DELRAY BEACH, Fla. – One of the most eagerly anticipated workouts in the lead-up to this year’s Kentucky Derby took place in relative anonymity shortly after sunrise Thursday at Palm Beach Downs. There, likely Derby favorite Renegade breezed four furlongs in 48.91 seconds in front of some half-dozen spectators, including his trainer, Todd Pletcher.

OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Bernieandtherose, a two-time New York-bred stakes winner as a 3-year-old in 2025, makes her 4-year-old debut Saturday in a first-level allowance race at seven furlongs.

Bernieandtherose will be making her first start since she finished third in the Bouwerie Stakes on June 4 at Saratoga. Trainer Dominick Schettino said Bernieandtherose suffered from bone bruising and he gave her nearly six months off.

Prior to the Bouwerie, Bernieandtherose had won five of her first six starts, including the East View Stakes and the Maddie May, both for statebreds.

Jumping the Gun will make her 3-year-old debut as the 7-5 morning-line favorite in the $150,000 Weber City Miss Stakes at Laurel Park on Saturday. Bettors will have to trust the talented filly on her juvenile form alone, but this was always the plan for trainer Andy Simoff.

“It was a little dodgy when I first brought her in from the farm because the weather was a little tough, but she hasn’t missed any work,” Simoff said. “She’s been right on schedule. She’s sound, scopes clean, so she’s coming into the race as good as you can hope.”

OZONE PARK, N.Y. – The well-traveled Pashmina is getting set to make another road trip this spring as she is confirmed to run in the $1.5 million Kentucky Oaks on May 1 at Churchill Downs, trainer Rob Atras said Thursday.

Pashmina, a daughter of Constitution, earned her way into the Oaks with a solid second-place finish in the Grade 3 Gazelle Stakes on April 4 at Aqueduct. After setting the pace, Pashmina gave way late to Always a Runner. Pashmina was beaten 1 1/4 lengths while finishing 8 3/4 lengths clear of the rest of the field.

When Taj Mahal won his stakes debut in February, 15 days after a commanding maiden score, trainer Brittany Russell challenged fans and pundits to consider what the colt might be capable of with more time to train. The wait will end in the $150,000 Federico Tesio Stakes on Saturday at Laurel Park.

“He’s done really well,” Russell said Thursday. “He had a really nice work last week, and he bounced out of it in good shape. He looked good coming by this morning. We have one more day to get through.”

HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – Crupper has outrun his odds most of his career and will be looking to do more of the same Saturday when he starts as a live longshot in the $200,000 Bathhouse Row Stakes at Oaklawn Park.

The 1 1/8-mile race carries a berth into the Preakness. It is being run on the undercard of the Grade 2, $1.25 million Oaklawn Handicap that drew last year’s Preakness winner, Journalism. The Bathhouse Row is one of two 3-year-old stakes on the card, alongside the $200,000 Valley of the Vapors for 3-year-old fillies in which the favorite could be Sticker Shock.

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – Indy Bay banked more than $682,000 from just seven starts in 2025, which clearly makes her the class of the field in Saturday’s $75,000 Mo Green overnight handicap at Gulfstream Park. But not a nickel of that money was earned in races decided beyond seven furlongs, which also makes her a giant question mark at a relatively short price when facing eight rivals, including stablemate Public Defender, in the one-mile feature.

OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Following a respectable, but ultimately unsuccessful, run in the Grade 2 Fountain of Youth, the obligatory two-turn try for a 3-year-old with talent and owners with Kentucky Derby dreams, Solitude Dude is back to what he does best – sprinting – in Saturday’s $150,000 Bay Shore Stakes at Aqueduct.

The speedy Solitude Dude is undefeated in races contested around one turn, winning stakes at Tampa and Gulfstream Park. He is likely an odds-on choice in the seven-furlong Bay Shore, which drew only five horses and goes as race 4 on Saturday’s nine-race program.

LEXINGTON, Ky. – British Isles won the historic Grade 1 Santa Anita Handicap last time out, topping a field of five and finishing ahead of two graded stakes winners.

British Isles runs in the Grade 3, $350,000 Ben Ali Stakes on Saturday at Keeneland. He is one of six graded stakes winners in a field of nine that includes defending winner Tennessee Lamb, talented Batten Down, and veteran Rattle N Roll, a Grade 1 winner locally.

“It’s not an easy race,” trainer Richard Baltas said. “I think it’s probably tougher than his last race.”

No idea what to expect Saturday when Sovereignty returns from an eight-month layoff in the Oaklawn Handicap. I do know that as 2025 wore on, I started strongly believing we were looking at the evolution of a truly great horse.

We also know Sovereignty is generally a disinterested work horse. He was getting outworked before the Fountain of Youth 13 months ago, and Sovereignty’s works this winter and spring look about the same. To win the Fountain of Youth, Sovereignty only had to beat River Thames. Journalism and White Abarrio, maybe even Publisher, pose a much sterner challenge.