By Murray Evans
The Associated Press

LEXINGTON - Action This Day ended last year by winning the Breeders' Cup Juvenile, stamping the colt as an early favorite for this year's Kentucky Derby.

But three weeks from the Derby, Action This Day has dropped back into a crowded pack of contenders. Trainer Richard Mandella certainly isn't the only one who hopes the Blue Grass Stakes at Keeneland on Saturday will help focus the picture.

Even though Grade I winner Birdstone was scratched from the race Thursday because of an elevated white blood cell count, the 1 1/8-mile Blue Grass appears to have the best field of the three major Derby prep races this week. The eight-horse field includes two Grade I winners, Action This Day and morning-line favorite Lion Heart, although none of the colts have perfect credentials.

Action This Day could be exhibit A in that regard.

In his first race of the year, Action This Day finished fourth in the Sham Stakes at Santa Anita on Feb. 8. Five weeks later, he finished seventh in the nine-horse San Felipe Stakes at the same track after suffering a cut on his right ankle. He hasn't raced since.

"The first race was fine," Mandella said. "We took it back and finished a little bit. The second race was very disappointing."

He blamed Action This Day's performance not only on the cut, which took three stitches to sew up, but also on the horse's earlier success.

"He's a horse that's always been relaxed and taken back and finished, and he jumped out of the gate and wanted to go to the lead for some reason," Mandella said.

The horse has healed and is settled down and ready to go for the Blue Grass, he said.

Lion Heart, the early 5-2 favorite, won all three of his 2-year-old starts, including the Hollywood Futurity, but was second behind Imperialism in his first 3-year-old race, the San Rafael Stakes at Santa Anita. Trainer Patrick Biancone opted to run Lion Heart in the Blue Grass instead of the Santa Anita Derby.

"This is the best place to run," Biancone said.

Trainer Nick Zito's once-promising stable of Derby hopefuls took a hit when Birdstone was scratched, but Zito still will send out The Cliff's Edge in the Blue Grass. The Cliff's Edge won his last two races as a 2-year-old and was a fast-closing third in the Florida Derby on March 13.

The horse that won the San Felipe, Preachinatthebar, is named for Nola Ferraro, an evangelical Christian bartender at Santa Anita. Trainer Bob Baffert said Preachinatthebar is a late bloomer, but "he's training great" leading up to the Blue Grass.

The Cliff's Edge and Preachinatthebar are the co-second favorites with morning-line odds of 4-1.

Limehouse, trained by Todd Pletcher, is the only horse in the field who has won his last two races, the Hutcheson Stakes (at seven furlongs) and the Tampa Bay Derby (at 1 1/16 mile). But some have questioned Limehouse's ability to run longer races.

"To me, he's a horse that is overlooked by everyone," Pletcher said. "He's a tough little horse. A lot of times that's what it takes in these situations."

Also running are That's An Outrage, Mustanfar and Breakaway.

"Looking at the other (Derby) preps, all the longshots have been coming in," said Mustanfar trainer Kiaran McLaughlin, whose horse is 15-1 on the morning line. "I hope it stays to form."

Derby Future Odds

Final pool 3

Horse	Odds
Action This Day	16-1
Birdstone	19-1
Borrego	16-1
Eddington	13-1
Eurosilver	Scratched
Friends Lake	22-1
Imperialism	15-1
Limehouse	28-1
Lion Heart	16-1
Master David	12-1
Minister Eric	27-1
Preachinatthebar	20-1
Quintons Gold Rush	76-1
Read The Footnotes	17-1
Rock Hard Ten	14-1
Sinister G	64-1
Smarty Jones	10-1
Song of the Sword	77-1
St Averil	26-1
Tapit	23-1
The Cliff's Edge	16-1
Value Plus	25-1
Wimbledon	16-1
All Other 3YO's	6-1

Source: Churchill Downs