LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Do something over and over, and after a while, it should come naturally. And indeed, for jockey Mario Pino, who has ridden in more than 36,000 races, the act of riding a horse around an oval is second nature.

Kentucky regulators have drawn blood from all 20 entrants in Saturday's Derby in order to test for the illegal use of blood-doping agents such as erythropoietin and darbepoietin, Kentucky state steward John Veitch said on Thursday.

Results from the tests will not be available until after the Derby is run, but Veitch said the testing was significant because the entire Derby field had never before been subject to the blood-doping test.

Veitch said the tests are "another tool to ensure integrity."

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Calvin Borel never wanted anything more than to ride racehorses. Not play with the other kids. Not take up a sport. Not even go to school. Not nuthin', as Borel himself might say in his south-central Louisiana twang.

For Borel, a lifetime of single-minded focus has paid off beyond his fondest dreams. After having become a millionaire, he is now poised to reach the pinnacle of the racing world as the jockey for Street Sense, one of the favorites for the 133rd Kentucky Derby on Saturday at Churchill Downs.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - It was just after 7:30 on the night of April 7, almost 90 minutes after the last race had been run at Aqueduct, and trainer Todd Pletcher was glued to a television set in the track's film theater.

He snapped his fingers vigorously and watched excitedly as Ramon Dominguez guided Icy Atlantic through horses in the Santa Anita Park stretch to get up late and win the Grade 2 Arcadia Handicap.

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.