GRAND PRAIRIE, Texas – Since Hall of Fame trainer Jack Van Berg moved his base of operations back to the Midwest from Southern California this winter, he has been surrounded by former assistants. During the Oaklawn Park meet, he shared a barn with Billy Gowan, who on Saturday will saddle Ride On Curlin in the Kentucky Derby, and Ralph Irwin, a mainstay in Arkansas and Louisiana.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – There will likely be more than 150,000 people in attendance at Churchill Downs on Kentucky Derby Day, but it shouldn’t be hard to spot Wildcat Red’s co-owner Salvador Delfino, even amongst a crowd of that magnitude.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – A field of 13 3-year-old fillies led by Untapable is now expected for the Oaks with the addition of Empress of Midway and the defections of both In Tune and Room Service.

Trainer Todd Pletcher said In Tune, who has won all three of her starts, including the Grade 2 Gulfstream Park Oaks, will not run in the Kentucky Oaks due to a sore shin.

“We noticed something out of her last breeze at Palm Meadows,” said Pletcher. “I thought we’d bring her here and see how we stood with her.”

ELMONT, N.Y. – Wicked Strong, Samraat, and Uncle Sigh – the first, second, and fifth finishers in the Grade 1 Wood Memorial – all put in their last major workouts Friday in New York for the $2 million Kentucky Derby on May 3 at Churchill Downs.

ARCADIA, Calif. – The donkeys. He would only ride the donkeys around his father’s goat farm because the horses were terrifying. But the donkeys, they were okay.

Then one day, he remembers he was probably 7, he summoned enough courage to climb atop one of the farm ponies.

ELMONT, N.Y. – It has been eight months since Jose Espinoza was thrown from his mount, Heading to Toga, a few yards past the finish line on Alabama Day at Saratoga.

[bc_video_id:322279:]LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The fillies took center stage during the Oaks/Derby training session at Churchill Downs on Thursday, with the only four workouts during that period turned in by horses currently pointing to next Friday’s Kentucky Oaks.

Sunday’s closing-day card at Aqueduct will consist of 10 races, including two divisions of $100,000 Stallion Stakes for progeny of New York-bred stallions.

But the highlight of the card may be the return of Vyjack, last year’s Gotham Stakes winner and third-place finisher in the Wood Memorial. Vyjack, who is running in a $68,000 fourth-level allowance going seven furlongs, is making his first start since a sixth-place finish in the $1 million Haskell Invitational last July at Monmouth.

Sweet Reason, third in the Grade 2 Gazelle last out, will skip the Kentucky Oaks and instead be pointed to the Grade 1, $750,000 Acorn at Belmont on June 7.

The Acorn is run as a one-turn mile. At 2, Sweet Reason won the Grade 1 Spinaway, a seven-furlong race run around one turn, and was a good second in the Grade 1 Frizette, a one-turn, one-mile race at Belmont, following a slow start.

Trainer Leah Gyarmati said she would prefer to give Sweet Reason a little more time before her next start and would like to “go back to one turn.”

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – With a slew of final prerace workouts still to come, all was quiet on the Kentucky Derby front Thursday at Churchill Downs, where overnight rain into Friday morning was expected to keep local activity light until Saturday.