LOUISVILLE, KY - MAY 01: Done Talking is riden on the track during the morning excercise session in preparation for the 138th Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs on May 1, 2012 in Louisville, Kentucky. (Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images)
The 138th Run for the Roses is just days away, and two horses with Maryland connections will look to capture the biggest prize in racing.
We're just four days away from the 2012 Kentucky Derby, the 138th Run for the Roses at Churchill Downs. There will be a couple locals for the first leg of the Triple Crown in Louisville. Done Talking is a colt based out of nearby Laurel, and trained by Hamilton Smith. He will almost certainly go off as a long shot, likely 20-1 with jockey Sheldon Russell aboard. Smith thinks the quick pace to start the Derby could favor Done Talking, who's considered a strong finisher and closed out the Illinois Derby to secure a spot in the field. SB Nation's Matt Gardner, however, doesn't like Done Talking's chances, writing:
Done Talking has a lot of improvement to make if he's going to win Saturday's Kentucky Derby, and he'll likely need a suicidal pace on the front-end in order to set things up for his late running style.
Along with Done Talking, the colt Went The Day Well is trained by Graham Motion, who resides in Maryland but talks this foreign horse into the Derby hoping for the biggest prize in racing. Motion won last year's Kentucky Derby training Animal Kingdom, and he arrived at Churchill with Went The Day Well last week, looking for a repeat.
Here's a complete current field, via And Down The Stretch They Come:
| Horse | Jockey | Trainer |
| Alpha | TBD | K. McLaughlin |
| Bodemeister | M. Smith | B. Baffert |
| Creative Cause | J. Rosario | M. Harrington |
| Daddy Long Legs | C. O'Donoghue | A. O'Brien |
| Daddy Nose Best | G. Gomez | S. Asmussen |
| Done Talking | S. Russell | H. Smith |
| Dullahan | K. Desormeaux | D. Romans |
| El Padrino | R. Bejarano | T. Pletcher |
| Gemologist | J. Castellano | T. Pletcher |
| Hansen | R. Dominguez | M. Maker |
| I'll Have Another | M. Gutierrez | D. O'Niell |
| Liaison | M. Garcia | B. Baffert |
| Optimizer | TBD | D.W. Lukas |
| Prospective | L. Contreras | M. Casse |
| Rousing Sermon | J. Lezcano | J. Hollendorfer |
| Sabercat | C. Nakatani | S. Asmussen |
| Take Charge Indy | C. Borel | P. Byrne |
| Trinniberg | W. Martinez | B. Parboo |
| Union Rags | J. Leparoux | M. Matz |
| Went The Day Well | J. Velazquez | G. Motion |
For all your horse racing odds, news, and analysis in preparation for the Kentucky Derby, visit And Down The Stretch They Come, SB Nation's horse racing blog. Follow SB Nation's Kentucky Derby StoryStream for in-depth previews of the field throughout the week leading up to the Run for the Roses.



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