On the day he could have been going for his second victory in the Kentucky Derby, trainer Barclay Tagg was a little more than 1,000 miles away from Churchill Downs, at the Palm Meadows training center in South Florida. And instead of running for the roses with his colt Tiz the Law in the biggest race in the country, one he won in 2003 with Funny Cide, Tagg was sending Tiz the Law through a five-furlong work, marking time, waiting to see what’s next.

“We’re all just treading water,” Tagg said in a telephone interview earlier this week.

WHO’S HOT

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – There are no stakes on the Churchill schedule until May 23, but it might not take long for a major player to make an appearance.

Monomoy Girl is eligible for a classified allowance scheduled for the May 16 opener. The $85,000, one-mile race would make for a suitable comeback spot for the 5-year-old mare, who has gone unraced since winning the Breeders’ Cup Distaff in November 2018. An alternate spot is the $100,000 Shawnee, a new 1 1/16-mile race on May 23.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Jose Ortiz, sidelined since March 18 with a wrist injury, is among the all-star cast of jockeys who will be in action when Churchill begins its spring meet May 16.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Brendan Walsh got the extra time he needed with Maxfield. Soon it’ll be up to the colt to capitalize on the reprieve.

Maxfield is widely regarded as a major contender for the 146th Kentucky Derby, but only because the coronavirus crisis forced Churchill Downs officials to postpone it from May 2 to Sept. 5. If the race had been run as originally scheduled, Maxfield would have been hard-pressed to make the race – let alone win it.

Imprimis, one of the top turf sprinters in the country, has had a minor setback in his bid to return to action this year but should be ready to go by late summer, with the Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint at Keeneland his ultimate goal, trainer Joe Orseno said earlier this week.

Imprimis has not raced since finishing sixth in last year’s Turf Sprint at Santa Anita. He had throat surgery not long after that race, and needed a second, similar surgery, more recently, Orseno said.

The Louisiana Racing Commission on Tuesday voted 11-0 to approve a request by Louisiana Downs in Bossier City to modify its live racing schedule for a potential June 6 opening, provided the track gets an all-clear from state government.

Monmouth Park in New Jersey will run 35 stakes races at its delayed meet this year if the track gets approval from the state government to re-open for live racing on July 3 as planned, the track announced Monday.

Trainer Todd Pletcher, who like Chad Brown is awaiting word on when he can start shipping horses back to New York, will send out his first 2-year-old starter of the year in Friday’s second race at Gulfstream. Pletcher entered a pair of juveniles in the 4 1/2-furlong maiden special weight dash, Prisoner and Restored Order, although the latter is buried well down the also-eligible list.

A couple of fast fillies kept winning streaks alive with impressive efforts in Sunday’s co-featured ninth and 11th races.