INGLEWOOD, Calif. - Mr. Commons, third in the Santa Anita Derby last month, will not be sent to Churchill Downs for Saturday’s Kentucky Derby because he is not certain to gain a starting berth, trainer John Shirreffs said on Sunday.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Rosie Napravnik made her first trip to the Churchill Downs winner’s circle Saturday night - first two trips actually - and now hopes for another first next Saturday when she rides Pants On Fire in the 137^th Kentucky Derby. No female rider has ever won the Derby.

INGLEWOOD, Calif. – Comma to the Top’s function in the Kentucky Derby is hereby expanded beyond his primary role as pacesetter. The  California-based Comma to the Top now commands attention as a legitimate candidate to win the race.

Comma to the Top had his final Derby workout on a warm, sunny Sunday morning at Hollywood Park. He went five furlongs in 1:00.40, after which trainer Peter Miller and Patrick Valenzuela exchanged high-fives.

INGLEWOOD, Calif. – Trainer Eoin Harty said Sunday morning at Hollywood Park that Anthony’s Cross will not ship from California to run in the Kentucky Derby, owing to concerns regarding a temperature the colt had in recent days.

Harty said the colt has not been affected in a major way and still could run in the $70,000 Alydar Stakes at Hollywood next Sunday, May 8, or in the May 14 Peter Pan at Belmont Park. The colt galloped Sunday at Hollywood Park instead of having what would have served as a potential pre-race breeze for the Derby.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Owner Mike Repole has never been at a loss for words, though he was tamped down a bit after his Uncle Mo suffered his first career defeat in the Wood Memorial three weeks ago. But after Uncle Mo worked in company with stablemate Stay Thirsty on Sunday morning at Churchill Downs, Repole, who owns both colts, vowed that Uncle Mo would return to the position he held for months prior to the Wood, as the favorite for next Saturday’s 137th Kentucky Derby.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Trainer Kathleen O’Connell confirmed Sunday morning that jockey Rafael Bejarano will have the mount in the 137th Kentucky Derby on longshot Watch Me Go.

Bejarano, a former Churchill Downs riding champion who has become a top jockey in Southern California, replaces Luis Garcia, who rode Watch Me Go in his last five starts, including a 43-1 upset in the Tampa Bay Derby. Watch Me Go most recently was sixth as the favorite in the April 9 Illinois Derby.

While horsemen in Kentucky had to navigate through the muddy waters that was the Churchill Downs main track Sunday morning, trainer Graham Motion was able to bask in the sunshine and dry conditions in northeast Maryland as he watched Toby’s Corner work six furlongs in 1:15 over the Tapeta surface at the Fair Hill Training Center in preparation for Saturday’s Kentucky Derby. Exercise rider James Slater, a steeplechase jockey, was aboard for the workout.

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Raining   Temperature 61   Track Sloppy

LOUISVILLE, Ky. -   The brief respite from all the rain that has plagued the Louisville area over the past couple of weeks ended early Sunday morning with heavy rains throwing a bit of a curveball at trainers trying to put the all important final touches on their Kentucky Derby prospects.

BLOOMINGTON, Minn. – The Minnesota Thoroughbred Association announced its 2010 champions at its annual awards banquet Saturday night in the Sheraton Hotel ballroom.

There were several repeat winners from 2009, including Win Willy as the top Minnesota-owned horse. Winner of the Brandywine Stakes at Delaware Park and the Grade 3 Razorback Stakes at Oaklawn Park last year, Win Willy earned $255,817 in 2010. Win Willy, a 5-year-old Kentucky-bred son of Monarchos, is owned by the Jer-Mar Stables LLC of Jerry and Marlene Meyers.

Lewkacy continued his sharp form and notched the biggest win of his career as the 3-year-old gelding captured Saturday’s $50,000 Gene Fleming Breeders’ Derby, part of a stakes quintet at Turf Paradise highlighting Arizona-breds.