Kentucky

LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- Kentucky Derby favorite Orb comes from one of the country's oldest racing families, with ties to the greatest horses of the era. The second choice, Verrazano, is a product of Todd Pletcher's new-school empire; he's one of five the trainer is sending to the post. The third favorite, Goldencents, comes from the trainer who, a year ago, lost the chance to run for a Triple Crown when his horse withdrew with an injury a day before the Belmont. All three drew favorable starting spots Wednesday in the post-position draw for the 139th run for the roses, and they were established as the horses to beat by Churchill Downs odds-maker Mike Battaglia.

On Wednesday at Churchill Downs, a crowd clad mainly in Louisville basketball shirts gathered at Barn 45 to watch Louisville basketball coach Rick Pitino as he visited a horse of which he owns five percent. Pitino, a month removed from becoming the first coach in NCAA history to win Division I basketball national championship tournaments with two different schools, appeared at trainer Doug O'Neill 's barn shortly after 8 a.m. and joined an entourage following Goldencents.

Last year's chase for the Triple Crown ended when trainer Doug O'Neill stepped to a microphone stand in a patch of fenced-in grass next to a barn near the Belmont Park track. Brushing back tears, he announced that a tendon injury would prevent I'll Have Another - the 12th horse to win the first two legs of the Triple Crown since Affirmed last completed the trifecta in 1978 - from going to post the next day. On Saturday, a full field of 20 is expected for the 139th running of the Kentucky Derby and to begin the quest anew.

Owings Mills senior Alyssa Taylor, an All-Metro first-team selection in cross country, has made a commitment to run at Kentucky. Taylor finished third in the Class 2A state championships this fall. With her time of 19 minutes, 55.4 seconds, she was one of only 14 runners among all four classifications to finish under 20 minutes at states. Taylor also runs indoor and outdoor track for the Eagles. She capped her indoor season with a second-place finish in the 1,600 meters at the Class 2A state meet.

Jasmine James scored 16 points and fourth-seeded Georgia rallied from a nine-point second-half deficit to defeat top-seeded Stanford, 61-59, in an NCAA tournament regional semifinal in Spokane, Wash., on Saturday night. Jasmine Hassell and Tiaria Griffin contributed 13 points apiece, Shacobia Barbee grabbed 12 rebounds and Anne Marie Armstrong finished with 10 boards for the Bulldogs (28-6), who will play second-seeded California or sixth-seeded LSU in the Elite Eight on Monday. Chiney Ogwumike had 26 points and 12 rebounds to lead the Cardinal (33-3)

Having grown up in the Bronx, about five miles away from the Carnesecca Arena in Jamaica, Queens, Kentucky sophomore point guard Jennifer O'Neill was looking forward to Sunday's matchup with Navy in the NCAA women's basketball tournament's opening round. 'I was excited to come home and see so many family and friends, but the game was big because it was the NCAA tournament," said O'Neill, who keyed a 13-2 run in the opening minutes of the second half that propelled Kentucky to a 61-41 victory over Navy.

The Maryland women's basketball team learned tonight that it will be a No. 4 seed in the NCAA Tournament and will play No. 13 seed Quinnipiac in College Park on Saturday at 11:15 a.m. The Terps finished the season 24-7 and in second place in the ACC. Quinnipiac, located in Hamden, Conn., is going to its first NCAA tournament in program history after a stellar 30-2 record this season, including a perfect 21-0 record against Northeast Conference competition. ...

The first cheer erupted among the Navy women's basketball players when they saw that another team would face top-seeded Connecticut in the opening round of the NCAA tournament. The second cheer went up when the Midshipmen saw they weren't going for the second straight year to College Park, where they lost last year to Maryland. But the biggest cheer was saved for last during Monday night's tournament selection viewing party at an Annapolis restaurant, coming when Navy (21-11)

ESPN's Dick Vitale said today that the impending snowstorm expected to hit the Baltimore-Washington region means he won't be able to travel north as planned for the network's broadcast of Wednesday night's Maryland-North Carolina game at Comcast Center. Vitale was scheduled to handle the game with Dan Shulman. “I won't be able to get out there,” said Vitale, who lives in Florida. Vitale called Maryland's season-opening game against Kentucky in Brooklyn, N.Y. ESPN said Fran Fraschilla would replace Vitale on the broadcast.

Horses chasing a spot in the Kentucky Derby this year must, for the first time, compile points (instead of graded earnings) by finishing in the top four in a series of races chosen by the staff at Churchill Downs. The revised qualification rules are meant to make it easier for the common fan to follow the Derby trail. So let's keep this simple: the hunt really began last week, with the first two races worth a total of 85 points (50-20-10-5). Previous races had only been worth 17 (10-4-2-1)