fell so hard that he drove his shoulder into his neck, fracturing five cervical vertebrae, according to Mike Jester, owner of Penn Ridge Farm and majority shareholder and manager of the syndicate that owned the stallion.

If the Preakness represents another chance for four colts who ran behind Super Saver in the Kentucky Derby, it also provides first-time Triple Crown exposure to seven new horses. Even though only three "shooters" have won the Preakness in the past 20years (Rachel Alexandra last year, Bernardini in 2006 and Red Bullet in 2000), Caracortado heads a cast of hopeful newcomers at Pimlico Race Course. "He's trained well and he's run against some of the best horses around," said Mike Machowsky, trainer for the California-bred gelding, who opened at 10-1 odds.

Days before Todd Pletcher won his first Kentucky Derby with Super Saver, thus becoming the only trainer with a shot at the elusive Triple Crown this year, a handful of reporters stood outside his barn at Churchill Downs and asked him whether he could think of a comparable feat in another sport. Pletcher considered the question for a few seconds before settling on an answer. "Probably [ Joe DiMaggio's] 56-game hitting streak," he said. "But even then, after the Derby, only one horse has a chance at doing it. I think it's got to rank up there as one of the toughest things in sports."

Todd Pletcher is not a man who enjoys idle moments. Even when he's riding in the passenger seat of an SUV — as he was Wednesday morning, when he made the journey from Monmouth Park in New Jersey to Baltimore — he cannot sit still. He does not listen to music, read a book, gaze at the scenery or make friendly conversation with the driver, assistant Adriane Hall. Instead, Pletcher works. He cracks open his laptop, pulls up his weekly reports and his schedules, and dials up his clients.

Kentucky Derby winner Super Saver arrived at Pimlico Race Course this afternoon and was made the 5-2 favorite for Saturday's 135th Preakness Stakes. Super Saver will start from the 8th post position in the 12-horse field -- two short of the maximum -- in his bid to win the second leg of the Triple Crown. "I don't think the post position matters in this race," Super Saver trainer Todd Pletcher said today. Lookin At Lucky, sixth in the Derby but a pre-race favorite, was the 3-1 second choice and Paddy O'Prado, third in the Derby, was the 9-2 third choice.

You can make the argument Todd Pletcher is the best trainer in horse racing. He's certainly the hottest. Virtually all that he has touched this spring has turned to gold. The 42-year-old is headed to the 136th running of the Kentucky Derby on May 1 with one of the heaviest favorites in years in Eskendereya, and he conceivably could have a half dozen other entries in the 20-horse field. But you can also make the case that Pletcher won't solidify his status as one of the best until he wins a Derby.

Horse racing Draw for $1.25M Haskell, featuring 'Rachel,' is today The field for Sunday's 42nd running of the $1.25 million Grade I Haskell Invitational has started to assemble at Monmouth, and the race will be drawn on at 11:30 a.m. today. The Haskell draw can be seen live on the Monmouth Park website, www.monmouthpark.com. Already on the grounds are Belmont Stakes winner Summer Bird, Arkansas Derby winner Papa Clem, Long Branch Stakes winner Atomic Rain, Continental Mile stakes winner Bunker Hill and Iowa Derby winner Duke of Mischief.

History waits for Preakness favorite Rachel Alexandra on Saturday, and it's not good history. The 3-year-old filly drew the 13th and outside post Wednesday for the Preakness Stakes, drawing a groan from the crowd of invited onlookers inside an air-conditioned tent at Pimlico Race Course. Scott Blasi, assistant trainer for the super filly under Steve Asmussen, did not share the sentiment, believing the outside post will allow the horse to dictate the pace. "They groaned and I smiled," Blasi said.