[bc_playlist_id:250427:]Kentucky Oaks (G1), Post Time: 5:45 ET Friday

[KENTUCKY OAKS: Get PPs, watch analysis video, and read pre-race reports]

A little bribe never hurts

Purse: $1,000,000; 1 1/8 miles

INGLEWOOD, Calif. – Bettors looking for a slam dunk Thursday at Betfair Hollywood Park may appreciate the optimism from A.C. Avila, trainer of race 7 favorite Gem of Soul.

“I think she’s a cinch,” Avila said.

Eight fillies and mares entered the feature race at 1 1/16 miles on turf. The second-level allowance/optional $62,500 claimer represents a drop in class for Gem of Soul, listed as the 5-2 favorite by Hollywood linemaker Russ Hudak.

Most jockeys spend all winter in search of the horse they will ride in the Kentucky Derby. Javier Castellano thought he had found his Derby mount nine months ago.

After Castellano guided Union Rags to a 7 1/4-length victory in the Grade 2 Saratoga Special on Aug. 15, he thought to himself “that’s my Derby horse.” He felt only stronger about it after he rode Union Rags to a 5 1/4-length victory in the Grade 1 Champagne at Belmont in October.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Louisville was not waiting with bated breath for the horse van from Laurel Park to pull through the Churchill Downs stable gate Sunday afternoon. The horse that walked down the van’s ramp, Done Talking, epitomizes the term, ‘plain bay,’ and though he wore a yellow Kentucky Derby saddle towel to train Tuesday, Done Talking radiates none of the flash of Derby runners like Union Rags or Bodemeister.

Graded stakes winners Al Khali and Air Support head an interesting mix of eight older turf-meant runners in Thursday’s $90,000 Milesius overnight stakes at Belmont Park.

Scheduled for 1 1/4 miles on the inner course, the race also attracted Slow Pace and Moryba, the beaten favorites in the last two renewals of the Grade 2 Mervin Muniz Handicap; Pocket Cowboys, whose three wins on turf at Belmont include the 2010 Mohawk and last year’s Kingston; and Hailstone, the runner-up in the recent Grade 2 Pan American.

My Star Runner, a four-time stakes winner, will add blinkers Thursday night when he runs in the featured fourth race. The 5 1/2-furlong allowance for 3-year-olds and up drew a field of five horses, including Gold Element and Deliverer, who finished one-two last month in the $50,000 Premiere on opening night at Lone Star.

My Star Runner enters off a second-place finish in the $50,000 Route 66 at Will Rogers Downs on April 9. He was edged late in the six-furlong race, beaten three-quarters of a length as the favorite.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Stephanie’s Kitten, third in the Grade 1 Ashland in her seasonal bow, was entered in Friday’s $150,000 Edgewood Stakes on the Kentucky Oaks undercard at Churchill Downs, with the race expected to serve as her final prep for the Group 1 Coronation Stakes at Royal Ascot in England June 22.

Co-owner Ken Ramsey said Tuesday, “She should win.” A good performance would likely assure her trip overseas, he said.

GRAND PRAIRIE, Texas – Endorsement and Canonize are both being considered for a start in the Grade 3, $300,000 Lone Star Park Handicap on May 28. The horses finished a respective one-two last Saturday in the Grade 3, $200,000 Texas Mile, a race Endorsement won by two lengths with a career-high Beyer Figure of 102.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Despite some heavy downpours the previous evening, the racetrack was in nice shape for training Tuesday morning at Churchill Downs with the course rated good for the early session before being upgraded to fast following the renovation break.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - What is it with Californians and their footwear at this Derby? First Creative Cause had to have his right hind shoe reapplied after his arrival here over the weekend, and then Liaison had to have a shoe reset after tweaking it while getting a bath following his workout on Monday.