Florida Derby winner Take Charge Indy  worked five furlongs in 1:00:47 at Palm Meadows on Thursday in his final prep for the Kentucky Derby.

WHO’S HOT
Ahmed Zayat. He sold a piece of Arkansas Derby winner Bodemeister on Wednesday, taking some money off the table while retaining the majority share in the favorite for the Kentucky Derby on May 5 at Churchill Downs. Bodemeister is the 9-2 favorite on the Derby future line set by Mike Watchmaker, Daily Racing Form’s national handicapper. The only horse added to the list this week is the speedy Trinniberg, who is a 50-1 shot on Watchmaker’s line.

Both on and off the track at Churchill Downs on Wednesday, the Bob Baffert barn was the newsmaker, with a partial interest being sold in Bodemeister, the likely favorite for the May 5 Kentucky Derby, and Liaison, Baffert’s other Derby runner, working six furlongs.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – It’s starting to feel like Groundhog Day at Churchill Downs. At 8:30 every morning this past week, the same, small group of prospective Kentucky Derby starters come out on the track during the 15-minute training session set aside for Derby and Kentucky Oaks horses.

Michael Moreno, who races as Southern Equine Racing Stables, has purchased a minority interest in Arkansas Derby winner Bodemeister, according to a source with knowledge of the sale.

Moreno had been looking at a number of Kentucky Derby contenders in recent weeks. Bodemeister is considered the favorite for the Kentucky Derby on May 5.

The majority interest in Bodemeister is owned by Ahmed Zayat. Zayat confirmed the sale, but did not want to identify the buyer, but said, "He is a very passionate man. Young and smart. Loves the game. A true sportsman."

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Liaison was the only potential Kentucky Derby starter to work on Wednesday, going a stiff six furlongs in 1:12.92 at Churchill Downs with jockey Shaun Bridgmohan aboard.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – It didn’t take trainer Bob Baffert long to make his presence felt around Churchill Downs in advance of this year’s Kentucky Derby.

Less than 24 hours after arriving in Louisville, Baffert sent out the likely Derby favorite Bodemeister to work five furlongs in company with one of his three Kentucky Oaks hopefuls, Jemima’s Pearl, on a clear and crisp Tuesday morning under the Twin Spires. The Baffert show continued about 15 minutes later when his undefeated filly Mamma Kimbo also worked for the Oaks.

INGLEWOOD, Calif. – From the time Creative Cause crossed the wire a close third in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile last fall at Churchill Downs, trainer Mike Harrington had his sights set on returning for the Kentucky Derby, and mapped out a plan to get there. He wanted three races this winter at Santa Anita, well spaced, concluding with the Santa Anita Derby, designed, as he put it, as “a progression.”

INGLEWOOD, Calif. – Creative Cause, narrowly beaten in the Santa Anita Derby in his last start, worked five furlongs in 1:00.20 at Betfair Hollywood Park on Tuesday morning, his final local drill before leaving Saturday for the Kentucky Derby on May 5 at Churchill Downs.

Trainer Mike Harrington said he plans to work Creative Cause once at Churchill Downs, ideally on Tuesday, as long as the weather cooperates.

“It depends on the weather,” Harrington said at his Hollywood Park barn. “I would prefer to breeze him, but he doesn't have to.”

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – There was a time, not too long ago, when no trainer would dare start a horse in the Kentucky Derby without giving his 3-year-old plenty of opportunity to get acclimated to and at least one work over the Churchill Downs racetrack. But the times they are a changing, at least since Funny Cide shipped to Louisville from New York less than 72 hours prior to his victory in the 2003 Derby.