LEXINGTON, Ky. - If the odds are against the little guy in racing, you'd never know it by looking at the breeders of this year's Kentucky Derby contenders. In a game dominated by the vast stables of such owners and breeders as Coolmore Stud and Sheikh Mohammed al-Maktoum, the breeders of this year's Derby horses include an improbably high number of small-timers who don't seem to know that Thoroughbred racing is supposed to belong to the Goliaths.

INGLEWOOD, Calif. - Three years ago, in a rush to prepare for his first Kentucky Derby, a small detail caught trainer Jeff Mullins by surprise.

"What should I wear?" he asked a visitor to his Santa Anita barn. "Should I wear a sport coat?"

He did, but since then it's safe to say Mullins' life has drastically changed - and so has his wardrobe.

When Mullins starts Buzzards Bay in Saturday's Kentucky Derby, he will be dressed for the occasion.

"I haven't decided if I'm wearing my yuppie uniform or my cowboy uniform," he said last weekend.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - It has been 23 years since Live Oak Plantation participated in its one and only Kentucky Derby, finishing second behind Gato del Sol with Laser Light.

Or, as Charlotte Weber, the head of Live Oak, puts it: "When I had a Derby contender before, I was on the front nine. Now I'm on the back nine.''

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - It would be misleading to hang a rookie label on Javier Castellano or Jeremy Rose. After all, both have become highly accomplished jockeys over the last few years on their respective East Coast circuits.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - A year ago, Smarty Jones looked and trained the best of all the Kentucky Derby contenders stabled at Churchill Downs coming into the race. He then validated that opinion by not only capturing the Derby but nearly sweeping the Triple Crown.

This year, the horse who has looked and trained the best is Bellamy Road, who gives every appearance of being a worthy favorite Saturday. He was just one of several members of the field, however, who left favorable impressions in the final, very chilly 10 mornings leading up to the 2005 Kentucky Derby.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Since winning the 1995 Kentucky Derby with Thunder Gulch, Michael Tabor's quest for a second blanket of roses has proven futile. He has run eight horses since, either by himself or in partnership, with Lion Heart's second-place finish last year his best result.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Bellamy Road, the runaway winner of the Wood Memorial, landed post 16 and was installed as the morning-line favorite when the expected full field of 20 horses was entered Wednesday night for the on Saturday at Churchill Downs.

Mike Watchmaker, Daily Racing Form's national handicapper, made Bellamy Road the 5-2 choice. He has Afleet Alex, the Arkansas Derby winner, next at 6-1, with Bandini, the Blue Grass Stakes winner, at 8-1. Mike Battaglia, the linemaker at Churchill Downs, also has Bellamy Road at 5-2, with Afleet Alex at 9-2 and Bandini at 6-1.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - For the last several years, Sandy Goldfarb and about 150 of his closest friends have descended upon Churchill Downs to party and perhaps run a few horses on the undercard of the Oaks or Derby.

This year, it's more like a business trip.

Goldfarb is part-owner of Sis City, who figures to go off a prohibitive favorite in Friday's $500,000 . And while Goldfarb and friends still plan to have fun, they will let Sis City hog the spotlight.

Weather: Sunny, Temp. 38
Track: Fast

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The final major day of Kentucky Derby preparations may have also been the coldest, with the temperature in the upper 30's when the track opened for business at 6 a.m. Barring the unexpected, Wednesday saw the last two Derby workouts, with High Limit and Greeley's Galaxy both in action following the renovation break.

Work of the day

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Last year, a trainer making his first start in the Kentucky Derby and a jockey riding in the race for the first time came out of the mid-Atlantic region by way of Oaklawn Park and won the Derby. Might another Philadelphia story be written this year?