Universal Payday took advantage of a fast and contested pace when he rolled to an easy win in a first-level allowance with a $20,000 claiming option for Florida-breds at Gulfstream Park March 30. The same scenario could unfold when he runs in a $20,000 starter race with a $32,000 claiming option at Gulfstream Friday. The one-mile race for 3-year-olds and up drew six horses and will be contested over what should be a fast main track. It goes as race 6 on an eight-race card that begins at 12:50 p.m. Eastern.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – One day shy of the year anniversary of his stunning upset in the Kentucky Derby, Rich Strike will make his belated 4-year-old debut Friday at Churchill Downs in the Grade 2, $600,000 Alysheba Stakes.

While Rich Strike will certainly have name recognition in his favor, his lack of recency, some missed training time, a salty group of older horses and a 1 1/16-mile distance that is likely shorter than he prefers make this a difficult spot in which to return.

Kentucky Derby bettors have waited two decades for another horse like War Emblem, the 2002 Derby winner whose odds were out of whack compared to his last-start speed figure.

War Emblem earned a gaudy 112 Beyer the start before the Kentucky Derby, seven points higher than any rival’s last start. However, War Emblem earned the number defeating lesser company in a lesser race – the Illinois Derby at Sportsman’s Park. Few horseplayers trusted him to reproduce the number against better company at Churchill Downs.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – On the eve of the 2011 Kentucky Derby, a downcast Mike Repole joined trainer Todd Pletcher on a podium in the press room at Churchill Downs to announce the scratch of Uncle Mo, the 2-year-old champion of 2010 and second choice on the morning line.

The signs were there all week that Uncle Mo, dealing with what would ultimately be diagnosed as a liver disorder, wouldn’t make the race, though his connections entered hoping for a miracle that didn’t come.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Trainer Todd Pletcher has been bringing horses to the Kentucky Derby for more than two decades. His 62 starters are a record. His 22 Kentucky Derby appearances are second only to his former boss and mentor D. Wayne Lukas (29). He has won the race twice.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The four first-time trainers with a horse expected to start in this year's Kentucky Derby have sent out well over 20,000 starters combined in races around the globe, according to Equineline statistics. The three jockeys set to ride their first Derby have taken a leg up more than 21,000 times.

But despite all their experiences, there’s nothing quite like this.

"This is it," said trainer Larry Rivelli, who will saddle Two Phil's as his first Kentucky Derby starter. "This is what we do this for. It's a dream come true."

Churchill Downs

Monday, May 1

Weather: Showery

Temperature: 47°

Track: Fast

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Light rain was falling and temperatures were unseasonably cold once again when the racetrack opened for business at 5:15 a.m. Monday at Churchill Downs, with the trainers of this year’s Kentucky Derby and Oaks starters now in the process of putting the finishing touches on their preparations for the two big events now just days away.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The National Institute of Mental Health estimates that 19.1 percent of U.S. adults had any anxiety disorder in the past year, while 8.4 percent had at least one major depressive episode. Those figures would represent approximately 3.8 people and 1.7 people, respectively, out of a group of 20.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Because hope springs eternal with Thoroughbreds, it’s fitting that the first North American 2-year-old stakes of the year takes place the week of the Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs. And hope is what it’s all about for Who’s Snow Trouble, a bargain-priced gray colt by an obscure sire who will debut for an enthusiastic partnership in Thursday’s $200,000 Kentucky Juvenile.