With a field as wide-open as this weekend's Lane's End , it's hard to feel quite as engaged as usual; it seems to be becoming less of a Derby prep and more of a showcase for Polytrack specialists. Halo Najib seems a deserving favorite, given his success on synthetics, but that makes a wager...

None of the big names seemed to have it in them for the Rebel or the Tampa Bay Derby, but the spectacular non-effort of War Pass suggests this questions: did he pull an Afleet Alex (who was clearly never himself during his last-place finish in the Rebel) or is he becoming something of an awkward adolescent...