Horse Racing News on April 8, 2010

Zenyatta on Wednesday morning took her first tour of the Oaklawn Park main track since her arrival 24 hours earlier, making one lap around the one-mile dirt oval with her regular exercise rider, Steve Willard.

While this year's Wood Memorial winner, Eskendereya, will head to Louisville as the favorite for the Kentucky Derby, I Want Revenge has returned to training at Aqueduct.

Much has been made about how Kentucky Derby also-rans tend to disappear into a black hole afterward. There are happy exceptions, of course, such as Court Vision, a 5-year-old who has blossomed into a genuine grass star in his Derby afterlife.

About a year ago at this time, few had ever heard of trainer Tim Ice. But he certainly made a name for himself the rest of 2009 with Summer Bird, who won the Belmont Stakes, Travers Stakes, and Jockey Club Gold Cup.

Seeking validation within the 3-year-old division - not to mention sufficient graded earnings to make the cut for the May 1 Kentucky Derby - a field of nine has been entered in the Grade 1 Blue Grass Stakes.

American racing fans have been betting blindly on Jonathan Sheppard for decades. They are keenly aware that the Hall of Fame trainer has been working diligently behind the scenes to have his horses fit and sharp.