Stevens backs Big Brown post choice

LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- Air returned to the Churchill Downs backstretch Thursday. That was one day after trainer Rick Dutrow left 'em gasping when he chose Post 20 rather than 1, 2, 18 or 19 for his favored Big Brown (3-1) in the 134th Kentucky Derby on Saturday (4 p.m., Ch. 5). No Derby starter has won from that far out since Clyde Van Dusen in 1929.

''I consulted on that decision, and I think Rick made the right choice,'' said NBC analyst Gary Stevens, who rode three Kentucky Derby winners. ''A very important part of the decision was that if there is any problem at the start, Big Brown is much less likely to get dirt kicked in his face out there.''

Big Brown -- a perfect 3-for-3 -- also will attempt to become the first Derby entrant to win with fewer than five career starts since Exterminator in 1918. The powerful son of Boundary turned in the last timed workout before the Derby on Thursday morning when he rolled three furlongs in an impressive 35.40 seconds.

''We're sitting on go here,'' Dutrow said. ''We're ready.''

Sen. Hillary Clinton was in Louisville on Thursday to meet with the editorial board of the Courier-Journal. When asked if she had a Derby pick, the Democratic presidential candidate replied: ''The filly.'' Clinton said she would be betting Eight Belles (15-1) ''to win, place and show.''

Eight Belles, a Larry Jones trainee, has won her last four races, all on dirt surfaces. Nine of the 20 Derby starters made their last starts on synthetic tracks. Street Sense, the 2007 Derby champion, scored his victory after losing a tough photo finish in the Blue Grass on the plastic of Keeneland.

Back in Chicago, the Illinois Racing Board issued a stewards' directive announcing that the rider's fee for any entry will be formally agreed upon between the jockey and owner and/or trainer at the time of entry. According to the Daily Racing Form, ''The fee will appear on the overnight sheet that is produced after a day's races are fully assembled.''

The IRB again confirmed it has no authority to set any fee between a jockey and a horse's owner/trainer connections. A jockey uprising seeking to hike a non-binding $45 mount fee to $75 delayed the start of racing at Hawthorne for two hours last Friday. Arlington opens its long summer season at 2:30 p.m. today.