If the Derby Were This Weekend...

After a digesting a great weekend of racing with the Dubai World Cup and a fascinating Florida Derby, I have prepared for your reading pleasure the official 'If The Derby Were Saturday' list of who I'd like to see in the starting gate, along with their next (actual) start. You'll notice there are not 20 entrants in this little exercise: Pyro A model of consistency, albeit one with low Beyers Blue Grass Tomcito May have unreported earnings from Peru, which apparently do count Coolmore Lexington Big Brown Great performance, but still light on experience Kentucky Derby Visionaire Seems to be improving at the right time Blue Grass Denis of Cork Why the carousel of entries before picking a prep race? Illinois Derby El Gato Malo Benefits from Georgie Boy's absence Santa Anita Derby Big Truck Earnings are a question Coolmore Lexington War Pass I still don't think he wants the Derby distance, but could bounce back Wood Memorial Salute the Sarge Has a lot of training time to make up Coolmore Lexington? Z Humor I'm not a huge fan, but can't argue with his earnings Illinois Derby Smooth Air Did he face a monster in Big Brown? Kentucky Derby Court Vision Perhaps with some improvement Wood Memorial Tale of Ekati Looking for redemption in the Wood, great workouts Wood Memorial Eight Belles Filly has a 100 Beyer and could still try the Arkansas Derby Fantasy Stakes Proud Spell Her numbers beat those of Pyro in Louisiana Ashland Stakes Of the top 20 graded stakes earners, Georgie Boy and Adriano are (almost) definitely not being considered for the Derby, but I would prefer to thin the ranks further. I would toss out Kodiak Kowboy, Anak Nakal, Majestic Warrior and Halo Najib; they simply have not impressed me enough lately. Let's recall that Chelokee won finished third in (thanks for the catch, Michael!) last year's Florida Derby and skipped the Kentucky Derby (although he made a nice return to racing at Gulfstream over the weekend, finishing ahead of Rehoboth in an allowance race). A lot can happen in five weeks. Finally, for those of you who have difficulty with time management, Google has solved that problem too!