Unimpressive Saturday

As we wind our way through the final Kentucky Derby preps, you hope that a horse jumps up and shows that he is a star on the rise.

After watching the big 3-year-old races on Saturday, you have to feel let down by what transpired.

The day kicked off with the $2,000,000 UAE Derby in Dubai and the best performance in that race by a sophomore was a third place finish by Mendip. That colt, who was 3-for-3 coming into that heat, is owned by racing powerhouse Godolphin who has yet to win a Kentucky Derby but wants to win one in the worst way. Not sure if he will make the trip to Louisville but it's a good guess that he will.

The next race on the slate was the Lane's End at Turfway Park. This race has not produced a major Derby contender in some years so there was no great hope that one would emerge and the race lived down to those expectations.

Dean's Kitten, (left) owned by Ken and Sarah Ramsey and trained by Mike Maker, took the $500,000 event but his time was very slow over the "artificial dirt" and the field was not very good. The beaten favorite, Connemara, finished an unimpressive third but you should expect to see him in the Derby.

But there was hope in the final race of the day with the $750,000 Louisiana Derby. There appeared to be some horses with a bright future but once again, we were let down. The only bright spot was for trainer Todd Pletcher who added yet another horse to his growing stable for the "Run for the Roses" as Mission Impazible (right) wore down pacesetter A Little Warm in the stretch for an impressive three-quarters of a length win. Pletcher's other entrant in the race, Discreetly Mine, ran fourth.

Pletcher has eight horses that could run in the Derby and five are safely inside the Top 20 list of Graded Stakes earnings (Rule, Mission Impazible, Discreetly Mine, Interactif and Aikenite).

The horse with perhaps the biggest upside and talent in the Louisiana Derby, Drosselmeyer, ran a closing third but now may not be able to get into the Derby as he only has $94,500 in Graded Stakes earnings. It's likely he'll need another $100,000 or so to get in and he is doubtful to run again.

One can only hope that Sunday's $800,000 Sunland Park Derby, which produced 2009 Kentucky Derby winner Mine That Bird, will have a winner with a little more flash that we saw on Saturday.

Photos courtesy of Eclipse Sportswire

Money Talks

With "crunch time" about to start on the Road to the Kentucky Derby, most owners and trainers are focused on getting enough money to qualify for the 20 spots to start in the Derby. And, in the midst of the NCAA Tournament, those horses who are on the earnings "bubble," will have plenty of chances to punch their ticket for the "Run for the Roses."

For those who don't know or aren't sure how it works, if more than 20 want to run in the Kentucky Derby, then Churchill Downs turns to a list of earnings in Graded Stakes Races. (Graded Stakes Races are considered the highest levels of racing). The top 20 money earners in those graded stakes are given priority. It's almost analogous to NASCAR in its points system for those Top 12 drivers who qualify for the Sprint Cup Chase.

Over the next four weekends, there are multiple opportunities for horses to vault their way into the Top 20 and lock up a spot. This weekend alone there are four races with substantial money on the line which will all but guarantee the winners entry into the Derby. (See below for list of races.)

Since there hasn't been a dominant three-year-old this year, you can be pretty sure that we'll see a capacity field of 20 in the Kentucky Derby.

What's even more crucial about this weekend's races are just two of the 37 three-year-olds that are running are inside the Top 25 on the official earnings list. (Those two horses are the Todd Pletcher-trained Discreetly Mine (#9, above) and the unbeaten Conveyance. (#15))

All four of this weekend's events are wide open which means we are likely to see a few new names in the Top 20. But if you are worried about some of the biggest and best trainers in the country not being amongst the Top 20, you have nothing to fear.

Such prominent names as Bob Baffert, Richard Dutrow, D. Wayne Lukas and Nick Zito, all Derby winning trainers, should have at least one horse in the starting gate on the first Saturday in May. And Pletcher, the best trainer never to win a Derby, should have at least three entrants into the Derby.

It will be a great weekend of racing and if you haven't watched any races leading up to the Derby, it's a good time as any to tune in.

SATURDAY

$2,000,000 UAE Derby - Post Time: 10:40 a.m. (ET)

$750,000 Louisiana Derby - Post Time: 5:48 (ET) (Live on USA Network)

$500,000 Lane's End - Post Time: 5:12 p.m. (ET) (Live on USA Network)

SUNDAY

$850,000 Sunland Park Derby - Post Time -7:45 p.m. (ET) (Live on NTRA.com)

(Photo courtesy of Eclipse Sportswire)

Tough Break for Larry Jones

Trainer Larry Jones, who earlier this year had two of the top contenders for the Kentucky Derby, lost one of his stars Saturday night as Old Fashioned suffered a fractured right knee according to the Daily Racing Form.

The DRF story reported that the horse is expected to be sent to Lexington, Kentucky on Monday for further evaluation.

If he does not race again, Old Fashioned finished with an impressive record of four wins and two second place finishes in six starts. He ran second in his last two races, including Saturday's tough loss in the Arkansas Derby to Papa Clem.

It's a shame that Larry Jones lost a horse that showed so much promise just a few weeks ago. Jones is one of the "good guys" in the sport and in what is supposed to have been his final year as a trainer, winning the Kentucky Derby would be a fitting race to add to his resume.

His lone Derby hopeful is now Friesan Fire who won the Louisiana Derby on March 14. The horse will not race again until the Derby which means he will attempt to become the first horse since Needles (1956) to win the "Run for the Roses" off a 7-week layoff.