The 138th Kentucky Derby is coming up fast! The top 20 three-year-old Thoroughbred racehorses will line up in the Churchill Downs starting gate (as long as no entries are scratched after the post draw) on the first Saturday in May.
Top picks for the 2012 Run for the Roses include:
- Algorithms* (Bernardini x Ava Knowsthecode by Cryptoclearance)
- Alpha (Bernardini x Munnaya by Nijinsky II)
- Battle Hardened (Giant's Causeway x Jen's Fashion by Northern Fashion)
- Bodemeister (Empire Maker x Untouched Talent by Storm Cat)
- Creative Cause (Giant's Causeway x Dream Of Summer by Siberian Summer)
- Currency Swap (High Cotton x Echo Bluff by Pine Bluff)
- Discreet Dancer (Discreet Cat x West Side Dancer by Gone West)
- Dullahan (Even the Score x Mining My Own by Smart Strike)
- El Padrino (Pulpit x Enchanted Rock by Giant's Causeway)
- Empire Way (Empire Maker x Delta Princess by A. P. Indy)
- Ever So Lucky (Indian Charlie x Bally Storm by Summer Squall)
- Fed Biz (Fed Biz x Spunoutacontrol by Wild Again)
- Gemologist (Tiznow x Crystal Shard by Mr. Prospector)
- Hansen (Tapit x Stormy Sunday by Sir Cat)
- I’ll Have Another (Flower Alley x Arch's Gal Edith by Arch)
- Liaison (Indian Charlie x Galloping Gal by Victory Gallop)
- Out of Bounds (Discreet Cat x Unbridled Elaine by Unbridled's Song)
- Rousing Sermon (Lucky Pulpit x Rousing Again by Awesome Again)
- Take Charge Indy (A. P. Indy x Take Charge Lady by Dehere)
- Unbridled’s Note (Unbridled’s Song x Siberian Fur by Siberian’s Express)
- Thunder Moccasin (A. P. Warrior x One Stormy Mama by Storm Cat)
- Union Rags (Dixie Union x Tempo by Gone West)
* Algorithms’ Derby prospects may be scratched, now that he popped a splint.
As always, of course, the Kentucky Derby prime contenders list changes almost daily, as 2012 prep races continue.
Will you be attending the Kentucky Derby this year?
Perennially, I look forward to the Derby as a racing highlight, a reporting must, a networking resource, and an all-around rite of spring.
This year, however, instead of sipping from a Kentucky Derby mint julep glass on May 5th in Louisville, I will be raising a glass just outside Chicago to toast my niece and her bridegroom on the day of their nuptials. (Who wants to send me a Derby mint julep glass this year?)
Not many members of either the bride’s or groom’s families are horse racing fans, or even equestrian enthusiasts. So I’ll post my toast here and now, before the Kentucky Derby prospect list changes again. Surely, it will, long before my niece tosses her flowers or those fabulously fast horses line up for the Run for the Roses on the first Saturday of May.
Just for fun – at this much-premature point in the game – here’s a Kentucky Derby wedding toast for the happy Derby Day couple.
Derby Day Wedding Toast for 2012
May the happy couple find themselves Ever So Lucky, as they cut a rug to Unbridled’s Note after the bride’s father (El Padrino) gives her away and the groom’s Hansen (or rather, handsome) preacher father delivers his Rousing Sermon.
May each wedding guest behave as a Discreet Dancer for this Creative Cause, dressed in festive finery, not Union Rags. Even if the Gemologist should say, “I’ll Have Another,” may the Bodemeister behind the bar prove to be the Battle Hardened and prudent Alpha.
May there never be a Dullahan moment, as the festivities continue.
Just before the newlyweds walk the Empire Way to honeymoon Out of Bounds, may they salute the Liaison of loving families and the reception hall staffers (particularly after the bride’s father, a Fed Biz mogul, manages his party host Algorithms before performing his Currency Swap).
Finally, like a fairy tale princess, may the jubilant bride step lightly with her beloved, even if she drops a Thunder Moccasin on the way to the celebratory getaway car.
At last! The newlyweds will call out to their driver: “Take Charge Indy!”
Happy Derby Day - in advance.
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Image/s:
2012 Kentucky Derby Glass – fair use photo
If you haven’t seen this adorable young horse and puppy at play, take a peek. Even if you have, it’s worth a watch. 
