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Well, we thought we had all four corners of the puzzle in place just to get us started, but one of those corners got lost under the couch on Saturday, so how are we going to put it together when all the other pieces look alike? It’s too taxing on the brain. Admit it, other than three horses, maybe four, how many can you envision actually winning the Derby? In fact, how many of you can even figure out how the race is going to be run. But the strategy will unfold and someone is going to win it, so let’s at least give it a shot and see if the puzzle starts taking shape…

The big weekend of final preps that was supposed to clear up the Derby picture hardly accomplished that as we lost several of the old faces and added several new ones, including a megabomb that no one saw coming. So, now with only four weeks to the Derby here is the roster that has been assembled…with even more question marks. As you will see, I am not taking the conventional path when it comes to who reigns atop the Rankings. This is not the year to be boring…

Well, four of the 100-point preps are in the books and four to go. And guess what, the picture is even more unclear than it was before. We have 11 horses from this country who have completed their preps, the majority of whom are fairly secure when it comes to points. But others have to sit back and see what transpires. There no doubt will be controversy regarding the placing of the top two ranked horses, but it is all explained and will be resolved in Saturday’s Blue Grass Stakes. So here we go…

Is it possible this crop isn’t as deep as we once thought or is it we have weeded out many of the pretenders and are about to welcome a new wave of talented lightly raced horses? We have lost a big name from the top, the Fair Grounds horses have not lived up to their promise, and we have had two highly ranked Brad Cox horses run terribly for no apparent reason. Let’s hope things start going smoother and we can finally get a clear picture just how good this crop really is. Right now we have the Big 3 and then everyone else…

This is it. Nothing left but the big 100-point races that will make or break the Derby dreams of many trainers and owners. Right now they all have a chance, but it’s time to separate the contenders from the pretenders. Lots of intriguing new faces on the Rankings this week as we take a shot and try to uncover some hidden stars…

With the top three separating themselves from the pack and the rest of them fairly equal at this time with a few new twists thrown in, it is best to expand the rankings again to a Sweet 16 until we know the true depth of this crop…

The Derby picture got a lot clearer, at least at the very top, when Greatest Honour and Essential Quality separated themselves from the others, at least until next weekend’s San Felipe Stakes, which will be accompanied by the Gotham and Tampa Bay Derby. Stay tuned for another busy weekend on the Derby trail…

This past weekend was the annual intermission on the Derby trail when the stakes races take a break and we have to come up with new things to say about these horses. The only difference this year is waiting for the Southwest Stakes to be run so we can find out once and for all if champion Essential Quality has made a successful transition from 2 to 3…

Rather than do another Sweet Sixteen when there are 17 horses that deserve to be on there, I felt it was best to go back to the standard Derby Dozen for now and see what transpires next Saturday in the loaded Southwest Stakes…