By Maryjean Wall

LOUISVILLE — Kentucky Derby 134 will have the formidable filly, Eight Belles, in the starting gate after she got an ideal post position, No. 5, in the selection held late Wednesday afternoon.

The filly also was entered in the Kentucky Oaks on Friday with a No. 12 outside post. But Larry Jones, her trainer, said after the Derby post position selection that “She’s just improving all the time, so we’re going to take a shot.”

Jones and Rick Porter, the filly’s owner, have stated consistently that a good post position in the Derby would almost certainly see Eight Belles, daughter of Unbridled’s Song, start in that race.

In the morning, Eight Belles drew sixth to pick in selection order. With plenty of picks remaining after the first five selected during the
afternoon, Jones was pleased to take the No. 5 stall in the gate.

He said the spot would position the filly for a ground-saving trip through the 1 1/4 miles. He also said that loading early in the No. 5 spot would give the filly time to settle in the gate. “I didn’t want to be one of the last ones to load,” Jones said.

He appeared to be just as pleased with Eight Belles getting the No. 5 spot as trainer Rick Dutrow seemed complacent and okay after picking the far outside, No. 20, for the 3-1 favorite, Big Brown. Big Brown had been 16th in selection order, so he had only five choices.

“Actually, we’re kind of glad,” Dutrow said. “I’d rather have this post than a lot of other ones. It might be too far out there, but we were willing to accept that challenge.

“As long as he breaks good and they’ve got that real long straightaway to the first turn, it’s supposed to just come naturally to him,” Dutrow added.

Eight Belles will face a maximum-size field of 20 when she attempts to become the first filly since Winning Colors in 1988 to win the Derby.

Since the race began in 1875, only two other fillies besides Winning Colors have won the race: Regret in 1915 and Genuine Risk in 1980.

The last two fillies to make the attempt were Excellent Meeting and Three Ring, 5th and 19th in 1999. Thirty-eight fillies have raced in the Derby in its 133 runnings.

Fillies often race against males in Europe, but the practice is rare at the most elite levels in the United States. That might be starting to change.

Jones, who trained Hard Spun to a runner-up finish behind Street Sense in last year’s Derby, said the success of the filly Rags to Riches in winning the Belmont Stakes last year “sure makes it look like it’s possible.”

Rags to Riches not only won that final leg of the Triple Crown, she defeated eventual Horse of the Year Curlin.

With Big Brown’s trainer, Dutrow, bragging this week that his horse can beat any filly, Jones said the Eight Belles camp has had to think carefully about why they would want to take on Big Brown.

Jones said the most obvious weakness in Big Brown might be that he has raced only three times. Even though Big Brown has won all three races, he could be at the stage Curlin was at last year’s Derby: not yet held to the fire enough times to be good enough to beat the best of his class.

“He still has that going against him,” Jones said. “And I know his horse ran a little crooked in the stretch at Florida. We’re seeing his horse make mistakes. He may have them all lined out and show that he’s a super horse. But right now, we feel like we’ll just take our chance and see what happens.”

Jones said he has consulted the trainers of the two Derby-winning fillies in this generation, LeRoy Jolley (Genuine Risk) and D. Wayne Lukas (Winning Colors), about Eight Belles going in the Derby.

“They’ve both come and looked at my filly and given me their ideas and how to handle it going in: Both of them seemed favorable and said, ‘Larry, this is the year to give it a try,’” Jones said.

One difference with the other two fillies is that they had raced previously against males. Genuine Risk ran third in the Wood Memorial; Winning Colors won the Santa Anita Derby.

“We did test the waters,” Lukas said, “before we jumped into that deep end of the pool. I think it’s not imperative that you do that, but I think it gives you a better line on where you’re at.”

As for Big Brown, the 3-1 favorite, Derby oddsmaker Mike Battaglia observed, “he’s going to have to run the race of his life to win from post 20” in the Derby.

The second choice for the Derby, Colonel John at 4-1, was third in the order for post position selection — and his people picked No. 10.

Pyro, 6-1, will start just to his inside at No. 9.

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