May 5 Sometimes the sport of horse racing simply comes down to luck, and one of the most talented trainers in the entire game admitted as such yesterday when his colt surprised the world in accomplishing what few horses ever do: winning the Kentucky Derby from start-to-finish. War Emblem, who went off as a 20-1 longshot, repeated his wire-to-wire performance in the Illinois Derby four weeks ago to become the first Derby champ to win throughout the entire race on a fast track since the filly Winning Colors in 1988. Trained by Bob Baffert and owned by Prince Ahmed bin Salman of Saudi Arabia, the Derby winner was ridden by Victor Espinoza, who wins his first Derby in only his second attempt (he was third aboard Congaree last year). There were also some historical records passed out yesterday for Kentucky Derby 128: War Emblem's payout of $43.00 on a $2 bet ties with him with Bold Venture (1936) as the tenth-biggest payout ever. The attendance at the Derby this year was 145,033, the fifth-largest crowd in history despite tighter security measures that kept the crowd a bit smaller in the infield. With his third Derby trophy, Bob Baffert becomes one of only six trainers to have won the Derby that many times. (Ben Jones holds the record with six.) Finally, by going off as the $6.00-1 favorite, Harlan's Holiday becomes the highest-priced favorite ever; the favorite fell again this year at the Derby as Harlan's Holiday finished seventh out of 18. What was even more unusual about the race than who won it was the way the race was run: it wasn't just War Emblem who was steady the whole race, but another pair of horses that wound up hitting the board, Proud Citizen and Perfect Drift. Trained by D. Wayne Lukas and ridden by Mike Smith, Proud Citizen ran very gamely for D. Wayne Lukas, and almost was an exact repeat of 1999 Derby winner Charismatic. Perfect Drift, who had Eddie Delahoussaye aboard and is trained by Murray Johnson, drew a big bandwagon as post time neared, and he didn't disappoint. War Emblem, Proud Citizen, and Perfect Drift ran 1-2-3 entering the clubhouse turn, and minus a few moments when Perfect Drift moved into second at the top of the stretch, those three ran and finished the rest of the Derby that way. Definitely not to Derby form, and frankly, not really all that exciting. It was good to hear of so many riders saying they had a good trip. The day got off to a bad start when Bob Baffert scratched Danthebluegrassman, but at the end of the day he wound up in the Winner's Circle, so he's obviously doing something right. Another note of interest is how the major Derby preps all took a beating: the Santa Anita Derby, Blue Grass Stakes, and Wood Memorial did not produce a board-hitting finish. Rather, War Emblem turned in an Illinois Derby-Kentucky Derby double, which will yield the horse an extra $1 million due to a challenge from Sportsman's Park in Chicago that offered that prize to any horse who wins the Illinois Derby and a Triple Crown race. Seems like the bet Prince Salman took on War Emblem just about paid for itself. Proud Citizen most recently ran in the Coolmore Lexington Stakes, while Perfect Drift came out of the Spiral Stakes. Although the fractions were easy, Wam Emblem wound up running the ninth-fastest Derby ever, clocking in at 2.01.13. War Emblem was already in front and in control at mid-stretch, but he hit another gear and won going away, winning the Derby by an impressive four lengths. Perfect Drift was 3/4 of a length back of second-place finisher Proud Citizen. Medaglio d'Oro finished an unthreatening fourth. Of course, we have failed to mention up through the Illinois Derby, War Emblem had been trained by Frank Springer, and was previously owned by Russell Reineman, who reportedly sold War Emblem to the Thoroughbred Corporation for over $900,000. Back to the race: all jockeys and connections seemed surprised by the slow pace. Everyone was content to let War Emblem grab the lead, and nobody fired. Of course, the winner didn't tire, which goes to show sometimes you just have to go to the lead and just see what happens. By pulling away at the end though, and leaving horses like Came Home, Harlan's Holiday, and Johanessburg in the dust while closers like Saarland and Essence of Dubai never even showed up, War Emblem was able to simply dominate a race that shouldn't be that dominated. He will point to the Preakness, and I've got news for you. If anyone else out there wants to win that race, send your horse to the lead, because you're going to have to go face-to-face with War Emblem unitl he stops running.   