Santa Anita Derby

When telecaster Chris Lincoln co-hosted the Kentucky Derby trainers' dinner here Tuesday night, his first name should have been Frank. "The Santa Anita Derby horses [stink]," Lincoln told the audience. A little later, in case the crowd hadn't heard him the first time, he repeated his remark. Lincoln's blunt assessment of the four Santa Anita Derby horses running at Churchill Downs on Saturday in the 131st Kentucky Derby is not an isolated opinion.

At entry time Friday, the appearance of Bugarian, a California-bred gelding who is winless in his last eight races, was the only surprise for Sunday's $500,000 Santa Anita Derby. When the local Derby is run for the 49th time, it would be a lesser surprise, but a surprise nevertheless, if Ferdinand, a strapping son of Nijinsky II, came home the winner.

Play it again, Bob. The Man with the White Hair--known in the program as Bob Baffert--had horses run 1-2 in the Santa Anita Derby again. And he's going to the Kentucky Derby with a stacked deck again. Only the law of averages may catch up with him: In 124 years, no trainer has won the Kentucky Derby three consecutive times.

The summer of 1980 brought a couple of teenagers together at Les Bois Park, a bullring of a racetrack in western Idaho. Gary Stevens and Jeff Mullins were both 17, and to racing born. Stevens' father was a trainer, and so was Mullins'. Stevens, who had ridden his first winner -- with his first mount -- at Les Bois the year before, quickly dipped into the big leagues in the winter of 1980, and left California with only four winners out of 90 races.

It pays for trainers to have depth in the barn when they undertake a Kentucky Derby campaign. Ron Ellis began the year with Declan's Moon, an Eclipse Award winner in 2004, but he has been sidelined by knee surgery until the fall and Ellis will turn to Don't Get Mad in Saturday's $750,000 Santa Anita Derby. Although Don't Get Mad is winless in his only two stakes starts, he's 7-2 on the morning line and Ellis said: "He's a nice horse. We don't consider him as our backup plan."

The navy-blue silks come with "NO BULL" on the back, in big, bold yellow letters. Hal Earnhardt, the breeder and one of the owners of Indian Charlie, runs his colt in those silks because his auto-dealership uses the same slogan. You wonder about Earnhardt a little bit. He says he's not like California counterpart Cal Worthington, he just knows the man, yet Earnhardt has been known to ride a steer in some of his TV commercials. You don't wonder about Indian Charlie. Not any more.

Snow Chief isn't the only bargain colt that's making his way into the $500,000 Santa Anita Derby Sunday. Imperious Spirit, Icy Groom and Jetting Home are other starters that will collect considerably more than their purchase price if they win the 1 1/8-mile race and its $275,000 purse. Snow Chief, of course, long ago exceeded his humble beginnings, which were the result of breeding a $2,000 stallion (Reflected Glory) to a mare (Miss Snowflake) who had earned only $2,308 on the track.

Purveyors of cheap wine in Louisville, Ky., will be happy to know that business will be improving. Heading their way as a new customer is The Deputy, the hard-working, wine-slurping winner of Saturday's Santa Anita Derby. The Deputy, ridden by Chris McCarron for Jenine Sahadi, the first woman to train a Santa Anita Derby winner, didn't weave through the stretch or anything. He only drinks a quarter-cup of red wine a day, mixed into his late feeding, and seems to handle the grape well.

Oh, brother. Two years after longshot Giacomo roared from behind to win the Kentucky Derby, a half brother named Tiago rallied to win the Santa Anita Derby on Saturday and earn a trip to Churchill Downs. With Giacomo's jockey, Mike Smith, in the irons wearing the familiar green and pink silks of owners Jerry and Ann Moss, the 29-1 shot was ninth after half a mile before running down the rest of the 10-horse field to best King Of The Roxy by half a length.

Despite three cracked ribs, Chris McCarron might still try to ride Hello next Saturday in the $750,000 Santa Anita Derby. McCarron's agent, Scotty McClellan, said Sunday that McCarron, who was injured last Saturday in the $600,000 Jim Beam Stakes at Turfway Park, will see his physician today and that examination will determine when he might return to action. "If the doctor gives Chris the O.K., he'll come back as soon as possible," McClellan said.