Uncle Mo is back in town!

The 2001 Triple Crown trail gets into full swing this weekend with it's two year old star from last year making his sophomore debut. The Todd Pletcher sensation from last summer and Fall, Uncle Mo returns to the races today in Florida. The question is; will he race at Gulfstream Park in a race written for him or venture north to Tampa Bay and race in the Tampa Bay Derby? The jury is still out in which direction he might go, but one is for sure that this effort where ever he goes will mean a lot on how the rest of this year's three year old crop will stack up.

The connections of this undefeated son of Indian Charlie originally penciled in the Tampa Bay Derby as his first start in 2011. But, when Gulfstream Park decided to write a race for him with a $100,000 overnight purse, the connections thought maybe a change. This race called; The Timely Writer Stakes would be at one mile, a perfect distance for him to return to the races. But, there may be a question whether the Gulfstream Park racing secretary can get this race to fill. As of the writing of this column, there weren't many horseman willing to place their runners in this race versus Uncle Mo.

Basically, the same thing happened this past Sunday with the Nick Zito trained three year old; Dialed In. A optional claiming allowance was written for Dialed In which he faced four other runners including his stablemate. In this case, it was the stablemate of Dialed In (Equestrio) winning the race and Dialed In finishing second. This race was by design for Nick Zito since he did not want go straight from his victory in the Holy Bull Stakes (1/30) to the Florida Derby on April 3rd. That would have been nine weeks in between races and since Zito hadn't had luck in the Tampa Bay Derby in the past, this was his only option.

In the Uncle Mo case, a race is need soon for him to get to the first Saturday in May. The trend the past few years is for horses to get only three starts before the Kentucky Derby. With the Wind-Star runner; Brethren, trained by Pletcher pointed to the Tampa Bay Derby off his prep race win over the course, Todd Pletcher did not want his two trainees from different barns facing each other just yet. So, logically it would be fitting if Uncle Mo would return in the Gulfstream race and Brethren race in the Tampa Bay Derby. One other twist is if the race does not full and Uncle Mo races at Tampa Bay, Brethren would then ship to Oaklawn Park for the Rebel Stakes one week from now. Are you as confused yet as I am?

It's seems that the Triple crown trail of prep races always revolve around the Pletcher's and Zito's of the racing world and where their top horses are pointing for. Thus we have these "overnight" written races which seem easier for their runners. It does make things a bit better for the trainers with only one runner pointed toward the Derby. But, with the huge onslaught of prep races all over the country and new way of race preparation by the trainers, one has to check each day where their Kentucky Derby contenders heading. This makes things even more interesting leading up to the first Saturday in May.