LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Big Brown was a lukewarm 7-2 favorite for the 134th Kentucky Derby as the close of advance wagering neared Friday.

As of 6:30 p.m. Eastern, and with $446,183 in the win pool, Big Brown was the slight choice over Colonel John (4-1), Pyro (5-1), and Eight Belles (8-1). The rest of the 20-horse field was 14-1 or higher.

Advance Kentucky Derby odds:

1. Cool Coal Man, 36-1

2. Tale of Ekati, 46-1

3. Anak Nakal, 57-1

4. Court Vision, 14-1

5. Eight Belles, 8-1

6. Z Fortune, 17-1

7. Big Truck, 20-1

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - About 4 o'clock every morning, anyone staying at a hotel on the north side of Louisville's Standiford International Airport is awakened by the roaring sound of jet airplanes, one after another, leaving at an ungodly hour if you're trying to sleep. The squadron is from the United Parcel Service, whose hub is in this city.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Eight Belles, the 5-2 morning line favorite for Friday’s Kentucky Oaks at Churchill Downs, has been scratched, as expected, in favor of a start in Saturday’s Kentucky Derby.

Owner Rick Porter and trainer Larry Jones had stated this week their intention was to scratch from the Oaks if the filly drew favorably in the Kentucky Derby, which she did, in post position 5. She had drawn a disadvantageous post in the Kentucky Oaks, post 12, on the far outside.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - With little to do Monday afternoon, trainer Eoin Harty decided to fuel his other passion and go bass fishing at a nearby lake. They were biting, all right.

"I have to figure out what to do with all this fish," he said.

On Saturday, though, he will try to reel in the big one.

Harty trains Colonel John, who comes off a powerful win last month in the Santa Anita Derby and is likely to be the second choice Saturday behind Big Brown in the 134th Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Paul Pompa Jr. had barely made it to the New York State Thruway last Sept. 3 when his phone started ringing nonstop. The Pompa-owned Big Brown had just won a maiden turf race at Saratoga by 11 1/4 lengths and people were inquiring if he was for sale.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The Big Brown buzz grew a little louder after the Kentucky Derby favorite worked three furlongs in 35.33 seconds here Thursday morning. Big Brown was one of two Derby starters to blow out for the race Thursday. Smooth Air covered the same distance in 37.99.

LEXINGTON, Ky. - The field for the 2008 Kentucky Derby is an eclectic bunch that represents all walks of equine life, from the inexpensive homebred to the pricey private purchase. At the time these runners were conceived, in 2004, their sires' fees ranged from $2,500 to $300,000. But there are common threads. For example, the overwhelming majority of the hopefuls, 15, were bred in Kentucky, and three Bluegrass farms stand more than one stallion with a Derby runner this year.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The last time an ownership group from New York won the Kentucky Derby, the owners arrived at Churchill Downs in a yellow school bus and their horse was a New York-bred gelding who cost $75,000.

On Saturday, an ownership group from New York will attempt to win the Derby with two horses they bought into for an estimated $8 million. Among the modes of transportation the group will use to get to Churchill Downs are two 15-seat Hummer stretch limousines.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The shoes. It's gotta be the shoes.

Or, at least to some degree, it's the glued-on poly-flex horseshoes worn by Big Brown and Pyro that have helped to make them two of the most well-regarded contenders in the 134th Kentucky Derby.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Pat Reynolds admits that he'll have mixed emotions watching Big Brown run in Saturday's 134th Kentucky Derby.

Reynolds, 57, was the original trainer of Big Brown and saddled him to an 11 1/4-length debut victory in a maiden turf race at Saratoga last Sept. 3. A few weeks later, owner Paul Pompa Jr. sold a 75 percent interest in Big Brown to the International Equine Acquisitions Holding Stable for approximately $3 million. Part of the condition of the sale was that the horse be transferred to trainer Richard Dutrow Jr., whom IEAH employs.