Decisive Moment takes the Delta path to the Derby

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) - It all comes down to graded stakes earnings when determining the 20 horses who make the cut for Saturday's Kentucky Derby. One of the best ways to get there is the $1 million Delta Downs Jackpot.

The late-season race for 2-year-olds in Vinton, La. doesn't have the profile or depth of racing's better-known stakes, but cash is king in the Derby field.

That certainly is the case with Decisive Moment, the runner-up last year. And owner Ruben Sierra of Just for Fun Stable has Boyd Gaming Corporation to thank for his good fortune.

The operators of Delta Downs Racetrack Casino Hotel offered the rich pot for its Grade 3 race, meaning the winner's share is $600,000 and second-place is worth $200,000-enough to secure a Derby slot. Gourmet Dinner won the Jackpot, but won't be in the Derby.

Decisive Moment posted a final Derby workout over the weekend at Churchill Downs.

The colt with two wins in eight starts for trainer Juan Arias worked five furlongs in 1:01.40 on Friday. The son of With Distinction was the first Derby horse to arrive at Churchill Downs on March 28.

Arias has never saddled a Derby starter, and he knows the colt's strong showing in the Delta Jackpot more than five months ago got the ball rolling.

``This is what you get up for every day,'' said Arias, a Panamanian based at Calder Race Course in Miami. ``You get up, do your job, do the best you can with the stock that you have rotate your horses until you get the chance to run into a horse like Decisive Moment. This is very exciting.''

Kerwin Clark, a 52-year-old journeyman, has the mount and will be making his first Derby start.

Down the road, there will another $1 million purse on line for the next Jackpot on Nov. 19, a few weeks after the Breeders' Cup.

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RAINY DAYS: The weather forecast wouldn't change, no matter how long Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert sat in front of the television.

``The only time I got away from the Weather Channel was when Obama came on last night,'' Baffert said, referring to President Barack Obama's announcement that Osama bin Laden had been killed in Pakistan.

Slop and all, Baffert had no choice but to sent out Midnight Interlude on Monday for the final Derby workout.

``I really can't do anything about it,'' Baffert said of the wet track after the upset winner of the Santa Anita Derby went five furlongs in 1:00.80 in the company of a stablemate. ``We just have to deal with it. If it rains for the race, at least he's been over a wet track.''

That's something the colt rarely encounters at Baffert's home base in Southern California.

``He was happy. He handled it very well. So far, so good,'' he said. ``When you work in the mud or the slop like this, the only thing you get out of it is that he went well. You can't grade the work because it's slop.''

The biggest concern for Baffert, a three-time Derby winner, is the horse's lack of overall experience evident in the workout.

``Once he got in front of the workmate, he wanted to shut it down. He's still figuring it out. He's doing a little catch-up,'' Baffert said.

Midnight Interlude will be making only his fifth career start. He jumped up from his first win to capture the $1 million Santa Anita Derby by a head at 13-1 odds.

Monday's weather repeated the recent pattern of rainy days in Louisville. Another wet one is forecast for Tuesday before a clearing pattern is expected.

``I should have brought a rain coat,'' Baffert said. ``I got them home in the closet with dust gathering on them.''

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FOUR MORE: Four other Derby horses worked in the slop Monday morning.

Blue Grass winner Brilliant Speed went five furlongs in 1:01.20, while Tampa Bay Derby winner Watch Me Go also went five furlongs in 1:02.

Santiva and Nehro had half-mile drills.

Santiva was clocked in 50.20 seconds over the track where he won the Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes in November. Nehro, who missed by a neck in both the Louisiana and Arkansas derbys, went in 51.20.

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A CHIP VISIT: Chip Woolley, the cowboy trainer from New Mexico who pulled off a stunning upset with Mine That Bird in the 2009 Derby, was a backstretch visitor at Churchill Downs on Monday.

``I got Derby fever,'' Woolley said of returning to the scene of his greatest triumph. ``I came to watch everybody, and to see who is doing what.''

Mine That Bird was a captivating story, as was his trainer. Despite a broken right leg broken from a motorcycle accident, Woolley hitched a horse van to his pickup truck and towed the gelding more than 1,500 miles from New Mexico to Kentucky. Woolley hobbled around during the Triple Crown series on crutches.

Following the Derby win, Mine That Bird was second to filly Rachel Alexandra in the Preakness and third in the Belmont Stakes.

``It was quite a run,'' he said.

Mine That Bird has since retired and Woolley has faded from the national scene. He is 4 for 78 this year, racing at Sunland Park in New Mexico and at Prairie Meadows in Iowa. He keeps an eye out for the next Mine That Bird.

``We haven't seen anything since, with the talent that it takes to get here,'' Woolley said. ``We keep looking for the next one, going to the horse sales to see what we can up with.''

Woolley is fully healed, no longer needing crutches to get around.

``I'm good, I'm back,'' he said. ``I exercise a few of my horses.''

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NO HEAT: The $1 million Kentucky Oaks, the Derby's companion event for fillies on Friday, lost a top contender when R Heat Lightning suffered a knee injury.

``We detected heat in her right knee this morning and she was slightly off at the jog,'' trainer Todd Pletcher said. ``It's unfortunate. She's a very talented filly and has been training great.''

She will be evaluated later this week at a clinic in Lexington.

R Heat Lightning was a blowout winner in her last two stakes races in Florida. She was runner-up at Churchill in November in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies.