Derby Start Made for a Sprint, a Finish Made for Closing Much anticipation for this year's Kentucky Derby surrounded the likely set-up of the pace for the race. Bodemeister, the favorite at post time, was predicted to be close to a fast early pace. The instructions from trainer (Bob Baffert) to jockey (Mike Smith) were to let the horse run, if that is what he wanted to do. The horse obviously has a very high cruising speed, with an abundance of talent. The pace was always going to be strong, assured by the entry of the speedy Trinniberg. An early duel did not really materialize, and Bodemeister went to the lead and stayed there for most of the race, on his own. Trinniberg could not keep up. The early fractions, 22.32 seconds for a quarter-mile, 45.39 for a half-mile and 1:09.8 for three-quarters of a mile, were some of the fastest early fractions we have seen in this mile-and-a-quarter race. They are fractions you would more typically see in a sprint race. We knew that with this field the early fractions would be fast, but I am not sure we anticipated they would be this fast. Turning for home Bodemeister still looked very comfortable on the lead, and it was only inside the sixteenth pole that he appeared to weaken, and only slightly. Beneficiaries of the early speed of any race are those horses who like to close. I'll Have Another came storming down the lane to claim victory in the last jumps before the wire. Dullahan also came storming late for third, as did Went the Day Well who was only beaten by two and a half lengths for fourth. The last quarter of a mile for Smith must have seemed like an eternity; for the team, it almost was, at 26.8 seconds. One of the disadvantages of being a closer, especially in a large field like that in the Kentucky Derby, is the risk of running into traffic problems. Went the Day Well suffered some traffic, as did the second favorite, Union Rags, who finished a nonthreatening seventh. Bodemeister lost nothing in defeat. It was a very noble effort to attempt to go wire-to-wire in the Derby, in only his fifth start, while setting such strong fractions. Some will argue that if his speed could have been nursed a little, he would probably have been able to hold on. That is only speculation.