LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Remember yesterday when the meteorologists were telling us Churchill Downs could get more than 1 1/2 inches of rain? Yeah? No. We’ve had a couple passing showers but the main track remains fast, the turf firm with seven races in the books on Kentucky Oaks Day. There’s still a chance for some rain over the next few hours but nothing like what was forecast; the storm cells are widely scattered and it’s hard to predict if any will pass over the track. Forward placements have worked well in the day’s dirt races – but that’s dirt racing generally! No obvious biases have arisen. Closers have won the races run so far over the new Churchill grass course, which looks great – but that’s turf racing generally! Did we just see the best dirt-route horse in America? I think we might have. Olympiad has yet to beat the elite of the division, but he’s still a lightly raced 4-year-old with room to improve, and after a going-away win in the Grade 2 Alysheba, he’s unbeaten in four two-turn races. Olympiad has plenty of speed and could have led this race, and frankly I’m not sure why he was held off a slow 48.83-second half-mile, the pace set by Weyburn. No doubt, Olympiad has shown a willingness to relax and finish, but why make things more difficult than they need to be with a superior horse? :: Kentucky Derby Headquarters: Get the latest news, info on contenders, past performances, picks, and more  Happy Saver, coming wide, made a major run at the quarter pole, and there, suddenly, was Olympiad caught between horses, forced to accelerate under a rival’s terms, rather than his own. This was a new experience for the colt, but you could almost see him processing it in real time, pinning his ears, fighting back, and taking the measure of Happy Saver well before the wire. He clocked negative splits from the half-mile to the finish, quite the feat for a horse with speed, and stopped the timer in 1:41.60 for 1 1/16 miles. This came one race after Pauline’s Pearl clocked 1:42.36 over the same distance, wearing down Shedaresthedevil in the La Troienne, her first Grade 1 victory. Pauline’s Pearl has stepped up her performance level considerably since she was eighth a year ago in the Oaks; all credit to her, but part of this win came because Shedaresthedevil didn’t hit her peak form. Shedaresthedevil came into this a perfect 5 for 5 at Churchill. She was allowed an unpressured lead and a moderate pace and still couldn’t hold clear Pauline’s Pearl, who lost ground around the far turn while the runner-up hugged the fence. :: Get Kentucky Derby Betting Strategies for exclusive wager recommendations, contender profiles, pedigree analysis, and more Juju’s Map, runner-up in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies, made her 3-year-old debut facing older second-level allowance horses earlier on the card, and she dominated while getting six pounds from her older rivals. This was another 1 1/16-mile dirt race and Juju’s Map set a faster pace than they went in the La Troienne or the Alysheba. She had a right to tire first start off the bench, but jockey Florent Geroux also took his foot off the gas the last 100 yards, Juju’s Map coasting home 4 3/4 lengths best in 1:43.35. Finally, Bleecker Street. We’ll see how she fares against higher-class older-female turf-route competition, but the filly now is 6 for 6 and won the Modesty Stakes last to first while rallying into a slow pace. Bleecker Street, ridden with utmost confidence by Flavien Prat, went her last three furlongs in 34.66 and her final eighth in 11.35. She’s an utterly plain-looking filly with a brilliant turn of foot.