NEW ORLEANS - Trainer Bobby Frankel has not had much luck in Triple Crown races, and neither has owner Ed Gann. A little more than a year ago, Gann's wife, Bernice, asked Frankel to widen his scope and buy some horses for them beyond the European-based turf runners in which the Ganns had specialized.

Last year, they came up with Medaglia d'Oro and the filly You. This year, they have Peace Rules, whose Kentucky Derby stock soared with his upset victory in Sunday's $750,000 Louisiana Derby at Fair Grounds.

NEW ORLEANS - They come from the same background and grew up around the same kind of horses in the Southwest. They began their training careers with Quarter Horses, then moved to Thoroughbreds with a benefactor who bankrolled the switch. And on Sunday, Bob Baffert and Ronny Werner will square off in the biggest race for 3-year-olds so far this season when Kafwain meets Badge of Silver in the $750,000 Louisiana Derby at Fair Grounds.

There are five stakes this weekend for Kentucky Derby aspirants, most notably Saturday's $200,000 San Rafael Stakes at Santa Anita, in which Our Bobby V. will head a field expected to number about six. But most of the news among the nation's leading 3-year-olds was made off the track Wednesday, with training setbacks for Offlee Wild, Saintly Look, Sky Mesa, and Toccet, and a trainer change for Ten Cents a Shine.

Considering his Kentucky roots, his passion for horse racing - from owning to breeding to betting - and his undying love for Churchill Downs, where he has been the leading owner the past six meetings, Ken Ramsey may get a bigger kick out of winning the Kentucky Derby than anyone else in the world.

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. - It's not a road to the Kentucky Derby, it's a labyrinth. The twists and turns en route to Louisville for the 3-year-old crop of 2003 begin in earnest this weekend, with such key preps as Saturday's Fountain of Youth Stakes at Gulfstream Park and Sunday's Risen Star Stakes at Fair Grounds.

LEXINGTON, Ky. - Rodney Dangerfield, concerned about the fidelity of his wife, approaches her and asks, "Is there somebody else?"

She eyes him carefully from head to toe, then replies, "I sure hope so."