Friday, May 3, 1996 | 11:59 a.m.
On Saturday afternoon, America's most famous sports soap opera will be renewed for the 122nd time.
Sneak previews of the ABC-TV spectacle have set the stage for another equine hit. This episode, like the preceding ones, has all the elements -- intrigue, plots and subplots -- for another blockbuster show.
Of course, we know this long-running television staple as the Kentucky Derby.
This year, the hero (Unbridled's Song) will try to overcome a mounting pile of adversity and a duo of traditional jinxes to emerge as Superhorse.
A posse of 18 co-stars are as ready as they ever will be to take on the leading man, and a supporting cast of human characters will add to the mix of this daytime drama.
It seems the only horses that don't have a chance to grab the roses are the ones pulling the starting gates into position at the top of the long home stretch that rambles past the famed twin spires.
Hanging in the balance will be a record sixth straight Triple Crown win by America's training superstar, D. Wayne Lukas.
He will try to steal the show with an equine basketball team that will fill a quarter of the capacity starting gates. His five entrants are a single Derby record within itself. If he can't beat Unbridled's Song, he may try to surround him.
But this made-for-TV melodrama, played to a packed house at the theater of Churchill Downs, Louisville, Ky., is the hero's to win or lose.
Here's the cast of players for this year's Derby ensemble and how they won their roles; and, to avoid any dispute in billing, we'll go in post position order, with the starting odds in parentheses (post time is 2:32 PDT):
* 1-f. Blow Out (15) -- This is one of the five field-coupling horses. Broke his maiden at Churchill Downs, rallied from 12th to fifth while carried wide in the Arkansas Derby. His sire, Marfa, finished fifth as the Derby favorite in 1983. The last winner from post one was Ferdinand in 1986; this one is no Ferdinand.
* 2-a. Victory Speech (15) -- One of the Lukas fab five and part of the a-entry of owner Michael Tabor, who won the Derby last year with Thunder Gulch. Has won two of four this year, but no New York-bred has ever won the Derby, so this would have to be a Thunder Gulch-type of upset.
* 3-b. Diligence (15) -- Part of the Nick Zito-trained entry. He won three of four this year, hit the gate with a fifth-place Bluegrass Stakes finish in his last race. He is owned by New York Yankees owner George Steinbrenner. Maybe he can keep up with the ballclub here.
* 4-c. Cavonnier (10) -- Part of the Bob Baffert-trained entry. Winner of the Santa Anita Derby and two of four this year. He would be the first California-bred to win the Derby since 1962 and the first Santa Anita Derby winner since 1989. His rider, Chris McCarron, has two Derby victories, his last just two years ago.
* 5. Halo Sunshine (20) -- By two-time Derby-winning sire Halo, a Golden State Derby winner, his trainer will try to win this with his first starter. Last trainer to win the Derby on first try was Carl Nafzger with Unbridled in 1990. Ironically, Craig Perret rode him and also scales here.
* 6-c. Semoran (10) -- Remington Park Derby winner has four wins of seven starts. This other Baffert trainee has been training well, would be the fifth Virginia-bred Derby winner. His biggest plus is jockey Russell Baze, who is the first rider in history to win 400 or more races a year four years in a row, a feat accomplished last year.
* 7. Zarb's Magic (20) -- Won Arkansas Derby in game fashion to set up here. In the quinella in all five starts this year with three wins. Would be the first Louisiana-bred to ever win the Derby and the second Arkansas Derby winner since 1983.
* 8. In Contention (20) -- A closing second to Unbridled's Song in the Wood Memorial. Trainer Cynthia Reese is only the seventh female to saddle a horse for the Derby and would be the first woman to train a Derby winner. Would also be the first Cherry Hill Mile winner to parlay that win to a Derby victory since 1985.
