On a rainy afternoon at Keeneland in September 2009, William “Jinks” Fires found the horse he’d been looking for the last 40 years. The yearling by Arch was the kind of individual that made one think Kentucky Derby. Now the race is upon Fires and Archarcharch.

Picking the winner of the Kentucky Derby is never easy, but it may be harder than ever this year. Rarely has there been so little information on which to base a decision, and rarely has that information been less helpful in separating contenders from pretenders.

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LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Thursday dawned cold and for a change bright, with the sun shining over the Twin Spires and on the 20 prospective Kentucky Derby starters, all of whom visited the track at one time or another during the course of the morning.

Besides the standard array of vertical and horizontal wagers, the Kentucky Derby Day menu at Churchill Downs will offer pretty much anything a horseplayer wants. The Derby (race 11) ends every multi-race wager possible: double, pick three, pick four, pick five, pick six.

Despite sustaining a broken nose when he was stepped on by his mount Smoke’n Al on Wednesday, jockey Robby Albarado is expected to keep his engagement aboard Animal Kingdom in Saturday’s Kentucky Derby as well as the remainder of his mounts on the card.

Albarado also sustained a gash over his right eye that needed to be stitched up, according to his agent, Lenny Pike. Albarado did take off his mounts on Thursday, but Pike was hopeful he could ride his nine mounts on Friday – which included Bouquet Booth in the $1 million Kentucky Oaks.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. –The last time Larry Collmus was at Churchill Downs for the Kentucky Derby he sat in a metal chair on the back row of the apron watching the horse he bet on – Spend a Buck – go gate to wire under Angel Cordero Jr. at odds of 4-1 in 1985.

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