"Fuller has long left it up to the public to help take back the true legacy of Dancer’s Image. It is out of his hands and has been for many years. Rather, it is up to members of our sport, the powers that be in Kentucky, and the general public to change this error. Fuller placed his bets for the Derby, and true sportsman that he is, he enjoyed every minute of the race. Somewhere deep inside, though, I see a man who waits and waits. He waits to see the day when his best horse will be acknowledged properly."

"But the Derby trainer's burden has fallen hard on O'Neill. In the week after the Derby, numerous media outlets have reported on the milkshaking issues. And on Friday, The New York Times published a damning piece highlighting not only the public record of O'Neill's violations, which according to documents provided to SI.com by the Association of Racing Commissioners, including 14 drug violations in 14 years, but also its own research that showed O'Neill's horses break down at a rate of 12 per 1,000 starts, more than double the national average of 5.1. It is easy to frame O'Neill not so much as the face of what's good about racing, but what's bad."

"Welcome, then, to another gathering of the Cult of the Noble Loser, whose members worship a select group of valiant competitors known for gallant efforts in a lost cause (see the Confederacy, Minnesota Vikings, Susan Lucci, et al.). The patron saint of the horse racing wing of the cult is the version of Seattle Slew from the 1978 Jockey Club Gold Cup who battled Affirmed early and then Exceller late before losing by a dirty nose. Yes, Exceller won the race."

"I’ll Have Another got a 101 in his Derby win.... At the rate we are going, 99 is going to become the new 109 in another year or two. What exactly is going on here?"

On a Derby week Lexington day trip: "Finally arriving at Tom Van Meter's Pretty Run Farm in Winchester, Team Zayat unloaded from the car and went about inspecting yearlings, mares and foals. This was an operation like no other. Most owners stand back and allow expert grooms to handle their horses, presenting an equine parade about as interactive as a fashion show. Not this one. He petted the foals and felt their legs and backs and held their halters and led them around and usually, done casting them over with an expert eye, he kissed their fuzzy foreheads."

"This dark and stormy Derby week, there is no other way to put it. These are dismal days for horse racing in North America. We once said, in the grandstands and along the backstretches, that all horse racing needed to reassert itself onto the American sporting scene was a Triple Crown winner. But the last 3-year-old colt to accomplish that task was Affirmed in 1978. And that means that a third of a century, an entire generation, has come and gone without such a champion. In the meantime, chaos. The great gaming monopoly that once was horse racing has devolved into a rudderless mess."

"But there is no doubt something has changed over the years. The trail has been plagued by a disease that continues to spread each year and can derail even the most talented trainers and their steeds. It is called fear. Not fear as in one’s character, but the deep-rooted fear of losing. What makes this malady so baffling is that the Derby trail is designed in good part to use defeat as a positive."

"Uncle Mo is the extreme example, but none of the horses with 2-year-old promise has gotten any better. To Honor and Serve never got close to his 102 in the Remsen before being sidelined with an injury. Not sure where Boys At Tosconova, with his two triple-digit Beyers, might have gone this year, if he had not been hurt."

“I do not believe he was a short horse the other day. Maybe I’m wrong,” said Pletcher, who said he would not get more aggressive with Uncle Mo’s training. “Sometimes, making up for if you felt like you didn’t have him fit enough and going the other way would be a mistake.”

"Secretariat lost before the Kentucky Derby," Baffert said Saturday after his Midnight Interlude rallied in the stretch to post a 13-1 upset in the 74th running of the Santa Anita Derby. "I still think (Uncle Mo's) a very good horse and he'll bounce back."

"In the moments after the race, Uncle Mo’s trainer, Todd Pletcher, and owner, Mike Repole, were gracious despite being clearly shocked. Maybe, Pletcher acknowledged, this was the hard race Uncle Mo needed. Maybe he had been too easy on him, and Uncle Mo was a short, or not fit, horse."

"Here is one man's opinion: Uncle Mo's defeat was not as bad as it seems. Shocking? Absolutely. A loss that he cannot recover from? I don't believe so. It's impossible to quantify how much the grabbed quarter affected his overall performance, but I'm going to offer a guess that it didn't have a major impact on the outcome and say that he lost mainly because he was a short horse. No more, no less. For the first time in five lifetime starts he just didn't fire. He was going nine furlongs for the first time and it took more out of him than most of us anticipated, including Pletcher. But let's keep it in perspective; he was beaten 1 1/4 lengths, not 5 1/4 lengths."

