05:33 PM EDT on Wednesday, April 28, 2004

By CHRIS DUNCAN / AP Sports Writer

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) -- The 130th Kentucky Derby will have a touch of gray.

Four gray or roan colts—Imperialism, Pro Prado, Tapit and Wimbledon—are entered in Saturday’s 20-horse field.

Wimbledon trainer Bob Baffert would have had two grays in the Derby, but pulled out Preachinatthebar after a flat workout last week. Preachinatthebar is a son of the gray colt Silver Charm, who won the Derby for Baffert in 1997.

“I like gray horses. I have a lot of gray,” said the silver-haired trainer. “I happen to have them because I like the way they look.”

Eight gray or roan horses have won the Derby. The last was Monarchos in 2000.

Gray 3-year-olds are rare, comprising only 8.3 percent of the 2001 foal crop. Their unusual color has nothing to do with their racing ability, said Ed Bowen, a racing historian and the president of the Grayson-Jockey Club Research Foundation.

Bowen points to Native Dancer, nicknamed “the Grey Ghost,” who won 21 of 22 starts in the 1950s and became a highly successful stallion.

“Although some horsemen through the ages have harbored some prejudice against grays, the gray coat of Native Dancer did not keep him from becoming one of great racehorses of all time,” said Bowen.

Native Dancer’s only loss came to Dark Star in the 1953 Derby. The following year, Determine became the first gray to win the Derby. Determine later sired the second gray to win it, 1962 champion Decidedly.

ANOTHER DAY: Pat Day will compete in his 22nd Derby aboard Minister Eric, moving past Eddie Arcaro and Laffit Pincay on the list of all-time mounts.

Only Bill Shoemaker, with 26 appearances, has ridden in more Derbies than Day, Churchill Downs’ all-time winningest rider.

Day hasn’t sat out a Derby since 1983. His only win came in 1992, aboard Lil E. Tee.

“It’s the greatest thrill I’ve had in racing, by far,” Day said of his victory.

Shoemaker was the oldest jockey to win the Derby, guiding 1986 champion Ferdinand to victory at age 54.

Day, 51, doesn’t plan to stop running in the Derby any time soon.

“If it ever got to the point where I couldn’t get excited this time of the year, I would look for another means of making a living,” Day said.

JUST GETTING HERE:Song of the Sword and trainer Jennifer Pederson arrived at Churchill Downs on Wednesday morning after an 80-mile van ride from Keeneland.

The Illinois Derby runner-up breezed four furlongs in 49.4 seconds under exercise rider Kevin Grau.

Pederson and Imperialism conditioner Kristin Mulhall are the only two female trainers in the Derby. They will become the 11th and 12th women with entries.

Pederson, 41, has been around horses since she was 16, even though her parents had no connections to the sport.

“I don’t exactly have the right pedigree,” she said Wednesday. “I’m by an artist, out of a housewife. But if you have passion and drive, you can do anything. Nothing can keep me out of the barn in the morning.”

COACHES’ CORNER: Former Kentucky basketball coach Joe B. Hall and former Louisville coach Denny Crum mingled with autograph seekers on the Churchill Downs backside Wednesday morning.

A car stopped and the occupants rolled down their windows to greet the retired coaches.

A passer-by observed the two can still stop traffic in Kentucky.

“It’s not me, it’s Joe,” joked Crum. “Everybody wants to see a legend.”

Crum, who owns horses, avoided picking a Derby favorite.

“I probably won’t have one until Friday or Saturday,” he said. “This year’s field is harder to handicap than the NCAA tournament.”

Also spotted on the backside Wednesday: NFL Hall of Famer Paul Hornung, NBA Hall of Famer Dan Issel, former NBA center Will Perdue and Michael Pitino, son of current Louisville coach Rick Pitino.

EARLY FORECAST:The National Weather Service is predicting mostly cloudy skies and a 50 percent chance of thunderstorms in Louisville on Saturday.

The high temperature was expected to reach the mid-70s.

(Copyright 2004 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

APTV-04-28-04 1707EDT