It's DERBY time - Saturday, May 5, 2012 - 138th @ Churchill Downs

AP) LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Hansen was there, edging out a hard charging Union Rags. Dullahan ran, too, as did Daddy Long Legs, Creative Cause, Take Charge Indy, Alpha, Optimizer and Prospective.

The same horses are expected to line up again on Saturday in the Kentucky Derby, just six months after the Breeders' Cup Juvenile on the same Churchill Downs track set the stage for the Run for the Roses.

While no horse has distinguished itself as a clear-cut favorite ahead of the post-position draw on Wednesday, as many as nine horses who'll start Saturday also participated in the premier race for 2-year-olds.

"When you look back at the race, it was a key," Union Rags trainer Michael Matz said. "And, a lot of those horses have done well. I think this is a pretty competitive crop."  For more, CLICK
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In the United States, the three races that compose the Triple Crown are:

1. Kentucky Derby, run over 1-1/4 miles (2.01 km) dirt track at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky;
2. Preakness Stakes, run over 1-3/16 miles (1.91 km) dirt track at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Maryland;
3. Belmont Stakes, run over 1-1/2 miles (2.41 km), the longest dirt track in thoroughbred racing, at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York.

It has been 34 years since a horse won the U.S Triple Crown (Affirmed in 1978)
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Mary Glass, Chair/CEO, Milwaukee Professionals Association looks forward to viewing the thoroughbred triple crown  races each year.