Friday, May 6, 2005 | 10:03 a.m.
They're all there. All but 2004 juvenile champion Declan's Moon and the most hyped sophomore, Fusaichi Samurai.
But even taking those two promising runners out of the Kentucky Derby equation, Saturday's Run for the Roses is a dream Derby.
A dream Derby field at a dream Derby racing emporium with Mother Nature adding to what is expected to be a dream day in the Bluegrass. Add to that a dream of equine riches for trainer Nick Zito, a feel-good story in Afleet Alex and a nightmare turned dream for owner B. Wayne Hughes.
And for the winner of this 131st Kentucky Derby, a dream come true.
This Kentucky Derby has all the right ingredients to make it a vintage renewal. It has the Golden Gate and the Santa Anita Derby winner, the Louisiana Derby, Tampa Bay Derby, Florida Derby, Illinois Derby and Arkansas Derby winners.
The Lexington Stakes and Blue Grass Stakes winners are there with the most impressive Derby prep victor in the Wood Memorial winner and the Breeders' Cup Juvenile winner.
It all adds up to a maximum field of 20 with a total of 39 combined victories this year.
Although D. Wayne Lukas has the record of starting five runners in a field of 19 for the 1996 Kentucky Derby, which he won with Grindstone, Nick Zito boasts of a deeper group of five in this year's race. The two-time Derby winner will saddle Kentucky Derby favorite Bellamy Road along with Sun King, Noble Causeway, Andromeda's Hero and High Fly. Together they have earned more than $2 million in graded stakes. The two most dominating Derby trainers of the 1990s are on hand with Lukas trainee Going Wild and trainer Bob Baffert with Sort It Out. Trainer Todd Pletcher, who had a record 34 nominated to the Derby, comes to the Louisville feature with a trio in Coin Silver, Flower Alley and Bandini.
Afleet Alex arrives at the Derby as the highest graded money earner, already banking $1,245,000. A portion of his earnings goes to the Alex's Lemonade Stand for Pediatric Cancer Research, in honor of Alexandra Scott, who lost her battle with cancer at age 8 in 2004.
She opened a lemonade stand in her front yard in July of 2000 to raise money for a cure and Cash Is King, LLC, which owns Afleet Alex, has jumped on the Lemonade Stand bandwagon.
Hughes wrote the biggest check for this year's Derby. The Public Storage magnate had to sweat out his own Derby nightmare. While his Don't Get Mad annexed the Derby Trial last weekend to secure a spot in the Derby starting gate, his more accomplished Greeley's Galaxy waited in the wings. Not nominated to the Triple Crown due to an oversight, the Hughes runner made it into the Derby when Consolidator was injured -- leaving the 20th and final spot open. After Hughes paid the first supplemental fee ever to the Derby, of $200,000, Greeley's Galaxy will give him two chances at the roses.
This year's Derby will be the first since the sweeping three-year renovation of the Churchill Downs grandstand structure that kept only the trademark twin spires from the past. The Derby purse money has doubled to $2 million, and with the supplemental payment, it will total a record $2,399,600.
And, the 1 1/4-mile classic will be a dream betting opportunity for all the Derby fans and players.
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