As soon as Uncle Mo crossed the wire more than four lengths in front of the field in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile here at Churchill Downs last fall, he was universally held as the strong favorite for the Kentucky Derby. But his loss in the Wood Memorial, subsequent training schedule, and concerns over his ability to handle 1 1/4 miles have made the onetime heavy favorite one of the biggest question marks in this Derby.
Dialed In was listed as the 4-1 favorite after being assigned post 8 in a full field of 20 3-year-olds entered to run Saturday in the 137th running of the $2 million Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs.
Sway Away, excluded from the Kentucky Derby when the race overfilled Wednesday morning, is now being considered for two alternative races: the Grade 2 Peter Pan at Belmont Park on May 14 or the Grade 1 Preakness at Pimlico on May 21, trainer Jeff Bonde said.
Not since 1882, when Apollo did it, has a horse won the Kentucky Derby without racing as a 2-year-old. It is a streak that Midnight Interlude will try to end Saturday.
Though Wood Memorial winner Toby’s Corner returned to his barn at the Fair Hill training center from the New Bolton Center on Tuesday night, trainer Graham Motion said Wednesday morning there is still no definitive diagnosis on what caused the horse to go lame in his left rear leg.
When he watches the replay of last year’s Kentucky Derby, trainer Nick Zito still cringes somewhat when he sees jockey Jose Lezcano getting shut off repeatedly in the stretch aboard Ice Box, who finished second behind Super Saver. Zito is extremely happy to have the opportunity to come back just one year later and have a good chance of getting his third Kentucky Derby victory with Dialed In, who, like Ice Box, is owned by Robert LaPenta.
The main topic of conversation Wednesday morning was Uncle Mo, who did not visit the racetrack at Churchill Downs on Tuesday. And when he led a large pack of horses out onto the course once the track re-opened at 8:30 a.m., it was evident from the bell boots he and stablemate Stay Thirsty were wearing that neither was going to do anything more strenuous than jog.
At age 50, veteran jockey Jon Court will finally ride in the Kentucky Derby when he gets aboard Archarcharch on Saturday at Churchill Downs.
A total of 22 horses were entered Wednesday morning in Saturday's 137th Kentucky Derby, according to the Churchill Downs communications department. Because a maximum of 20 horses are allowed to run in the Derby, two were excluded, based on graded stakes earnings. They are Sway Away and Ruler On Ice. Post positions will be drawn tonight at 5 p.m. Eastern.
