International Star and Miguel Mena takes the Risen Star at Fair Grounds. Lou Hodges Jr/ Hodges Photography

On this first weekend of 2015 without a scheduled Derby prep race, Mike Dorr and I want to thank everyone who has pledged in our Kentucky Derby charity league.  Entries closed last week with 42 stables and $2,430 in pledges, not counting various bonuses/incentives, which are detailed in the comments on our original post. One way or another, we’ll make sure that that pool hits $2,500.

Particularly noteworthy are the pledges from TwinSpires and Brisnet, each of which has promised up to $500 in donations if customers of either organization finish in the top three.  If you’re playing in our league, perhaps it’s not a bad time to consider sampling of their products.

We also want to thank our players for their forbearance as we managed some glitches right up into last Saturday.  We had mistakenly included Calculator and Leave the Light On as stable options; with both horses off the Derby trail with injures, we shouldn’t have had them on the list.

We also double-listed Imperia and International Star, resulting in some last-minute scrambles.

We apologize for those mistakes and thank you for hanging in there with us.

Congratulations to Najja, who sits atop our current leaderboard. I’m pleased to be a close second behind him, a position I’m enjoying it while it lasts.

Derby preps resume next weekend with the Grade III Gotham at Aqueduct, the Grade II San Felipe at Santa Anita, and the Grade II Tampa Bay Derby at Tampa Bay Downs.  The full schedule of prep races is here.

Good luck and safe trips to all.