NEW YORK - Had things gone according to plan, Robert LaPenta would be watching Saturday's Kentucky Derby from his old Connecticut home. Instead, a twist of fate has him in a Churchill Downs box seat as the owner of the likely favorite, The Cliff's Edge.

MIDWAY, Ky. - About 34,000 Thoroughbred foals are born every year in North America. Given the long odds, most breeders would consider it a dream come true to have one Kentucky Derby starter in a lifetime. Two in the same year? Nearly impossible.

NEW YORK - Is everyone just whining about what an impossible Kentucky Derby this is to handicap? Isn't the world's most famous race supposed to be a skullbusting puzzle?

It's always tough, thanks to a full field, the volatility of 3-year-olds in the spring, and the new challenge of 1 1/4 miles. This Derby, though, really is different and more difficult than ever, for two specific reasons.

WASHINGTON - When the final round of Kentucky Derby prep races was contested April 10, no 3-year-old had yet emerged as the leader of his generation. Racing fans watched intently for clues to the identity of the eventual Derby winner.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - John Servis has spent a lifetime preparing for the Kentucky Derby. And now, at age 45, he finally has made it. Servis will send out his first Derby starter on Saturday with Smarty Jones, who will try to become the first unbeaten horse to win the Derby since Seattle Slew in 1977.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Thursday was the final chance to watch the Kentucky Derby entrants train and the first opportunity to get a look at Tapit, who shipped in from Maryland on Wednesday afternoon. It was a busy morning, with many trainers bringing their horses to the starting gate and paddock for some last-minute schooling and one, Pro Prado, even working three furlongs in 36.60 seconds.

Based on morning workouts the past nine days, the following are some final impressions of the 20 3-year-olds who make up this year's Kentucky Derby field.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - At the beginning of the year, The Cliff's Edge was only the third choice among 3-year-olds in the barn of his trainer, Nick Zito. But while Eurosilver failed to even make the Derby, and Birdstone regressed this spring, The Cliff's Edge came to the fore. Wednesday, The Cliff's Edge was installed as the favorite to beat 19 other 3-year-olds in Saturday's 130th Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs.

Track: Fast
Weather: Sunny
Temp: 54

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Most of the important work for Saturday's Run for the Roses has been done. Over the next 72 hours the major focus for the majority of the 20 Derby starters is to keep them happy, keep them healthy, and perhaps hone a few of the rough edges with schooling sessions at the starting gate and in the paddock.

LEXINGTON, Ky. - In 1982, Jerry Bailey picked up his first Kentucky Derby mount. New Discovery rounded out the mutuel field, never got closer than 10th, and beat one horse while Gato Del Sol and Eddie Delahoussaye took the roses.

Bailey, at 24, was on his way to New York to make it big. His Derby horse's name had not escaped his imagination.

A full field of 20 3-year-olds was entered Wednesday morning at Churchill Downs for Saturday's 130th running of the Kentucky Derby. With more than the maximum number of 20 horses seeking spots in the starting gate, eligibility was determined by the most graded stakes earnings. Based on that criteria, as expected, Wood Memorial third-place finisher Eddington and Santa Anita Derby third-place finisher Rock Hard Ten were both excluded from the field.