Contenders

Mark Casse

A Louisville native, Casse, 45, started his career conditioning Thoroughbreds at Churchill Downs at the young age of 17. He captured a training title at the legendary Louisville oval in the spring of 1988 before taking his career to Canada, where he operates a large stable of horses year round based at Woodbine. Until 2005, Casse held the record for the most wins at a single Churchill Downs meeting. Sealy Hill will be his second starter in the Kentucky Oaks.

Patrick Husbands

Born in Bridgetown, Barbados in 1973, Husbands hails from a family full of jockeys, as his father and two brothers both took up that profession. Husbands enjoyed early success as a rider in his native country, becoming the youngest rider to win the prestigious Cockspur Cup in his hometown at the age of 16, and Patrick followed his brother Simon to Woodbine to become a full time rider on the Canadian horse racing circuit in 1994. He has enjoyed immense success in Canada, including winning a handful of Sovereign Awards as the nation's top jockey and winning the Canadian Triple Crown in 2003 aboard Wando.

Melnyk Racing Stables, Inc.

Eugene Melnyk's pharmaceutical company Biovail makes time-release versions of blockbuster drugs like Wellbutrin and Zyban. Melnyk grew up in the east-end of Toronto and made frequent trips to Greenwood racetrack as a teenager. Horse racing is his true passion, and Melnyk boasts some 280 thoroughbreds, many kept on a 1,000-acre farm near Ocala, Fla. Like prizewinning Archers Bay, many of the horses are named after hot spots in Barbados, where Melnyk lives much of the year. Melnyk, who also owns the Ottawa Senators professional hockey team, and his wife Laura have consistently been among the leading owners in Canada by purse money won.

Eugene Melnyk

Eugene Melnyk's pharmaceutical company Biovail makes time-release versions of blockbuster drugs like Wellbutrin and Zyban. Melnyk grew up in the east-end of Toronto and made frequent trips to Greenwood racetrack as a teenager. Horse racing is his true passion, and Melnyk boasts some 280 thoroughbreds, many kept on a 1,000-acre farm near Ocala, Fla. Like prizewinning Archers Bay, many of the horses are named after hot spots in Barbados, where Melnyk lives much of the year. Melnyk, who also owns the Ottawa Senators professional hockey team, and his wife Laura have consistently been among the leading owners in Canada by purse money won.

Sealy Hill is by Point Given, who won two of three legs in the 2001 Triple Crown series. Point Given was Horse of the Year in 2001 and earned nearly $4 million in his career. He has proven to be a successful sire and was represented in the Kentucky Derby last year by graded stakes winner Point Determined. He is also the sire of Del Mar Debutante (Grade 1) winner Point Ashley and of Virginia Derby (Grade 2) winner Go Between, both wins coming in 2006. Point Given himself showed precocity by finishing a close second to Macho Uno in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile at age 2, and great stamina by winning the 1 ½-mile Belmont Stakes by a dozen lengths.

Sealy Hill is the only foal out of Boston Twist to hit the racetrack. Boston Twist won three of five starts, all at age two. She closed her career with a two-length win in the Glorious Song at Woodbine. Her only defeats came in her career debut and in the Alcibiades (Grade 2). She is by Boston Harbor, who won the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile, and out of the Premiership mare Chou Chou, which makes Boston Twist a half-sister to six winners including stakes winner Keep It Strait.

SEALY HILL comes into the race having not started in six weeks, which is cause for concern when considering how she won her last race. She looked desperate for the wire in the Bourbonette Breeders' Cup has she was shortening her stride and losing ground to Panty Raid as the end approached and was quickly passed galloping out past the wire. She shows three workouts since then for trainer Mark Casse but none of them have been particularly inspiring. It is tough not to be concerned about her fitness level when you consider she has to stretch out an additional furlong in the Kentucky Oaks after she looked very tired in the one-mile Bourbonette. She looks like a toss in this race unless you know something other people don't.