Apr. 22 Well, wouldn't you know it, just when the Derby looks like it won't have Bob Baffert, the Thoroughbred Corporation steps in, and delivers War Emblem to the Mr. Slick. Now, just when you thought D. Wayne Lukas was out of the picture, in comes Proud Citizen. Proud Citizen enters the Derby fray by winning the 1 1/16 mile, $325,000 Lexington Coolmore Stakes. Remember, Lukas won the Lexington and then the Kentucky Derby two weeks later with Charismatic back in 1999. Proud Citizen took the lead in the first turn, then held off a push from American Style at the top of the stretch to win by 3 1/4 lengths in front of Crimson Hero. The second-favorite in the race, Easyfromthegitgo, finished third. Mike Smith was aboard the winner, who had finished seventh out of eight in his last race in the Santa Anita Derby. We wouldn't think much of Proud Citizen, but since Lukas has been down this road before, it makes us nervous. We don't like it when D. Wayne Lukas is up to tricks. It throws everything up in the air, and everything is already up in the air. All other news can be found on the tipsheet, where we provide profiles of the leading contenders, and the latest jockey assignments.   Apr. 14 The Grade I, $750,000, 1 1/8 mile Wood Memorial will be sending each of its top four finishers to Churchill Downs for the Kentucky Derby. Buddha, ridden by Pat Day and trained by Jim Bond, led wire-to-wire and held off a game, competitive favorite in Medaglia d'Oro by a head to win the race. The two were neck and neck throughout most of the home stretch, while third place finisher Sunday Break was only a half-length behind. Saarland, who came in fourth about 2 3/4 lengths behind Sunday Break, also is headed to Louisville. Buddha was ridden by Day for the first time, as normal jockey Edgar Prado was aboard Harlan's Holiday in the Blue Grass Stakes in Lexington. Both Buddha and Medaglia d'Oro, who is trained by Bobby Frankel, were making only their fourth career starts; no Derby winner since Exterminator in 1918 have won the Derby coming off only four career starts. Saarland, making only his second start this year, was last through the opening quarter-mile, but was closing at the end. His trainer, Shug McGaughey, feels the extra eighth of an mile in the Derby might suit his colt well -- and we agree. Coming into the final turn, Buddha had the inside rail, with Medaglia d'Oro right next to him. It was a masterful ride by Day, but it will be interesting to see if Day decides to ride Buddha in the Derby. Sunday Break, also a lightly-raced colt, is trained by Neil Drysdale, who said that although his horse tired in the end yesterday, the colt gained a lot from the race and could make some strides in his next race. The question is, did he earn enough? Sunday Break has only $82,500 in graded stakes earnings, which could be a factor if the limit of 20 horses is entered in the Derby field. Career earnings in graded stakes races is the determining factor as to who gets in. The Wood Memorial has produced each of the last two Derby winners, with Fusaichi Pegasus winning the Wood in 2000, and Monarchos coming in second last year. With his impressive, cool, and flat-out commanding win in the $750,000, 1 1/8 mile Blue Grass Stakes, Harlan's Holiday, trained by Ken McPeek and ridden by Edgar Prado, is now the leading Kentucky Derby favorite. Harlan's Holiday evened his season series with rival Booklet at two, cruising to a 4 1/2 length victory. Harlan's Holiday also triumphed over Booklet in commanding fashion in last month's Florida Derby. McPeek, a Lexington native, was ecstatic to win the race in front of his home crowd, a crowd that was the fifth-largest in Keeneland history. Entering the stretch, Harlan's Holiday and Booklet locked up for what seemed like another battle between the two, but it was all Harlan's Holiday, who really showed nothing but class. Booklet trainer John Ward was non-committal on his horse running in the Derby, hinting that Booklet may be better suited to races at 1 1/16 miles. Ocean's Sound was another 1 1/2 lengths back to finish third. His trainer, Jim Cassidy, said it was 50-50 on whether Ocean's Sound would head to the Derby. Booklet got off to a good start, and set the pace with Bob's Image down the backstretch before the winner made his move on the far turn. Private Emblem, trained by Steve Asmussen and ridden by Donnie Meche, made his third start of the year and got his third win of the year in the 1 1/18 mile, $500,000 Arkansas Derby at Oaklawn Park. Private Emblem finished 4 1/2 lengths in front of Wild Horses. Breaking from the far outside post in the 11-horse field, Private Emblem was soon two lengths back from pacesetter Outstander. The favorite, Mr. Mellon, was