Saturday, a big question for me got answered when Lookin at Lucky won the Rebel Stakes at Oaklawn. The question of whether or not he would respond to a conventional dirt track surface. That he did. I personally think he may be the most talented of all of the potential Derby field, but I do think there are a handful that could "upset the balance." Rule, for me is one of those horses. Having won 4 straight races on dirt in both the slop and over a dry track, and never off of the board in 7 lifetime starts on dirt. He's just a big, physically fit looking 3yr.old to me, and I'll probably use him in some way on my Derby tickets. Until the Gotham Stakes, I had only seen replays of Awesome Act racing on Turf in Great Britain. Not overly impressive on the grass, he certainly made me rethink my position watching him perform on dirt at Aqueduct. I thought his Gotham performance is one of the strongest Derby preps I've seen thus far. Another horse, who ran very poorly on the synthetics in the B.C. Juvenile, but has really responded on dirt that catches my eye is D'Funnybone. As unimpressive as he was on synthetics, he's been equally impressive in the Belmont Futurity and the Saratoga Special. He may be one of those horses that one could get at a price on come the first Saturday in May. One more I'll mention, who most would consider a real long shot, is Interactif. Still, as of yet, to race on conventional dirt, to me as talented as LAL is on dirt, Interactif looked on Turf. So the talent is there. Whether or not he responds to dirt is the issue. But if he does, he could be a dangerous colt at a price also, IMO. He looked very strong on synthetics, and I personally feel that had he not been swung so wide off of the final turn, he had a shot to win the San Felipe Stakes. With an improved ride, and a response to dirt, this would make for a very talented colt. One that would likely be a real long shot given he started out on the grass. IMO.

Saw the 6 scratched and was gonna put $33/WPS on the 8... Paid $28.20 to place

I had the great fortune of seeing some truly great thoroughbred racing in 2009. One of the most impressive performances, for me, in 2009 was Gladiatorus's win in the 2009 Dubai Duty Free over in Dubai. He completely overpowered and ran away with the race. A race that was full of "top flight" contenders that included among others: Paco Boy, Presvis, Alexandros, Bankable, Archipenko, Jay Peg, Nicanero, and Japanese champion mare Vodka. Although also winning the Jaguar XL Trophy and the Al Fahidi Fort while at the Dubai racing carnival, the Dubai Duty Free was by far Gladiatorus crowning achievement of the 2009 Carnival. Since leaving Dubai, he's faltered a bit, a well beaten 6th in the Queen Anne Stakes at Ascot to Paco Boy, and a well beaten 9th to Goldikova in the 09' B.C. Mile. But there's no doubt that Gladiatorus is a colt with a world of potential. Now racing for Godolphin Stables, maybe Saeed Bin Suroor can return Gladiatorus to his former glory. Because when he's on his game, as he was in Dubai in 2009, he's one of the very toughest milers on turf in the world. IMO.

Short and sweet, and simply stated, Informed Decision is the second best mare in American racing today. Behind only the great and legendary Zenyatta. I love this mare. She has a ton of talent, and is always difficult to beat in any race that she's in. She really is blessed with great ability. I look forward to seeing her race as well in the 2010 racing season. This is a mare that rarely loses, and if she is beaten, almost certainly is never off of the board. JMO.

Is this for real? Dutrow told the DRF that Homeboykris will train up to the Derby. "I'm not going to run him back until then because I'm afraid he'll blow his race," Dutrow said. "The first time we run him it was off a three-month break, and he ran huge." Has anyone told Dutrow that the Derby is a mile and a quarter, and this horse hasn't won going two turns???

shes a really great filly

Being that he started and has raced most of his career on Turf, I'd be anxious to see how well Interactif handled a conventional dirt surface. I thought he ran a very game 2nd to Sidney's Candy on the synthetics, and could have potentially won the race if he hadn't had to swing so wide. I've always felt Interactif was a 2yr.old, now a 3yr.old with a lot of potential. If he can handle the dirt, and get the distance, I wouldn't completely rule him out of being a potential Kentucky Derby contender. TJMO.