LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Sir Cherokee, the longshot winner of the Arkansas Derby, was scratched from Saturday's Kentucky Derby on Friday morning with a small fracture in his right hind ankle, his trainer Michael Tomlinson said.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Empire Maker returned to the track at Churchill Downs on Thursday morning for a jog, which means he missed only one day of training because of a bruise to his right front hoof at mid-week. The setback, however, has raised palpable doubts about him on the eve of Saturday's 129th Kentucky Derby.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - It was late one Saturday afternoon in March 1999 and trainer Wally Dollase was sitting in his Santa Anita barn office going over charts with his daughter and assistant trainer, Aimee, when the phone rang.

On the other end of the line was Richard Mulhall, president of The Thoroughbred Corporation, for whom Dollase had taken a private job in December 1997. When Dollase hung up, he turned to Aimee and said "I've just been fired.''

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Watching Empire Maker jogging over the racetrack shortly after dawn on Thursday morning was a welcome sight for his legion of supporters. He doesn't have the prettiest way of going when he jogs, but he moved along willingly and seemingly unaffected by the foot bruise that has had the entire racing world holding its breath over the past 48 hours.

LEXINGTON, Ky. - Trainer Wayne Lukas doesn't exactly lurk in the shadows, either as a personality or a professional, but his contenders for this year's Kentucky Derby haven't kept him in the limelight as much as usual. But Scrimshaw, whom Lukas trains for owners Bob and Beverly Lewis, won the Lexington Stakes at Keeneland, and the handsome colt has some intriguing ties to earlier Derby successes for Lukas.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Tyler Baze was 5 years old in 1988, the first year he can recall the Kentucky Derby.

Baze had a rooting interest. His uncle at the time, Gary Stevens, was aboard Winning Colors, who turned for home with the lead.

"I remember sitting in the front room hollering and screaming, 'Come on, Uncle Gary. Come on!' " Baze recalled.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Maybe all of the many people who bet the mutuel field in the first two pools of the Kentucky Derby Future Wager were onto something.

In the first of three pools in the annual Future Wager, no fewer than 10 of the 17 horses entered Wednesday for the Derby were part of the "field" - the 24th wagering option that includes all 3-year-olds except 23 separately listed interests. The outcome was almost the same with Pool 2 - nine of the horses that eventually made the Derby were part of the field.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Of the 17 jockeys in Saturday's Kentucky Derby, only four have previously won the race. There are several well-known riders, such as Jose Santos and Alex Solis, whose careers lack only a win in the Derby, and there are some well-known first-time Derby riders, such as Tyler Baze, an Eclipse Award-winning apprentice, and Rosemary Homeister Jr., who will become only the fifth woman to ride in the race.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The dream of every owner is to have a horse good enough to run in the Kentucky Derby.

Only a few are fortunate enough to live that dream. But for the majority of the 12 partners who make up the Azalea Stable, the dream will come true with the first horse they ever purchased - Offlee Wild, who will run in Saturday's Kentucky Derby.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - There was no question Empire Maker would be entered on Wednesday in the Kentucky Derby, but the question remains whether he will run on Saturday, though trainer Bobby Frankel insists "he will be all right."

Empire Maker, who is being treated for a bruise to his right front hoof, landed post 12 when a field of 17 was entered for Saturday's 129th Derby at Churchill Downs. He is the 8-5 favorite on the line set by Mike Watchmaker, Daily Racing Form's national handicapper. Churchill's morning-line maker, Mike Battaglia, made Empire Maker 6-5.