to the outside of the leader, and those three were together along the backstretch. Bay Monster made a move on the far turn, but Meche didn't panic. Private Emblem took the lead at the top of the stretch when Outstander and Mr. Mellon tired, and cruised to victory going away. Wild Horses made a strong finish to take second, but did not threaten for the lead. Windward Passage and Bay Monster finished in a dead heat for third. Mr. Mellon finished sixth and is no longer a contender for the Derby. Private Emblem has never finished worse than third, and won his fourth race in seven career starts. The owners of Private Emblem, James Cassels and Bob Zollars, also own Easyfromthegitgo, who finished a head behind Repent in the Louisiana Derby. They said Easyfromthegitgo will race next week in the Lexington Coolmore Stakes, then point towards the Preakness.   Apr. 7 There were three big races impacting the Kentucky Derby this weekend, so let's get to it. The most important was the biggest Derby prep on the West Coast, the $750,000 Santa Anita Derby, and was won by Came Home, who has now won three races in a row and six out of seven for his career. The Kentucky-bred colt becomes, if he wasn't already, a leading Derby favorite. Came Home finished 2 1/4 lengths in front of Easy Grades, who was 3/4 of a length in front of Lusty Latin, who came from last to make a late charge to hit the board. All three horses appear headed to Louisville for the Derby. Came Home is trained by Paco Gonzalez and was ridden by Chris McCarron, who both dismissed Came Home's slow time in the Santa Anita Derby. They argued that a recent fever and pulled muscle slowed down Came Home's training, and his gutsy performance yesterday did show a tremendous heart. Easy Grades jockey Gary Stevens said a bridle problem prevented him from having control over his mount throughout the race. Mayakovsky stumbled at the start of the race, took the lead, then tired down the stretch. No decision has yet been made on whether to send Mayakovsky to the Derby. Danthebluegrassman finished last, virtually ending the Derby hopes of trainer Bob Baffert. Came Home and Easy Grades finished 1-2 in the San Rafael Stakes a few weeks ago. Easy Grades was ahead at the top of the stretch, where it looked like Came Home would succumb to the 1 1/8-mile distance of the race, but instead he showed something extra to dig deep and come away with a win. In the $500,000 Illinois Derby, favorite Repent, the Risen Star and Louisiana Derby winner, was stunned and stymied by a slow pace as 6-1 shot War Emblem cruised to a 9-length victory. War Emblem was ridden by Larry Sterling and is trained by Frank Springer. Fonz's was third. Repent trainer Ken McPeek said his horse was still likely to go to Loisville, but was praying for a fast pace in the Derby, the style of race Repent seems to favor. War Emblem's connections were leaning on not sending him to the Derby, so Repent could be the only Illinois Derby runner in the Run for the Roses. Repent was last after a half-mile, made a strong charge on the second turn, but was then unable to make up any distance on the eventual winner. Overseas, the world finally got a look at Johannesburg as a three-year-old, and more likely than not, it did not like what it saw. He came in second by a head to the filly Rebelline in Ireland's Gladness Stakes. It was the first career loss in eight races for Johannesburg, who is trained by Aidan O'Brien. He was unclear on whether his star colt would make the trip to Louisville, and also wouldn't commit on Castle Gandolfo, Johannesburg's stablemate who is also in the Derby hunt.   Apr. 4 Although a lot of the races recapped below occurred a few weeks ago, it's worth going back to see what has been happening along the Derby prep race trail. In his 3-year-old debut, Mayakovsky turned himself into a Derby contender by winning the Grade III, $200,000, 1-mile Gotham Stakes at Aqueduct on March 17. Mayakovsky, trained by Patrick Biancone and ridden by Edgar Prado, is the son of Matty G. and won the race by 3 3/4 lengths over Saarland. The winner took the lead towards the start of the race, and was never threatened. Mayakovsky has now won two of three career starts, though this was his first race in nearly six months. Saarland, ridden by John Velazquez, finished ahead of Parade of Music. Owned by Michael Tabor, Mayakovsky had the long layoff due to a hairline fracture and subsequent surgery on his left hind leg. If his connections decide to commit Mayakovsky to the Derby, his next race will be in the Wood Memorial on April 13. Trained by Shug McGaughey, Saarland is better suited towards longer races, and his