Run for the Roses

[KenP]

How many of you women are sporting some kind of fancy hat today?

Got your silver mint julep cups ready?

And who are you pulling for?

After a deluge of rain yesterday, the track is drying out and was just upgraded to FAST.

Big Brown has been super quick all week, but are his fragile hoofs going to be a problem? His shoes are not nailed, they're epoxed to his hoofs. The trainer says no problem. Another issue is him posting in 20th. There's never been a winner from that post.

Early favorite Pyro had an abismal finish in his last race, finishing 10th. If you scratch that finish, he's one to pull for.

Colonel John and Bob Black Jack haven't run dirt before, but looked good in training this week.

Pyro, Colonel John and Bob Black Jack, plus Cowboy Cal and Gayego, have speed out of the gate and many of the other horses have trouble passing. If these get out front, the victory should come from one of them.

Eight Belles, the filly, won't win.

Now there's Cool Coal Man. It's been hard to win from post 1 because of the large charge from the outside at the start which usually sends the inside positions back in the shuffle. He finished 9th in his last start, but he's won on the Churchill track and has a total of 4 victories. His two victories at Gulfstream Park were as fast as any, with the exception of Big Brown.

If Big Brown wins, he'll be a serious Triple Crown threat, but I'm not sure his speed can hold up over the long distance of the Preakness.