Florida Derby

One of the colts entered in Saturday's 138th running of the Preakness Stakes can lay claim to a distinction not shared by seven others:  He's actually finished ahead of the expected favorite Orb in a race. Titletown Five, one of three Preakness entries trained by Hall of Famer D. Wayne Lukas, and Orb were both entered in a seven-furlong, maiden special weight race for 2-year-olds at Saratoga last Aug. 18. Maiden special weights are for horses that have never won a race in their career.

One of the colts entered in Saturday's 138th running of the Preakness Stakes can lay claim to a distinction not shared by seven others:  He's actually finished ahead of the expected favorite Orb in a race. Titletown Five, one of three Preakness entries trained by Hall of Famer D. Wayne Lukas, and Orb were both entered in a seven-furlong, maiden special weight race for 2-year-olds at Saratoga last Aug. 18. Maiden special weights are for horses that have never won a race in their career.

Itsmyluckyday will get another shot at Orb. The Eddie Plesa Jr.-trained colt will train toward a Preakness run, his connections told Pimlico officials Tuesday. They'd been mulling over whether or not to go to the gate for the 138th running of the second leg of the Triple Crown. Itsmyluckyday was the favorite in the Florida Derby, which Orb won to become an early Kentucky Derby favorite. Then, Itsmyluckyday became a popular betting choice to beat Orb in the Derby, partly because he had run well over a sloppy track.

Itsmyluckyday will get another shot at Orb. The Eddie Plesa Jr.-trained colt will train toward a Preakness run, his connections told Pimlico officials Tuesday. They'd been mulling over whether or not to go to the gate for the 138th running of the second leg of the Triple Crown. Itsmyluckyday was the favorite in the Florida Derby, which Orb won to become an early Kentucky Derby favorite. Then, Itsmyluckyday became a popular betting choice to beat Orb in the Derby, partly because he had run well over a sloppy track.

We're more than a month from the Kentucky Derby, but the jostling has begun. A horse named Take Charge Indy won the $1 million, Grade 1 Florida Derby with a wire-to-wire dash under the ever-daring Calvin Borel Saturday. Reveron gave him a run coming around the final turn but could not sustain it. The race many had expected to be watching -- and learning from -- happened within a tight pack of horses just off the lead. There, heavy favorite Union Rags seemed agitated by his lack of room to run. Trained by Michael Matz -- of Barbaro fame -- the colt did get open space for a final, promising push.

HALLANDALE, Fla. -- George Gianos is thinking of skipping the press breakfast and post-position draw for the Florida Derby this morning."I'll be in jeans. I spend all morning in the stalls with my horses. And sometimes I don't shave," the 32-year-old trainer said.He describes himself as no D. Wayne Lukas, the master PR man who trains Dance Floor -- owned by rap star Hammer -- the horse expected to be the 6-5 or 7-5 favorite when the morning line is announced today.Outside of Florida, no one has heard much of Gianos, who like his horse, Pistols And Roses, is low-key.

INDIANTOWN, Fla. -- Storm Tower -- the colt that trained as a 2-year-old at the Bowie Training Center and is ridden by Laurel jockey Rick Wilson -- is the lukewarm 3-1 early favorite to win Saturday's $500,000 Florida Derby at Gulfstream Park.Oddsmaker Chuck Streva listed Living Vicariously, fourth last year in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile and a recent winner in Gulfstream allowance company, as the 4-1 second choice.The odds for the rest of the prospective field are: Hidden Trick, 6-1; Silver of Silver, 6-1; Duc d'Sligovil, 8-1; Wallenda, 10-1; Great Navigator, 12-1; Kissin Kris, 12-1; Dread Me Not, 15-1; Pride of Burkaan, 15-1; Bull in the Heather, 20-1; Gentle Patrick, 20-1.

HALLANDALE, Fla. -- Storm Tower is not invincible.The previously unbeaten colt, ridden by Laurel-based jockey Rick Wilson and trained by Bowie-based Ben Perkins Jr., lost his first race yesterday when 30-1 long shot Bull Inthe Heather charged from off the pace and beat him by two lengths in the $500,000 Florida Derby.Storm Tower went to the lead easily at the top of the stretch after stalking pace-setter Great Navigator for the first mile. But he failed to kick in in his first trip at 1 1/8 miles and was passed by Bull Inthe Heather in mid-stretch.

HALLANDALE, Fla. -- The Florida Derby gained a surprise entry yesterday when Maryland trainer Barclay Tagg, who stables his first string at Gulfstream Park in the winter, entered Ambush Alley.The 3-year-old son of Gulch is owned by Sam and Carolyn Rogers of Leesburg, Va."We had been toying with the idea of running the horse for some time, but then didn't really decide to put him in until about 15 minutes before they closed entries," Tagg said. "There are no real stars in the race except Storm Tower, so we decided to give it a try."