second-place finish in the Gotham did not disappoint his trainer, who also said that his horse will next point towards the Wood. Saarland is the son of 1990 Derby winner Unbridled. Experienced watchers of the Derby prep race season know that these races are not significant just for who wins the races, but who loses. The Derby trail is full of bumps and bruises, and this was evident on March 17 in the $250,000, 1 1/16 mile San Felipe Stakes at Santa Anita. Siphonic, ridden by Jerry Bailey, was the 2-5 favorite in the race, but finished a very disappointing third to watch his place in the list of Derby favorites come under some shaky footing. Instead, it was Medaglia d'Oro who triumphed in the race, and who came from almost out of nowhere to enter the Derby picture: the horse was making only his third career start, his first beyond six furlongs, his first in Southern California, and his first for new trainer Bobby Frankel. Nevetheless, Medaglia d'Oro, with Laffit Pincay aboard, was able to win by 2 1/2 lengths over U S S Tinosa after rallying along the rail to reclaim a lead he had lost. It was another 3 1/2 lengths back to Siphonic. Siphonic made a move midway through the race, had the lead entering the stretch, but his tank was on empty the rest of the way. There was no early word on where any of the San Felipe participants would race next. Moving onto some bigger races, at least in terms of purse, another key race that weekend was the 51st running of the $1 million, 1 1/8 mile Florida Derby at Gulfstream on March 16. The race featured a rematch between Harlan's Holiday and Booklet, who had faced off before in both the Holy Bull Stakes and Fountain of Youth Stakes, each won by Booklet. But the longer distance (those races were 1 1/16 miles) gave the edge to Harlan's Holiday, who established himself as a leading Derby favorite. Trained by Ken McPeek and ridden by Edgar Prado, Harlan's Holiday stormed past a tiring Booklet at the three-quarters pole, and won by 3 1/2 lengths in fully utilizing the longer distance, a good sign in Derby contenders. Harlan's Holiday, who won four races as a two-year old, claimed his first win of his 3-year-old campaign. Blue Burner finished second, while Peekskill was a surprising third. Blue Burner had Jerry Bailey aboard and is trained by Bill Mott. Under Jorge Chavez, Booklet finished a distant fourth, and failed to win the Gulfstream Park Triple Crown of the Holy Bull, Fountain of Youth, and Florida Derby -- an unaccomplished feat since the inception of the Holy Bull in 1990. Booklet and Smooth Jazz led the field in the fastest opening half-mile in Florida Derby history, but that pace caught up to both colts in the end. Booklet, owned by John Oxley and trained by John Ward, the same connections as 2001 Derby winner Monarchos, said his horse will now be pointed towards the Blue Grass Stakes, and then the Kentucky Derby. Speaking of the Blue Grass Stakes, one other likely participant is Ethan Man, who won the 7-furlong Swale Stakes at Gulfstream on the Florida Derby undercard. Ethan Man is trained by Pat Byrne and finished ahead of Listen Here and Governor Hickel. Ethan Man is known to be more of a sprinter, but Derby fever is hard to suppress. Ethan Man was ridden by Pat Day and the win gave him his third in four career starts, though this race was his stakes debut.   Feb. 18 Again, Call to the Derby Post must apologize for the lapse in reporting, but as of today, the site is up to date on the prep races, the list of contenders is built, and our first version of the tipsheet is now available. We missed a few of the minor Derby preps, but are here today to cover this past weekend's two big prep races, and not surprisingly, the two winners of these races are sitting atop the DerbyPost.com tipsheet. So without any further ado, and in fear of a cliche, we will repent for our lack of recent coverage with a focus on the leading Derby candidate right now, Repent. In Louisiana, at the Fair Grounds, Repent not only established himself as a leading Derby contender, but in our opinion, the Derby favorite. (Sorry, Johannesburg, start training in America and we'll move you up the list.) In the $150,000, Grade III, 1 1/16 miles Risen Star Stakes, Repent, trained by Kenny McPeek and ridden by Tony D'Amico, won by coming off the pace to claim a 2 1/4-length victory over second-place finisher Bob's Image. Repent comes with an impressive resume: as a 2-year-old, he won the Kentucky Cup Juvenile, the Kentucky Jockey Club, and finished second in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile. He's been so impressive so far you do have to wonder if he's peaked too soon. Will he