LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Paul Reddam is going to try to have a good time at the Kentucky Derby. You can bank on it.

Reddam has had a tumultuous spring with the Derby prospects he owns. At the beginning of the year, he had three contenders, but a month ago, Notional went out with an ankle chip. His other two colts, Great Hunter and Liquidity, are seeking to bounce back Saturday from disappointing final preps. And Reddam was ensnared in a legal dispute between a Cincinnati-based bank and the former owners of Great Hunter that, to an outsider, looked like a high-stakes shakedown.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Talk about a key race. Six of the 14 horses from last year's Breeders' Cup Juvenile, including race winner Street Sense and the second through fifth finishers, were among the 20 horses entered on Wednesday in Saturday's 133rd Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs.

This would be the first time that the first five finishers from a Juvenile would run in the Derby. And if all six from last year's race start, that too would be a Derby record.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - A year ago, jockey John Velazquez was in the unfortunate position of having to watch the Kentucky Derby on television, sidelined by a broken shoulder suffered in a spill at Keeneland.

For this year's Derby, Velazquez was in the unique position of having to choose one of five horses he had ridden - and won at least one race on - for his main trainer, Todd Pletcher. In the end, Velazquez selected Louisiana Derby winner Circular Quay over Scat Daddy, Any Given Saturday, Cowtown Cat, and Sam P. for Saturday's 133rd Derby.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Curlin and Street Sense, considered the two leading contenders for Saturday's Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs, drew spots in the inside half of the field when posts were selected Wednesday evening for the 133rd Derby.

Curlin, the Arkansas Derby winner, got post 2, with Street Sense, the Breeders' Cup Juvenile winner and last year's champion 2-year-old male, in post 7.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - All the final major preparations are over. Now it's just a matter of maintaining and getting all the Kentucky Derby starters out and back home safely in the final three days of training that remain prior to the main event.

As of Wednesday, the only Derby starter not on the grounds was Nobiz Like Shobiz who was scheduled to arrive later that afternoon. All 19 who are here went to the track Wednesday, including Street Sense, whose eye-catching five-furlong work Tuesday may have solidified his role as the favorite.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Like the last round of a high-stakes poker game, it was time for the last call on Tuesday on Churchill Downs. Street Sense, the likely favorite for Saturday's 133rd Kentucky Derby, raised the ante with another flawless work, while two horses, Cobalt Blue and Xchanger, threw in their cards and folded.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Merv Griffin didn't want to put his horse in jeopardy, so he decided not to play Thoroughbred racing's version of wheel of fortune.

Griffin, the owner of San Felipe Stakes winner Cobalt Blue, announced on Tuesday that he has withdrawn his horse from consideration for Saturday's Kentucky Derby because he didn't feel the lightly raced colt was ready for prime time.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Making a top selection for the 2006 Kentucky Derby became elementary after watching Barbaro's final work leading up to the race. Selecting the most likely winner for the year's edition of the Run for the Roses became similarly clear here Tuesday after Street Sense turned in a five-furlong drill that couldn't have been more impressive.

The calls came frequently and had a familiar ring to them. The people on the other end of the telephone were raving to Elizabeth Valando about a 2-year-old son of Albert the Great that she bred and owned.

And this was before he ever raced.

Valando couldn't help but flash back to some 17 years ago when her husband, Broadway producer Tommy Valando, was receiving similar messages from the people who broke and trained Fly So Free. That horse turned out to be the juvenile champion of 1990, and he ran fifth in the 1991 Kentucky Derby.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Cobalt Blue and Xchanger were both withdrawn from consideration for Saturday's 133rd Kentucky Derby on Tuesday, paving the way for Teuflesberg and Imawildandcrazyguy to get into the field.

The decision to skip the Derby with Cobalt Blue was made by owner Merv Griffin, who didn't think running off a seventh-pace finish in the Illinois Derby and a subsequent subpar workout last weekend at Keeneland was the right thing to do by the horse.

On Tuesday, O'Neill was encouraged by the way Cobalt Blue was training since he put blinkers on the colt on Sunday.