• I'll Have Another: No Work Before Preakness •
I’ll Have Another, winner of the Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (gr. I), will train up to the Preakness Stakes (gr. I) on gallops alone, trainer Doug O’Neill said on a national teleconference May 10.
The son of Flower Alley had a series of long works at Santa Anita prior to the Santa Anita Derby (gr. I) and did not have a work over the Churchill Downs surface before the Kentucky Derby.
“I love the way he went (at Pimlico) this morning and he’ll just continue to gallop that way up to the race,” O’Neill said. “He hasn’t missed an oat in months, he’s full of energy, and he’s sound. He looked fantastic on the track today, and so far so good.
“Coming back in two weeks, you can’t have anything go wrong. And, knock on wood, we haven’t had any hiccups so far. It’s so difficult running in three different states in five weeks and not encounter one little bump or pimple.”
O’Neill has elected to pass up the stakes barn and not have I’ll Have Another in the traditional Derby winner’s stall. Instead, he is one barn away where the horses competing in the undercard stakes will be stabled.
“They told me there’s always a big hoopla at the stakes barn, and I like having my own serene spot and a nice quiet environment,” O’Neill said. “But the barn he’s in is very similar and right next door, so in hindsight I guess we should have gone over there.”

• Milestone 4,000th Win for DeShawn Parker
Jockey DeShawn L. Parker reached a career milestone when he won his 4,000th career victory aboard Cuban Carmen in the third race at Mountaineer Casino Racetrack & Resort May 6. The night before, the 41-year-old Parker had won six races at the track in Chester, W. Va.
Trained by Valerie K. Haller for owner Marilyn J. Shanyfelt, Cuban Carmen paid $11.80 to win.
Parker has been the nation’s leading rider by wins the past two years. In 2010 he became the first black jockey to win the most North American races since James “Soup” Perkins achieved the feat in 1895. He is the all-time leading jockey at Mountaineer.
At The Jockeys’ Guild’s annual assembly earlier this year, he was presented with the Laffit Pincay Jr. Award, which goes to a Thoroughbred jockey for outstanding achievement during the year.

• Churchill Downs: All-sources Kentucky Derby handle sets record at $133.1 million•
All-sources wagering on Saturday’s Kentucky Derby established a new record and was a significant increase over betting on the race last year, according to figures released by Churchill Downs late Saturday.
The preliminary all-sources handle figure for the Derby, as reported by Churchill, was $133.1 million, an 18.8 percent increase over last year’s handle and a 12.4 percent increase over the previous high mark. This year’s Derby had 20 horses, compared to 19 last year, but more significantly, this year’s field did not include a standout that focused bettors’ attention on one or two horses.
All-sources handle for the entire 13-race card also established a record at $187 million, up 13.2 percent from last year’s total of $165.2 million. The all-sources handle figure dwarfs any other single-day wagering number for a racing card, including the Saturday Breeders’ Cup card at Churchill last November, in which handle was $97.6 million.
The spike in the figures stands out against a brief decline in Derby wagering figures that accompanied a much larger drop in betting figures on Thoroughbred racing nationwide. Handle on Thoroughbred races has declined markedly over the past three years, and Derby figures have seesawed between marginal declines and insignificant upticks for five years.
Ontrack, attendance was 165,307, as reported by Churchill, a record. The previous record was reported last year, at 164,858. Churchill does not announce attendance figures except on Derby Day and the day preceding the Derby.
Betting ontrack for the Derby was $12.3 million, according to Churchill, a rise of 7.1 percent. That figure also was a record, breaking the previous mark of $12.1 million, set in 2008. Total wagering ontrack for the 13-race card was $23.7 million, an increase of 1.3 percent, Churchill said.