"In this modern world of instantaneous information, the pursuit of coverage as a literary art often falls by the wayside. Quality control is compromised. Overproduction threatens the writer's creativity. Originality is a dying pursuit. Publishing venues are also vanishing, and the interest in writing on racing in general has declined. But there are still places that seek out and feature excellent literature and unique work, and I'm pleased to introduce one of them – Kentucky Confidential, a new online magazine with a strong emphasis on high-quality literary coverage of this year's Kentucky Derby."

"According to NBC officials, the Kentucky Derby has been designated a 'cross-channel priority,' meaning the network plans to promote the race across its broadcast properties. The "Today" show and its weekend edition will broadcast live from Churchill Downs, as will CNBC and the Weather Channel, the officials said. In addition, two new entertainment channels in the NBC universe, E! and Style, will do segments on the Derby, a strategy that has been endorsed by Churchill officials to expand the event's draw beyond sports fans ..."

"Uncle Mo may, indeed, be the next Seattle Slew and live up to the lofty expectations placed on him. The words Triple Crown were uttered here all afternoon by rival trainers, pedigree experts and breeding farm owners who are tracking the Uncle Mo camp as if they were coaches sizing up a basketball recruit. Every farm in central Kentucky wants to be the one to land the breeding deal for the first Triple Crown champion since Affirmed in 1978. But to be that horse, Uncle Mo is first going to have to run by Premier Pegasus and 18 others on Derby Day."

Re: running nine furlongs and track bias at Gulfstream: "When you step back and put the Fountain of Youth in context, Soldat was not as good as he looked and To Honor and Serve was not as bad as he looked."

"... rather than lament the shrinking schedules or the declining significance of some traditional preps, it might instead be more appropriate to applaud the trainers who don't feel constrained by methods of the past but who adapt to the needs of individual horses. What worked for Citation obviously wouldn't have worked for Super Saver."

“The Derby has become more of an event than a race, more than any race I can think of,” Asmussen said.

"The ability to blow out the competition remains a hallmark of the current-day Derby contender. Super Saver was last year's only entrant with a pair of career victories of 5 lengths or greater in winning margin, while 8 of the last 9 Derby winners owned at least 1 career victory of 7 lengths or more in "blowout ability." That makes sense when you consider the average winning margin of the past 5 Kentucky Derby renewals has been 4-1/2 lengths, while the photo finish camera has been collecting dust since 1999."

"... with that dominating victory in the Breeders' Cup, Uncle Mo suggested he could be the most talented youngster to come along since Easy Goer, maybe even Shirley Temple. But that was in November. Now it's time to grow up. If he does, if Uncle Mo improves and develops as 3-year-olds generally do, then he could progress from most talented youngster in years to most serious threat to sweep the Triple Crown. Yes, he's that good, and it's possible."

"It is now 2011 and that means we have officially embarked on the Kentucky Derby trail. Here in the East it’s been difficult to see even the slightest hint of rose blossoms buried beneath 20-30 inches of snow drifts. But, heck, they’ve already run the first Derby prep (the Count Fleet Stakes at Aqueduct), and Florida and California will soon follow suit, so you know the trail has begun, regardless of whether you tread upon it in snow boots or sandals."

Updates on Jaycito, The Factor, Smash.

“There have been horses who have run faster in one race than Uncle Mo. Stevie Wonderboy received about a 0 for winning the [2005 Juvenile],” said Len Friedman, a partner with Ragozin Thoroughbred Data. “But in terms of all of his races at two, I’ve never seen a two-year-old with a line of figures as fast as his. It’s unheard of.”

"On the surface, the big prize is the $1 million they'll be giving away in the 8th running of the Delta Downs Jackpot, a Grade 3 event. There's nothing wrong with winning a race where the top prize is $600,000, but it's not exactly the $600,000 itself. It's where the $600,000 gets you."

"The network held off a strong challenge from Fox to sign a multiyear deal worth in the neighborhood of $9M per year to keep the rights, sources say. The rights fee was pushed up due to an unexpected bid from Fox, according to several sources. NBC's previous Kentucky Derby deal was over five years and worth $44M."

