Sports

BALTIMORE, Md.  -- Orb came up short in the Preakness, frustrating everyone who made the Kentucky Derby winner a 3-5 favorite - no one more than trainer Shug McGaughey.

"I'm disappointed," McGaughey said after Orb finished fourth and Oxbow pulled off the upset Saturday.

"I'll be more disappointed tomorrow than I am right now. I know the game. It is highs and lows. Probably more lows than highs."

BALTIMORE -- Everything's a go for Orb.  The Kentucky Derby winner was in a playful mood the day before the Preakness, making faces for photographers between nibbles of grass outside his stall at Pimlico Race Course.

"He's really settled in well. He seems to be energetic about what he's doing so I couldn't be more pleased," trainer Shug McGaughey said on a warm and sunny Friday morning. "We're excited about giving it a whirl to see if we can get it done and go on to the next step."

BALTIMORE  -- The Preakness draw was over, and trainer Shug McGaughey listed a variety of reasons why he was OK with having Kentucky Derby winner Orb starting Saturday's race from the rail.  Then someone asked him, "If you had your choice, where would you want to be?"  Without hesitation, McGaughey responded, "The outside."

Despite getting the inside post in Wednesday's draw, Orb was made an even-money favorite to win the Preakness and keep alive his bid to become horse racing's first Triple Crown winner since Affirmed in 1978.

HUNTINGTON, W.Va. -- Top basketball prospect Andrew Wiggins has rejected an offer to join the number one recruiting class at Kentucky and will instead play his college basketball at Kansas.

The 6-foot-8 Toronto native signed a letter-of-intent Tuesday, choosing the Jayhawks over Kentucky, North Carolina and Florida State.

The ceremony ended the frenzied pursuit of the Huntington Prep star, who averaged 23.4 points and 11.2 rebounds per game this season.

LEXINGTON, Ky. - While UK football coach Mark Stoops may still not have decided on his quarterback of the present, on Friday he may have found his quarterback of the future.  Conner High School junior Drew Barker, a four-star quarterback recruit according to Rivals.com, committed to UK Friday in a ceremony at his high school. The announcement was streamed online by WKYT.com.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. -  A field of eleven is entered for Friday’s running of the Kentucky Oaks at Churchill Downs.  The morning-line favorite is Dreaming of Julia.   The Todd Pletcher-trained entry is coming off a nearly 22 length victory last month in the Gulfstream Park Oaks.     She’ll be ridden by John Velazquez and will break from post position eight.

Two contenders, Beholder and Unlimited Budget, have early odds of 7-2.     Midnight Lucky is next in the early oddsmaking at 9-2.

Post positions for the fillies-only Kentucky Oaks were drawn this (Tues) morning.

LOUISVILLE, Ky.-- Bob Baffert won't be saddling a horse in Saturday's Kentucky Derby for the first time since 2008.

The Hall of Fame trainer said Monday that Govenor Charlie would not run. His other possibility, Code West, also won't compete in the Derby at Churchill Downs.

Sunland Derby winner Govenor Charlie was 11th on the points leaderboard that determines the 20-horse field for the 1 1/4-mile race. Code West was ranked 21st.

LEXINGTON, Ky. - Andrew Nicholson of New Zealand was the big winner of the 2013 Rolex Kentucky Three Day Event Sunday at the Kentucky Horse Park.  He did it aboard Quimbo, a Spanish-bred horse that wasn't quite good enough to show-jump.    Nicholson also finished third on English ex-racehorse Calico Joe.