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Tom Law 
Bust out the thesaurus and try as you might to come up with just the right synonym. The subject word is big, as in big weekend. Last weekend was just that, big, huge, enormous, important, monstrous. See, books with actual paper still work for something.
Jack T. Hammer offers a pretty simple and succinct explanation for how he’ll feel when he tunes in to watch a horse he bred and campaigned solely or in partnership compete in a $10 million race halfway around the world.
Kathy Elam hoped to make a trip to South Florida this weekend to see the pride of her family’s Bryan Lane Farm breeding operation just outside Nicholasville, Ky., take a significant step toward the Kentucky Derby. She also hopes to make her first trip to the Kentucky Derby since the 1970s should Cairo Prince, a colt she bred with her husband, take the next step after Saturday’s Grade 1 Besilu Stables Florida Derby at Gulfstream Park.
Saturday marked seven weeks to go until the Kentucky Derby. That’s close enough to start visualizing the race’s possible field, yet still far enough away that it’s a safe bet some of the points leaders right now won’t be among the top contenders come Saturday, May 3.
The NCAA tournament shifts into an even higher gear Saturday as the world of racing shifts down a bit, resting for huge weekends loaded with implications that follow in rapid succession.
Monday mornings are always kind of busy and especially so now that we’ve inched past the midpoint of the month. Some are spending the time talking about and filling out NCAA brackets. Others are feverishly working away on their day’s duties so they can shove off a little early and knock back a few pints, green or otherwise. Maybe both.
Effie Trinket enjoyed her time in the airy round pens that ring the outside boundary of the Palm Meadows Training Center in Boynton Beach.
Four days of Cheltenham in the books and we go seamlessly into a huge Saturday of racing here in the States with a loaded card at Oaklawn, a strong edition of the Honey Fox at Gulfstream and the Grade 1 Santa Margarita at Santa Anita.
A native of Ireland now training in the U.S., Conor Murphy knows his way to the winner’s enclosure at the Cheltenham Festival and where to collect on a huge bet. He did the former working with Nicky Henderson before setting up shop as a trainer in the U.S., a career that took him to the 2013 Breeders’ Cup World Championships with Turf Sprint starter Dimension.
The time changed sometime between late Saturday night or early Sunday morning, an hour earlier to accommodate the man-made creation that is daylight savings time. The times didn’t change much Saturday afternoon in Southern California though as Game On Dude still showed the Big ‘Cap was his for the taking.
