LOUISVILLE, Ky. - An expected field of 20 was entered in Saturday's 128th Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs, but not the expected field of 20. In a last-minute decision that changed the make-up of the field, knocked out one runner who hours earlier seemed certain to be in, and left nerves frayed, trainer Bob Baffert decided to enter Danthebluegrassman, who had been dismissed as a Derby possibility by Baffert following his last-place finish in the Santa Anita Derby on April 6.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - This will not go down as the happiest week in the life of trainer Neil Douglas Drysdale. First he had his courtesy car re-claimed by Churchill Downs. Then he had his Kentucky Derby contender, Sunday Break, excluded from Saturday's race because of insufficient earnings in graded stakes races. And then Wednesday morning, Drysdale was forced to scratch his outstanding 3-year-old filly Bella Bellucci from Friday's Kentucky Oaks.

AUBURN, Wash. - Brass Halo will attempt to improve on his runner-up finish on opening day when he heads a field of a half-dozen 3-year-olds, all eligible to be claimed for $16,000, in Friday's 5 1/2-furlong feature at Emerald Downs.

CALGARY, Alberta - Sly Lady kept her undefeated record intact with a 4 1/2-length victory over Brass to Diamonds here on Sunday to assume the role of favorite for the May 12 Mount Royal Handicap.

The race was the first meeting between Alberta's two top juvenile fillies in 2001, and Round 1 went to Sly Lady, a daughter of Pole Position who has won all three of her career starts, for trainer Ron Grieves.

Any doubts about Sly Lady's readiness - she was shut down early last fall with a leg ailment - were erased with her win.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Trainer Bill Mott doesn't know how winning the Kentucky Derby would compare to some other things he has accomplished in the sport. But he would like to find out.

Mott, 48, the youngest trainer to be inducted into racing's Hall of Fame, has not been a factor in the Triple Crown. He has run just three horses in the Kentucky Derby, one in the Preakness, and four in the Belmont. His best result was a second-place finish by Vision and Verse in the 1999 Belmont won by Lemon Drop Kid.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - With all the serious preperations for Saturday's Kentucky Derby now complete, Wednesday was merely a maintenance day for Derby contenders, all of whom either jogged, galloped, or walked the shed row.

The primary source of interest Wednesday morning was the first local appearance of Buddha, who did not arrive on the grounds until the previous day. Catching a glimpse of Buddha on the racetrack meant putting in a very early wake up call as trainer Jim Bond sent him out in the first set shortly after the track opened for business at 5:45 a.m.

Each day through the Kentucky Derby, trainer Ken McPeek will share his thoughts with Marty McGee of Daily Racing Form in his Derby Diary. McPeek, 39, is the trainer of Harlan's Holiday, the race favorite.

You could call the Oaks and Derby days controlled chaos. There are so many people that it's just impossible for Churchill Downs to accommodate everybody.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Trainer Ken McPeek may already have won a major stakes on Saturday when he walks into the paddock to saddle Harlan's Holiday for the Derby.

A race earlier, McPeek starts Pisces, in the $400,000 Woodford Reserve Turf Classic, the richest turf race at Churchill Downs this year.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - There is no questioning the fact that Edgar Prado has added his name to the list of the nation's premier riders over the past couple of seasons. But even Prado himself admits the only day a jockey can truly say he has made the top is after he wins the Kentucky Derby.

Prado has ridden in two previous Derbies, finishing 17th aboard Commendable in 2000 and fourth last year with Thunder Blitz. But his best chance to win a Derby comes Saturday, when he rides the likely favorite, Harlan's Holiday, for trainer Ken McPeek.

SAN MATEO, Calif. - Friday night's feature race at Bay Meadows is typical of many races run in northern California: Handicappers must consider the Jerry Hollendorfer factor.

Friday's feature, a six-furlong allowance sprint for older fillies and mares, drew five entrants, including two trained by Hollendorfer.

Both Hollendorfer horses - Cassie Anne, who drew the rail, and Manhattan Now, who drew outside - are making their first starts of the year.