maintain this momentum all the way through May? Bob's Image set a fast pace to lead the field, and although he managed to impressively hang on for second, three lengths ahead of Easyfromthegitgo (who is a descendant of Easy Goer), the early pace was what paved the way for Repent to storm ahead. Repent was eighth in a field of nine in the backstretch, and passed horses along the far turn while being eight paths from the rail as he turned for home. He made it past Bob's Image, who doesn't look like he can manage the Derby distance. Repent will be shipped back to Gulfstream, and point to either the Louisiana Derby, the Florida Derby, or the Spiral Stakes. If Repent chooses to run in the Florida Derby, it could set up a great match-up with Booklet, who repeated his form from the Holy Bull Stakes in finishing ahead of Harlan's Holiday in the 56th running of the $200,000, Grade I, 1 1/16 miles Fountain of Youth at Gulfstream Park. Booklet and Harlan's Holiday finished one-two in the Holy Bull Stakes , and the shape of the race was similar as well. Booklet went for the early lead, claimed it, and had just enough to hang on to beat a charging Harlan's Holiday. Of course, at 1 1/4 miles, the results would probably be different, so Booklet must face distance questions at this point. Blue Burner was five lengths behind Harlan's Holiday to claim third. Stephentown, the second-choice favorite, finished a disappointing sixth, leaving his Derby future a bit cloudier than it was going into the race. One thing to like about Booklet is his connections. He is ridden by Jorge Chavez, trained by John Ward, and owned by John Oxley -- the exact same trio that produced 2001 Kentucky Derby winner Monarchos (Chavez rode Booklet for the first time in this race). It was the sixth victory in seven starts for Booklet, who like Repent, will draw questions of peaking too soon. Booklet grabbed a 2 1/2 length lead after the first quarter of a mile, and led by a half-length at the top of the stretch before pulling away from Political Attack. Harlan's Holiday, ridden by Tony D'Amico, was three lanes wide in the far turn, but closed gamely on Booklet to finish just a nose behind his competitor; he lost by 3/4 of a length to Booklet in the Holy Bull. Both Harlan's Holiday, who is trained by Kenny McPeek, and Booklet will be pointed towards the Florida Derby.   Jan. 21 Call to the Derby Post's 2002 Derby coverage begins with a look at this past weekend's Grade 2, $150,000 Santa Catalina Stakes. Before we begin, we'd just like to note how amazed we are that it is Derby prep season again -- boy, does the time continue to move faster and faster or what? We're excited, and it should be a pretty stirring scene at Churchill Downs on May 4 in light of all that's happened in America over the last few months, but we're glad to have the horses and races as a distraction, and excited once again to have our sights pointed towards Derby Day. The heavy favorite in last weekend's race was Siphonic, who went off at odds of 1-10 and was the winner of last month's Hollywood Futurity. In fact, at the Hollywood Futurity, Siphonic finished ahead of Labamta Babe, the eventual Santa Catalina winner. Siphonic had been uncharacteristically acting up in the paddock -- and the nervousness did not stop there. After stumbling badly coming out of the gate, he trailed in last for the bulk of the race. Although he made a powerful move on the far turn, he was too wide and too compromised by his rough start. He almost reached the winner, but then fell back, drained. Siphonic, who carred the top weight in the race (123 pounds) hung on to finish second, while Cottonwood Cowboy finished third. Jerry Bailey was aboard Siphonic, while the winner had Kent Desormeaux aboard and is trained by Bobby Frankel. Looking at other early Derby contenders, it seems that the connection's of last year's Derby champ Monarchos, owner John Oxley and trained John Ward, may be back at it again. In Saturday's Grade 3, $100,000 Holy Bull Stakes at Gulfstream, Booklet, ridden by Eibar Coa, went gate-to-wire to knock off 4-5 favorite Harlan's Holiday by three-quarters of a length. It was then 11 lengths back to Thiscannonsloaded, who finished only a head in front of Nokoma. A major downside of the race was that Speedy Leon had to be put down after fracturing his left shoulder. Booklet, a son of Notebook, was purchased by Oxley on New Year's Day. Booklet has now won his last three races, all with Coa aboard. Harlan's Holiday is trained by Kenny McPeek and was ridden by Tony D'amico. Both Harlan's Holiday and Booklet will be pointed towards the Fountain of Youth Stakes at Gulfstream on February 16.