How the 140th Kentucky Derby unfolded Saturday, May 3, at Churchill Downs:

California Chrome breaks alertly alongside Danza, while both Wicked Strong and Commanding Curve are forced to take back from their outside posts. [Photo by John Bambury]

Two-time Horse of the Year Wise Dan emerged from a hard-fought Woodford Reserve victory at Churchill Downs in good shape, trainer Charlie LoPresti said Sunday morning, the day after the race.

LoPresti said he and owner Mort Fink will take a wait-and-see approach in deciding in which race to run Wise Dan next. His inclination is to wait until Saratoga before returning him to the races, with the Aug. 9 Fourstardave Handicap, a Grade 2 race at a mile on turf, being the most likely target.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The three New York-based horses who contested Saturday’s 140th Kentucky Derby were all expected to ship home by Monday, but none of the trio is expected to run back in the May 17 Preakness Stakes at Pimlico, according to their connections.

The Wood Memorial first- and second-place finishers Wicked Strong and Samraat finished noses apart in the Derby when running fourth and fifth, respectively, behind California Chrome. Uncle Sigh, who set the early pace, faded to 14th in the 19-horse field.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Jon Court suffered a broken hand while fellow jockey Jose Ortiz emerged body-sore but otherwise uninjured in a two-horse spill in the 13th and last race of the Kentucky Derby program Saturday at Churchill Downs.

The incident occurred nearing the half-mile pole on the main track, where Canadian Winner, ridden by Court, broke down badly. Appealing Alex was trailing him and could not avoid him, throwing Ortiz.

Court’s agent, Steve Krajcir, said Court was “resting comfortably” while in Audubon Hospital early Sunday.

Steve Asmussen broke his silence on the animal abuse allegations made against him by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals during an interview with NBC’s Bob Costas that aired partially during the network’s Kentucky Oaks broadcast Friday, calling the claims “horribly misleading and untrue.”

All 75 blood samples pulled from horses entered on the Kentucky Oaks and Kentucky Derby cards at Churchill Downs on Friday and Saturday tested negative for blood-doping drugs and illegal peptides, the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission announced on Friday morning.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Pablo Del Monte will not run Saturday as a drawn-in also-eligible in the 140th Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs, it was announced early Friday by the connections of the Florida-bred colt.

What makes one Kentucky Derby stand out as somebody’s favorite? Who was the horse, or what was it about his story, that stamped that memory indelibly in the mind and on the heart?

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – With the defection of Hoppertunity as the 6-1 second choice on the morning line for the 140th Kentucky Derby, the morning line has been revised and reissued by Churchill Downs following the colt’s untimely defection.

Churchill linemaker Mike Battaglia has maintained California Chrome as the 5-2 favorite and now lists Wicked Strong as the 6-1 second choice, down from an original 8-1. Several other starters have been adjusted slightly downward as well.