"Looking back on it, I think I liked Real Quiet so much before the Derby because he was the second stringer. He was the stablemate to the star, the underdog. Famously, or rather infamously, nicknamed 'The Fish' because of his narrow physique, he was a bit on the plain side. That didn't matter though. He went on to win the Preakness, but lost the Belmont in a photo finish to Victory Gallop, who had finished second to him in the previous two races."

"Real Quiet, who died today, was the victim of what I believe was the most vicious beat in the history of horse racing when he was nosed by Victory Gallop in the 1998 Belmont Stakes. Not only did that photo cost Real Quiet a sweep of the Triple Crown and rare racing immortality, Victory Gallop's nose also cost him a $5 million bonus. As one who feels he has made it his life's work to perfect the art of the rotten beat, I have always empathized with Real Quiet."

"He was the first exceptional horse that came to Pennsylvania [to stand at stud] ... He set the stage for more good horses to do the same."

"Still, as the Derby has been progressively corporatized, to the point that its very name has been purchased by the Yum! Brands conglomerate of fast-food chains, the actual race itself has been shoved to the margins. After all, it’s only two minutes. The real point of the Kentucky Derby seems more and more rooted in the anticipation, the parades, the steamboat races, the corporate suites, the merchandising, and the constant feeding of a multimedia beast that aids and abets the process."

"I understand the political implications of Asmussen's job, especially since he's employed by an owner like Jackson, but I also find it frustrating that a man who benefits greatly from the presence of such a star runner in his barn should play hard-to-get with certain members of the media. Of course, Turf writers develop stronger relationships with certain individuals than others, but the respect of decent, straightforward answers to decent, straightforward questions is owed to members of the media who cover this beat on a regular basis."

Nice! "NBC Sports’ coverage of the Derby, won by Super Saver, earned the highest overnight rating for the race in 18 years, according to data from the Nielsen Company. The 10.3 overnight rating and 23 share for the race showed a gain of 1 percent over last year’s (10.2/22) and was up 7 percent from the 9.5/21 rating in 2008, when Big Brown cruised to victory. ABC earned a 10.9/23 rating when Lil E Tee won in 1992."

More good news, despite Derby day problems: "Churchill reported a 7.8% increase in all-sources wagering handle on the Derby race itself to $112.7-million and a 4.3% wagering increase on the 13-race Derby card to $162.7-million."

"The Louisiana-raised, late-blooming Mr. Borel is a charming quote dispenser, and last year he found himself celebrated, sometimes a bit patronizingly, as a supernatural horse whisperer. But he's not a shaman any more than Peyton Manning is. He's a champion and a pop star in a desperate but irresistible sport that most of us can't be bothered to watch for more five or six minutes a year."

Tim Layden, gloomy. Too much rain? "That brief cycle begins anew on Saturday. The Derby will be grand and spectacular and compelling and there will be a great temptation to paint the scene as a celebratory renewal for racing, like it's been dunked in cleansing waters. Yet the reality feels somehow harsher this time, like a few days of greatness -- whether in the present or culled from the past -- can't keep saving racing. Like Churchill Downs is less a cathedral and more a museum."

"Women, who made up 52 percent of last year’s Derby viewership, have become crucial to boosting viewership." (Related: http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5iqLoPl9_UtlFg9Q46ZwvsKg1wn-AD9FDU7K00 "When NBC and Churchill Downs conducted market research a few years ago to increase TV interest in the Kentucky Derby, the results were startling. Turns out, the sport of kings does well with women, too.")

"As far as winning goes, beating the clock is ultimately not the point. All that matters is coming in first."

Eskendereya at 2-1 or less.

"One of the Derby handicapping angles I follow is how fast a horse finished the final eighth-mile and three-eighths mile in its last 1 1/8-mile Derby prep ... Anything in the 12-second range for the final eighth-mile of a 1 1/8-mile prep is regarded as impressive, as is anything under 38 seconds for the final three-eighths."

... explain so well the emphasis on 3YOs. "Even without the UAE Derby, purses for graded prep races in the U.S. will be worth $11-million this year, a 32.3% increase from a decade ago. Deflated total purses in North America declined 13.6 % from 2000 to '09."

"None of this is meant to conclude that Blind Luck would win the Kentucky Derby. In what is always a very tough, very demanding race, she well could get trounced. Yet, doesn't she deserve a chance to show what she can do? Whether it's Blind Luck or any other star female, fillies ought to run against colts more often than they do."

