Royal Squeeze, who won the $75,000 Jeblar last Sunday in his first start since September, was also making his first start for trainer Ralph Nicks.

“He probably spoiled me right off the bat,” Nicks said. “I like his style.”

Royal Squeeze earned a Beyer Speed Figure of 93 in the seven-furlong Jeblar, winning by 1 3/4 lengths under Tyler Gaffalione.

“Tyler rode an outstanding race,” Nicks said. “His patience – and then the turn of foot [Royal Squeeze] had – it was a big effort.”

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – With both the Churchill Downs Racing Club and Fair Grounds Racing Club intending to run a horse in the Pat Day Mile on the Derby undercard, paddock passes will be at a premium before that race.

Each of the partnerships comprise 200 members. Gary Palmisano Jr., who helps manage both groups, said a random drawing will be held to determine which members will be allotted a paddock pass. Every ownership entity in every Derby-weekend stakes is given about a dozen paddock passes.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – This is the 22nd year for the Oaks-Derby Double, the innovative two-day wager that has linked Churchill’s two major races every year since 1996. The minimum bet is $1.

The Oaks also leads off a pick-three wager (50-cent minimum) leading into the Woodford Reserve Turf Classic and the Derby. The first year for that wager was 2009. In 2016, all-sources handle was $2,537,553 on the double and $790,825 on the pick three.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Easily the biggest overlay from the Kentucky Oaks Future Wager pool held Feb. 24-26 is Miss Sky Warrior, who was dismissed at 52-1 but figures as one of the favorites Friday in the filly classic.

Another potential bargain from the Oaks futures is the mutuel field at 9-1. That group is comprised of the late-blooming Paradise Woods, who is the program favorite, plus eight more entrants (including also-eligible Summer Luck).

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – He has had about seven years to regularly practice his English, but after he speaks for a while outside his native tongue, Spanish, you can hear Antonio Sano wearying. He sprinkles in a “si” here, a “pero” there, casts for the right word, but continues on gamely, trying to describe how he came to Churchill Downs last week from Florida with a horse named Gunnevera.

It is quite a tale.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The Kentucky Derby and Kentucky Oaks contenders, all wearing keepsake saddle towels printed with their names, had long since cleared the Churchill Downs track last Sunday, taking the crowds with them, when an unmarked, unimposing bay filly walked to the gap in a plain yellow saddle towel bearing no identification. Her identity was only revealed by the man walking at her head – Hall of Fame trainer Neil Drysdale, a quiet, deliberate horseman who prefers to let his horses do the talking.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – There has been much wringing of hooves and gnashing of bridles this week at Churchill Downs about the state of pace in the Kentucky Derby.

The notion that Churchill Downs’s points system to determine the 20 Derby starters has shoved out many of the truly fast front-runners of Derbies past has for the most part become accepted narrative – and it definitely appears to be the case this year.

When Victor Espinoza rides Gormley in the post parade of Saturday’s Kentucky Derby, he will sneak a glance at the jammed grandstand at Churchill Downs.

“The thing you see are the colors,” Espinoza recalled last weekend. “It never gets old. This is what we work for.”

There will be little time for sightseeing. Gormley will need a warm-up.

“Everybody is having fun, and I have to work,” Espinoza said with a laugh.

Five of the nine races at Belmont Park on Thursday are scheduled for turf, and with rain expected sometime in the afternoon or evening, most people will be hoping the weather holds off.

Linda Rice is not among them.

Rice has Gypsum Johnny in race 8, a second-level optional claimer at seven furlongs. Gypsum Johnny has been knocking on the door at this condition level the past few months and has finished second in his last three starts.

“He moves way up in the mud,” Rice said. “He just loves it.”

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Girls against boys – the trainer Mark Casse sees nothing wrong with it.

The recently retired Tepin made her mark beating males in major turf races, and the Casse-trained turf filly Catch a Glimpse has done the same. Now, it’s La Coronel’s turn.