HALLANDALE, Fla. -- Shug McGaughey is used to training Grade I winners, not breeding them.The Phipps family trainer was in New York yesterday, saddling Lure in that colt's seasonal debut.But it was McGaughey's association with Technology, the surprise winner of the Florida Derby, that sent reporters to his barn yesterday morning at Gulfstream Park.The listed breeder of the colt is McGaughey, along with John A. Bell III of Jonabell Farm in Lexington, Ky.According to Buzz Tenney, McGaughey's assistant, Shug came up with the stallion-mare match that produced Technology.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Mine That Bird spent the week tucked away in the Kentucky Derby Museum, not far from the track at Churchill Downs and the throngs wondering who will win the 139th run for the roses. The 2009 Derby winner seems to enjoy when fans stop in for a visit. A gelding who retired from racing in 2010, he appears at ease. And even as rail birds and once-a-year track goers alike fall for impressive looking favorites, Mine That Bird reminds them that their hunch is actually a guess.

Union Rags ate contentedly in his stall Sunday morning, 15 hours after finally fulfilling his promise - and some would say destiny - with a thrilling win at the Belmont Stakes. The once-beleaguered colt had arrived at 1 in the morning. After getting some rest, he was turned out in his paddock and spent the morning rolling around and watching the workers and other horses at Michael Matz's Victory Farm stables on the northern grounds of the Fair Hill Training Center. "He couldn't be doing any better," Matz said.

Michael Matz and his assistants are tired of the question - most trainers and riders are by this point in the week before the country's most talked-about horse race - and give mostly a perfunctory answer. "He's just a really nice horse," exercise rider Peter Brette said of Union Rags, one of the favorites to win the 138th Kentucky Derby on Saturday. "He's a nice, classy horse. " He's also the most scrutinized colt in a field that has fascinated even longtime observers of the sport.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - All along, Bob Baffert has said that he fought the urge. He didn't allow even an idle moment to be filled with the blurry, soaring dreams that can be ignited by training a horse as promising as Bodemeister. He insisted on waiting until the post position draw and the announcement of the morning line. When, on Wednesday, Bodemeister drew the No. 6 spot and was named the initial 4-1 favorite, Baffert relented only partially. “I'm just relieved I didn't draw the one hole,” he said.

Claimed for $7,500 two weeks ago, Sneaky Lil won the $50,000 Shine Again Stakes at Pimlico on Saturday. Abel Castellano led the daughter of 1996 Preakness winner Louis Quatorze on a late charge to win the feature race of opening weekend. The 6-year-old mare pulled ahead in a late burst to win by four lengths. "I started letting her go at the half-mile pole and we were clear on the outside," Castellano said. "I was worried about Over the Moon [the morning line favorite] who was behind us but didn't keep up with us. Then I set my sights on the Grove horse [Touch the Birds]

We're more than a month from the Kentucky Derby, but the jostling has begun. A horse named Take Charge Indy won the $1 million, Grade 1 Florida Derby with a wire-to-wire dash under the ever-daring Calvin Borel Saturday. Reveron gave him a run coming around the final turn but could not sustain it. The race many had expected to be watching -- and learning from -- happened within a tight pack of horses just off the lead. There, heavy favorite Union Rags seemed agitated by his lack of room to run. Trained by Michael Matz -- of Barbaro fame -- the colt did get open space for a final, promising push.

Even though Storm Tower and Living Vicariously are the Florida Derby favorites, Silver of Silver is gaining respect among a number of horsemen.Howie Tesher, trainer of long shot Bull Inthe Heather, probably put it best yesterday when he said, "The one horse I am concerned about is Skippy's [referring to Skip Shapoff, trainer of Silver of Silver]. He is the only horse who has been carrying this kind of weight [122 pounds]. He was coming on strong the other day and we were getting nine pounds from him [when Bull Inthe Heather beat him for second place in a division of the Fountain of Youth Stakes]

HALLANDALE, Fla. -- If all goes according to schedule -- and with ABC broadcasting it surely will -- the crowning will take place about 4: 40 p.m. today.After devouring his opposition in the Florida Derby, Pulpit will be anointed king of the 3-year-olds and overwhelming favorite to win the Kentucky Derby on May 3.Isn't that right, D. Wayne Lukas?"I think it's too early for a coronation," Lukas said.The winning trainer of the past two Kentucky Derbys and seven of the past eight Triple Crown races, Lukas blew into town at the last minute as usual and drew some of the attention away from Pulpit, the early 3-5 favorite to win today's race.

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.