Dear Derby Diary,

Whoever came up with the idea for all of these hats? Here I am running around with an old baseball cap on my bald head to keep the sun off and I am constantly running into hats as big as my car. There is more money spent on hats in this town than all of the money I’ve lost betting on the ponies…well, maybe not but you get the idea. They come in all shapes and sizes and there are lots of ladies wearing them to the big parties all week. They have auctions and openings with hats and the Derby itself will be full of them. Quite a spectacle and just one more thing that makes this week unique. Of course it is not everyday that you get to see Jessica Simpson gallivanting around in a big floppy hat. That hat even has a way of making her look pretty chique.

I think I’ll stick to my baseball hat. But “hat’s off” to many of the owners from this years Bluegrass week. They have come up with a plan and stuck to it and joined that with a little luck and have horses here competing in the grandest week of the sport.

Last night was the Post Position draw and Jockey Assignments. There was excitement in the air at the Churchill Downs Jockey club. Pills were pulled from a bottle for each horse in both the Derby and the Oaks. There was lot’s of praying in that room and as the post positions dwindled, you could see the anguish in the remaining owners eyes. All in all, it comes down to who runs the best and not from where and that was the tact that most owners shared when telling me how much they “liked” their post position and Jockey assignment. For most of them, this was just “Old Hat”.

After the draw I spoke to Owner Levers of the Binzaman Stables about his top rated filly SISSON’S CHANT . He is really happy with his post position and told me about his prized girl, “She’s come up nice and sharp this week and will be ready to go in the Oaks field. There was quite a bit of speculation early on that I might start her in the derby, but while I thought she’d be competitive, she can’t quite run the SPF’s needed to win, so I stuck with my original plans to run her in the Oaks. She’s been set for this week for some time and I’ve gone quite easy on her as a three year old to try and avoid the two year to three year bounce.”

He then scrunched his forehead and rubbed his brow and told me, “Her first two runs as a three year old were very sound, but I have to say I was shocked with her last run in the Grade I LOOL OAKS. However, she’s pulled up fine out of that shocker and I think you’ll see a different horse this week. She’s my first runner in the Oaks so I’m really quite excited about it.”

He then added, ” I’ve got another filly named SISSON’S THIEF who is ranked 31st among the ladies. I was hoping she would get her chance also, but it looks like she might just have to try a Triple Jewel race later on.”

I also caught up to Trainer FlagDown, owner of both the Flagdown Stables and fifth rated filly ALL THE RICHES I asked him about his draw and about his filly. He sat back in his chair reflectively and slowly told me, “I always thought she had talent, and decided to bring her along slowly. Her 2yo races were played by ear, but the 3yo season has been planned since her Stakes win at the end of her 2yo season. She likes some time between her races, and the California series of races were well spaced for her. I was admittedly a bit concerned with the declining speed figs in her 3yo races, even though she was getting black type in the Graded races. The slop seemed to help last time, but I think the 103 was legitimate. She actually had me considering a run in the Derby as I think 10 furlongs will actually suit her better than 9, but decided to keep her against fillies,” then he winked and said, “at least for now.”

He went on, “Given her running style, she would benefit from a fast and contested pace up front. However, her last two races had basically one speed horse, and she was still able to run on well. She is coming into the race sharp as a tack. She has looked really great this week in workouts and I think she’s going to be handful come Saturday.”

He then sat forward and looked me right in the eye and declared, “This is my First Oaks starter but I’m not happy just to be here like some folks. Let me tell you, I want to win the race and like my filly’s chances a lot.”

We were joined by Trainer OkieDokie, who has another filly in the Oaks, DIXIE BURNING, who runs under the colors of his Red Dirt Runners group. He appreciated FlagDown’s confidence although he is a little more worried about his own filly. He shared a little about her with us. “Even though she is the twelfth ranked filly, I honestly don’t hold out too much hope that she’ll win. She really seemed to like the track here at Churchill when she finished 2nd in the BREEDERS BOWL JUVENILE FILLY race. She just barely squeezed into that race. She was 16th ranked at the time based on a win against the boys in Arkansas. It actually took a couple of others sitting out the race to get her in but then she really surprised me by running second although admittedly it was a fairly distant second.”

He shook his head and said, “She’s failed to progress as I’d like her to, though she did finish 3rd in a Grade III. Out of 8,127 races among all of my stables she has the only two Graded Stakes placings I’ve ever had.”

“That certainly makes her pretty special in my eyes,” he said with a gleam. “I did try to sort of repeat her build up to the BREEDERS BOWL race. I had her run against the boys last time out in Arkansas. She actually did a little better than I expected in that race, finishing 7th. She’s not getting as much time off this time before the big race to enjoy the bluegrass but I’m hoping the pattern can repeat itself and she can surprise again in Kentucky,” he said hopefully.

Just a couple of more meetings with owners that I had last evening. First up is CloeDawg of the Right At Home Stables. His filly is WAKI SLAM who got one of the first pills out of the bottle and jumped at a chance to get inside the big crowd. She is a speed horse that loves the lead so she will fit in nicely there. CloeDawg told me, “She was nominated as a two year old for an eclipse award, although losing out to a better filly in SISSON’S CHANT Being that she runs out in front I was a little wary on stretching her out. To my surprise her speed figures increased and in her last three she hasn’t finished off the board. To be honest I was seriously thinking of skipping the Oaks and bringing her back to the sprint division, but after the urging of some of the NWRC residents, I’ve decided to bring her to Kentucky. I would have liked for her to win one of those races to be feeling a little more confident about her chances here but you can’t win any races sitting in the barn. I do feel extremley confident that Waki will give it her best shot.”

She will be going off as the morning line fourth favorite.

My last stop at the club was with Trainer WaterShed, who runs YOU’RE A TOWEL out of the Rvd Stables. He had good things to say about his filly and sounds confident and happy to be here. He told me, “ As far as You’re a Towel goes…Her 2YO season was excellent, but I was very disappointed after her BREEDERS BOWL flop. Leading up to the BREEDERS BOWL I really thought she would be very tough to beat only to have her throw out an absolute clunker. She came out of the race good and I decided to wheel her back into the MOVIELAND STARLET where she ran much better but came up a little short.”

”Obviously, You’re A Towel didn’t take to turf at all in her last start the Grade III APPALOOZA STAKES. She’s run well with some rest in the past and I wanted to give her five weeks between her last prep and the OAKS, the turf race fit the schedule and turf was something I had wanted to try with her since last year due to the turf influences on her dam side (i.e. Halo and Mill Reef).”

“Before that her 3YO year was as impressive as any other filly in training. Her Louisiana Oaks was as good as any prep race all year and she’s won four Graded Stakes in just Seven dirt starts. Plus she’s two for two this year on dirt.” He then smiled broadly and said, “Honestly, I’ll be disappointed with anything less than a top three finish. Especially after coming very close last year with Casa Bonita who finished a very strong second…”

He smiled again and said, ““Right now, there is no way I’d trade places with anybody. TOWEL is extremely talented, she’s plenty fast, she’s just exceptional. I do think the main threats are WAKI SLAM and SPOOKY WILDCAT, both look very solid coming up to this race.”

Well that’s it for today. I am beat and there is still plenty going on tonight. Hold on to your HATS folks, because the week is drawing to a close and the race is getting nearer. I can hardly wait!

Good luck to all runners!