The last big weekend of Derby preps sees the Blue Grass and Arkansas Derby draw deep and competitive fields. Both races figure to send at least a few on to the Derby, so with precious graded stakes earnings up for grabs look for the screws to be tightened on the main contenders. Let’s take a look and see what we can come up with.

The Blue Grass Stakes – Keeneland Race Course – Grade I – $750,000 – 1 1/8 Miles, by Brian Nadeau

Patena: Highly touted runner was nowhere in the Louisiana Derby, but it’s probably best to ignore that run considering it was contested over sea of slop. We all know the connections and the reputation they bring, and that’s going to seriously knock your price down. Proven over Polytrack but not against this kind. It kind of looks like they’re hoping they belong rather than believing it, and with the underlaid price on tap, we’ll take a strong stand against.

Join In The Dance: No idea where that big run at Tampa came from, but it was flattered by Musket Man last week in the Illinois Derby. But still, he was 35-1 that day for a reason and now he’s got to not only do it again, but do it even better. He does find a field devoid of early speed so there’s a chance he shakes loose, but we’ve got to see him do it again before we believe.

Theregoesjojo: Speaking of hoping rather than believing, this guy wheels back on two weeks rest to try to secure enough earnings to make the Derby. That’s not exactly the best way to go about things, is it? Sure, he got beat by two monsters, and his company lines are as good as you get, but this is a foreign surface today and it looked in the Florida Derby that 9 furlongs isn’t his cup of tea. And there’s a chance this is your favorite to boot. No doubt there’s talent here, but we’re comfortable passing and continuing our search.

Cliffy’s Future: Scored a mild upset in the Rushaway for some underrated connections. Hmmm, does the scenario sound familiar? It should because Dominican won the Rushaway two years ago before upsetting the Blue Grass for Silverton Hill and Miller. He beat Street Sense that day and there sure as heck is no one like that in here today. We’re not sure what that all means in here today, but the feeling here is that this colt will make his presence felt at a real nice price.

Mafaaz: Yup, this guy has a guaranteed spot in the Derby after winning some listed stakes over a bad field in England. Say that out loud and ask yourself if it makes sense. Anywho, that discussion is for another day. On track he does sport a synthetic win at the distance and that shouldn’t be taken lightly. Now all he has to do is ship a few thousand miles from home, run fresh off the plane, and beat some solid American hopefuls. That’s asking an awful lot.

Terrain: Synthetic specialist hits hard in here and Leparoux is winning about seven races a day, it seems. Ran big over the surface last year when he finished second in the Grade I Breeders’ Futurity, so you know he’s at home. He actually ran solid in the Louisiana Derby and that was his first start of the year, so he’s probably going to move forward off that run. The Derby is obviously on their minds, but thinking that Stall knows this is his real chance to snag a Grade I, so he should be breathing fire for this one. It’s a wide-open race and he’ll need to sort out a trip from the back, but he’s the choice for the win.

Loch Dubh: The blinkers go on after a no-show in the Lane’s End. He meets much tougher in here and seems in way over his head.

General Quarters: What happened last time at Tampa? After looking so good there in the Sam Davis, he was a bad (though troubled) fifth as the favorite. Did he bounce or simply catch his 15 minutes of fame in the Davis? He actually ran second here going 6 furlongs last October, so maybe he can get back on the beam, but it seems like a pretty tall order.

Charitable Man: Speaking of tall orders, this guy enters off an injury and a seven-month layoff. Yup, that’s all. Before he went to the sidelines, he was about as good a 2-year-old as you’re going to find, but he’s never been past 7 furlongs and has never been over Polytrack. Not to mention the barn gets bet like people are reading tomorrow’s results. There’s little doubt he’s the best horse in the race, but that doesn’t mean you should go to the window. You’ll hear from him before too long, but we’re comfortable in saying it won’t be today.

Hold Me Back: Freaked in the Lane’s End to run his record to 3-for-3 over synthetics, which included a win here last fall. The Lane’s End field was a far cry from the one he meets today, but that was also his first start in almost four months, so it’s not unreasonable to think he’ll be better today. He didn’t draw too well but he wants to come from the back, so look for him to tuck in and then swing out in the stretch. Formidable and due a ton of respect.

Massone: Just seeing the name McAnally show up at Keeneland makes you look twice. And how good does that second in the El Camino Real to Chocolate Candy look after that one just ran huge in the Santa Anita Derby last weekend? And that Gomez guy he enticed to ride isn’t bad either. The post is no great shakes, but he seems to have enough speed to secure a decent position into the first turn. There’s also a chance he gets completely overlooked in the wagering too. Very, very interesting.

The Arkansas Derby preview follows Saturday morning.