* 9-f. Corker (12) -- Trained by Hall-of-Famer Charlie Whittingham. Has yet to win his second career race, but a Santa Anita Derby third may give Whittingham his third Derby win. Charlie's 1986 Derby winner, Ferdinand, also finsihed third in the Arcadia Derby before his rose run.
* 10. Prince Of Thieves (15) -- The only uncoupled Lukas entrant. Unlucky runner has had troubled trips in last three races. Impressive in Lexington Stakes loss, he has the all-time leading rider in Churchill Downs history in Pat Day. If there's a horse that is due for good racing luck, this one is it.
* 11-b. Louis Quatorze (15) -- Trainer Nick Zito's second bullet was runner-up in fastest Blue Grass Stakes ever. Owner, rider and trainer combined to win the 1991 Derby with Strike The Gold.
* 12. Alyrob (12) -- Promising colt slips in with no graded earnings. Disqualified from second in Santa Anita Derby in final prep after surgery to repair entrapped epiglottis. His sire, Alysheba, won the Derby in 1987 after being disqualified from his Derby prep and also had the same corrective surgical procedure on epiglottis. Adding to the family ironies is rider Corey Nakatani, who is the son-in-law of trainer Wallace Dollace.
* 13-a. Honour And Glory (15) -- This was thought to be Lukas' top contender. His recent fade job in Santa Anita Derby questions his ability to last the trip. Will try and duplicate Swale's 1984 Derby win from a Breeders' Futurity win at Keeneland.
* 14-f. Built For Pleasure (12) -- Shocked the racing world with an upset win in the Fountain of Youth at $288. Ran to those odds in last two outings. He would be the first horse to win the Derby with the same owner-trainer since 1913. A more recent record to duplicate is Thunder Gulch's parlay of Fountain of Youth win to Derby victory.
* 15-f. City By Night (12) -- Scratched.
* 16-d. Grindstone (6) -- The second Lukas owners coupling. Won Louisiana Derby followed by a second in Arkansas Derby. Sire is also Unbridled, would become the first Louisiana Derby winner to win the Derby since 1924. Jerry Bailey, riding crest of career as regular rider of Cigar, won the Derby in 1993.
* 17. Skip Away (7/2) -- Destroyed competition in the Blue Grass Stakes at Keeneland, running the fastest time in that race's history with a six-length victory. Will try a Blue Grass-Derby double like Strike The Gold in 1991. Won two of four outings this year, training well over the track, and jockey Shane Sellers is riding at the peak of career and knows the track well.
* 18-d. Editor's Note (6) -- Worst-drawn entrant of Team Lukas and other half of Overbrook Farm entry. Chased many in the field here, runner-up in both races over the track. A difficult horse to ride, he has potential, and Gary Stevens, who had the pick of Lukas' horses, will try to become only the fourth jockey in history to win back-to-back Derbies, following his win on Lukas' Thunder Gulch last year.
* 19-f. Matty G (12) -- Speedster is certain to press for the lead from outside post. Biggest win came as a juvenile in the Hollywood Futurity, and he will try to be the first to parlay that into a Derby victory. Grandsire is 1977 Derby winner Seattle Slew, trainer McAnally and jockey Solis are crafty and talented horsemen.
* 20. Unbridled's Song (8/5) -- Where do we start? Winner of the Wood Memorial and Florida Derby. He will try to break the Breeders' Cup Juvenile-Derby double 11-year jinx in addition to a 17-year drought of Derby favorites. He will try to put to rest any problems with a recent minor hoof injury. He will attempt to overcome the worst post-position draw possible and become only the second horse in history to win the Derby from post 20. He will try to erase five previous Derby disasters for jockey Mike Smith (most notable, Holy Bull). And finally, he will tempt the fates and try for the first leg in a Triple Crown victory since 1978.
Unbridled's Song is the horse to beat. He'll be the justifiable favorite on Saturday. He will enter the gate with the hopes of every true sports fan, looking for his place in history. If he wins, he deserves it.
I like Prince Of Thieves, and for all the wrong reasons: price!
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