From SI Vault, an account of the 1963 Kentucky Derby: "Only a handful of admirers stood up to be counted when a sleek chestnut colt named Chateaugay won the Blue Grass at Keeneland nine days before the Kentucky Derby by taking a head decision over Get Around ..." News reel footage: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iPQavM1x1ZI

"The Godolphin runners would finish eighth and 14th. Sheikh Mohammed must have looked at these deadpan men, up from the banks of the Rio Grande, and pondered his own, unrequited craving for this prize. Who are those guys?" Chris McGrath reviews the Derby on Preakness eve.

"They weren't supposed to be here.... Not the tiny horse with the funky feet and unsightly gait. Not the cowboy trainer with the black hat, busted leg and horseshoe mustache to match. Not the owner who met the trainer in a bar fight and got immunity in a federal corruption case through his father's plea deal."

"He had a cute little head and he was not real big," she said. "He toed out quite a bit in his right front leg, which, you know, a lot of foals aren't perfect when they're born. But they go through changes and they can straighten up, so we were pretty encouraged."

Reacting to Mine That Bird's Derby win: "This was one of the biggest upsets in the history of American racing. In my four decades of covering the sport, it ranks as one of the two most mystifying results in a major stakes race, along with Canonero II's victory in the 1971 Derby."

From Sports Business Journal: "NBC and Churchill Downs are repositioning the Kentucky Derby as a 'lifestyle' brand in hopes of drawing higher television ratings for this Saturday’s 135th Run for the Roses.... 'If we can get people to watch the spectacle and stay for the race, it’ll be a success,' said CD CMO Dave Tompkins." [Since many connections seem to consider the Derby a peak "lifestyle" experience, why not viewers at home? Related: Andrew Beyer on CDI (WashPost, 4/27/09). What effect does this big event/lifestyle marketing have on the industry overall?]

Dick Powell's straightforward assessment of likely Kentucky Derby starters. No flash, just solid background.

From DRF's Mike Welsch. Posted daily, now with video (of Welsch, not the contenders). Work of the Day for 4/21/09: Pioneerof the Nile. "Just a long, beautiful stride," says Welsch of the colt's on-track action. "No doubt in my mind he will handle conventional dirt as well as he handles synthetics."

Historical criteria as applied to 2009 Kentucky Derby prospects. Includes 2003-2008 Derby fields and 1998-2008 top three finishers for background.

Kennedy's Corridor Derby stats posts archive. Very thorough (speed, number of starts, prep races, etc.).

"The big question at this point is, who will be the pace factors?" Steve Haskin spins out the possibilities.

Jon White explains his system: "When a horse gets three or more strikes, I toss them out. That’s because since I developed this system, no horse has won the Kentucky Derby with more than two strikes." Pioneerof the Nile, Desert Party look like contenders.

James Quinn analyzes speed and pace figures for Derby prospects, concludes, "Quality Road may be expected to repulse Dunkirk, all right, but once he does that, he may not be capable of holding Pioneerof the Nile safe." [DRF+ sub. req.]

"The early fractions made the Florida Derby among the slowest-paced of dirt preps thus far. Quality Road's tactical speed and patience gave him an advantage over Dunkirk, who was farther back [approximately eight lengths behind through the first half] than expected and launched a powerful burst leaving the three-eighths pole that I timed at :11.7 for a furlong and :24.1 for a quarter-mile [compare that to :24.62 for Quality Road] in his stakes debut and only the third start of his career."

Bill Finley, following up on Drape's story, writes trainer John Gosden is spot-on that healthy horses should be able race without drugs, but that he's also not above taking the medical edge. "Gosden seems to be as big a fan of drugs as any American trainer. According to Bloodstock Research Information Systems records, Gosden has started seven different horses in North America since 2007 and all seven ran on one legal drug or another." If Mafaaz runs in the US, it'll probably be on race-day meds.

With more than half of the likely starters bucking at least one historical rule, the answer would seem to be, "Yes."

Frank Deford on how the Kentucky Derby became Americana.

Includes video links, connections, pedigree, also-ran information.

"I think the over-and-under on Larry’s retirement is 90 days," says owner Rick Porter.

All the runners of the American Triple Crown

Blood-Horse blogs the Triple Crown and more

Self-published book of Street Sense photographs

Crist on Pyro's Risen Star stretch run

Beyer speed figures for Derby fields