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The prep races are over and the final two weeks of preparation for the 2012 Kentucky Derby is underway. The graded stakes earnings are, for all intents and purposes, set; any horse outside the top 20 will need one of the other horses to drop out of the race in order to secure a spot in the starting gate on the first Saturday in May. Currently, El Padrino looks like he will be the last horse into the Kentucky Derby field (assuming no defections), while Isn't He Clever is sitting on the bubble in position #21.
The Kentucky Derby does allow for Alternate Entries ("AE"), so it's likely we'll see a couple of colts attempt to draw in via that route.
I'll have more on the Derby over the next few days, but for now, let's just take a look at the probable field. Below is the current graded earnings list from KentuckyDerby.com.
| Rank | Horse | Graded Earnings | Trainer |
| 1 | Hansen | $1,550,000 | Mike Maker |
| 2 | Daddy Long Legs | $1,294,030 | Aidan O’Brien |
| 3 | Union Rags | $1,170,000 | Michael Matz |
| 4 | Dullahan | $855,000 | Dale Romans |
| 5 | Creative Cause | $836,000 | Mike Harrington |
| 6 | Gemologist | $703,855 | Todd Pletcher |
| 7 | Sabercat | $701,429 | Steve Asmussen |
| 8 | Take Charge Indy | $698,400 | Pat Byrne |
| 9 | Bodemeister | $660,000 | Bob Baffert |
| 10 | I’ll Have Another | $601,000 | Doug O’Neill |
| 11 | Daddy Nose Best | $545,558 | Steve Asmussen |
| 12 | Liaison | $393,000 | Bob Baffert |
| 13 | Alpha | $380,000 | Kiaran McLaughlin |
| 14 | Prospective | $367,327 | Mark Casse |
| 15 | Trinniberg | $324,500 | Bisnath Parboo |
| 16 | Done Talking | $311,000 | Hamilton Smith |
| 17 | Went the Day Well | $282,000 | Graham Motion |
| 18 | Rousing Sermon | $270,000 | Jerry Hollendorfer |
| 19 | Mark Valeski | $260,000 | Larry Jones |
| 20 | El Padrino | $250,000 | Todd Pletcher |
| 21 | Isn’t He Clever | $191,333 | Henry Dominguez |
| 22 | Optimizer | $184,708 | D. Wayne Lukas |