LOUISVILLE, Ky. Alan Page . -- The only time Victor Espinoza won the Kentucky Derby was aboard War Emblem in 2002. They broke from the No. 5 post, the same position hell start the 140th edition of the race with early 5-2 favourite California Chrome. "Hopefully, thats my lucky number," Espinoza said Wednesday. Eight horses have won from there, most recently Funny Cide in 2003. "I think its a perfect spot," trainer Art Sherman said. "I think we break clean, hell get out of a lot of trouble. Hes got a little gas leaving there." At 77, Sherman could become the oldest trainer to win the Derby, surpassing Charlie Whittinghams record of 76 when Sunday Silence won in 1989. California Chrome comes into the Derby having won his last four starts by a combined 24 1/4 lengths. "Just an amazing horse to ride," Espinoza said. "I let him do his own thing and I think he likes that." Hoppertunity was made the 6-1 second choice in the full field of 20 horses. Hoppertunity, who lost to California Chrome in the Santa Anita Derby, drew the No. 11 post for the race Saturday at Churchill Downs. Hes trained by Bob Baffert, a three-time Derby winner with two starters. "Other than California Chrome, whos proven hes a really good horse, theres a lot of horses in there that are pretty close," Baffert said. "Theres a lot of parity in this field." His other horse, Chitu, is a 20-1 long shot that drew the No. 13 post. Wicked Strong, named for the victims of last years Boston Marathon bombings, is the 8-1 third choice and will break from the 20th post on the far outside. He and the No. 10 horse, Wildcat Red, will be last ones loaded into the starting gate, so they wont be in there very long. Some trainers dont like the No. 20 post because their horse is on the far outside and has to quickly make its way over toward the rail to save ground. Calvin Borel will break from the No. 19 post aboard Ride On Curlin. The jockey nicknamed "Bo-rail" for his love of riding along the rail has won three Derbies since 2007, and hell have to hustle his horse over quickly to snag his favourite position. California Chrome, Hoppertunity and Wicked Strong were the only horses listed at single digits by Churchill Downs oddsmaker Mike Battaglia. Danza is the 10-1 fourth choice and drew the No. 4 post. Hes one of four horses trained by Todd Pletcher. The others are: Intense Holiday, 12-1; Vinceremos, 30-1; and We Miss Artie, 50-1. "We made out well," Pletcher said. "It doesnt matter where you draw, youre just looking for a clean trip." Mike Maker will saddle a trio of horses: General a Rod, 15-1; Harrys Holiday, 50-1; and Vicars In Trouble, a 30-1 shot that drew the dreaded No. 1 post. Rosie Napravnik will be aboard Vicars In Trouble trying to become the first female jockey to win the Derby. She was fifth last year with Mylute, the highest finish by a woman in history. Napravnik watched the draw from the jockeys room at the track. "I was just kind of shocked, being the first one drawn," she said. "Vicars real sharp out of the gate and I think hell be able to get in good position. Theres been plenty of winners out of the one-hole, so Vicars not in trouble yet." Eight horses have won from the first spot in the starting gate, but none since Ferdinand in 1986. Most trainers despise the No. 1 hole because their horse starts next to the rail and could get pinched going into the crowded first turn. The starting gate is loaded two horses at a time, and the first ones to go in will be Vicars In Trouble and No. 11 Hoppertunity, meaning theyll have the longest wait while the rest of the field is loaded. "Hes a pretty cool, calm horse so he should be fine in there," Hall of Fame jockey Mike Smith said about Hoppertunity. Hoppertunity didnt race as a 2-year-old, setting him up for a chance to break one of the Derbys oldest jinxes: no horse since Apollo in 1882 has won the Derby without racing at 2. The No. 10 post has produced the most Derby winners with nine, most recently in 2005, when Smith won with 50-1 shot Giacomo. Wildcat Red, trained by Jose Garrafalo, landed in that spot this time. The other 50-1 shot in the race is Commanding Curve, who will break from the No. 17 post. The 21st horse on the points list is Pablo Del Monte, an also eligible who would need a defection before 9 a.m. Friday, when Derby wagering opens, to get into the $2.2 million race. Matt Cassel. -- Last month, Richie Incognito said severe repercussions would be warranted if the Miami Dolphins kept allowing sacks at such an alarming rate.Jerick McKinnon . Daugavins was re-assigned by the Ottawa Senators to their American Hockey League affiliate Monday. The move comes after the 23-year-old scored in Ottawas 3-2 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs on Sunday.ST. LOUIS -- St. Louis Blues centre T.J. Oshie knew exactly what to do with the puck that completed his first three-goal game in the NHL. That souvenir now belongs to his 10-day old daughter, Lyla Grace, who was born on March 17. "Its definitely going to her," he said. Oshies hat trick and a 27-save performance by Ryan Miller led the Blues to a 5-1 rout over the Minnesota Wild on Thursday night. St. Louis has won three in a row overall and nine straight against the Wild. The Blues lead the NHL with 107 points. Jaden Schwartz and Brenden Morrow also scored for St. Louis, which has points in its last 10 home games. Miller improved to 9-2-1 since being acquired from Buffalo on Feb. 28. He has a 2.03 goals against average and a .918 save percentage with the Blues. Zach Parise scored for the Wild, who had earned points in their previous three road games but have lost six of eight overall. Darcy Kuemper made 19 saves but fell to 12-8-4. He has won just twice in nine starts. Oshie, who has a career-high 21 goals, scored twice in the first period -- including a short-handed goal with 26 seconds left that made it 2-0. He converted from the slot at 4:43 and then beat Kuemper on a breakaway for the Blues fifth short-handed goal of the season. Oshie tipped in a shot from Jay Bouwmeester at 7:18 of the third period to complete the hat trick. "This has been an exciting couple of months for me," said Oshie, who played for the United States in the Olympics, "but she trumps everything for me." The modest Oshie refused to take credit for his big night. "The pucks just happened to go off my stick," he said. But linemates David Backes and Alexander Steen were happy to heap praise on Oshie. "Hes been a horse for us all year," Backes said. "He strung a couple of great shots together and a tip on the last one. "I couldnt be happier for him." The Blues posted a hat trick for the second straight game as Backes scored three times in a 5-3 win at Toronnto on Tuesday.Matt Kalil. . That was the first time St. Louis recorded back-to-back three-goal games since Dec. 20-23, 2000, when Pavol Demitra and Michal Handzus accomplished the feat. The Blues lead the Western Conference and are battling Boston for the Presidents Trophy for the top mark in the NHL. They are one point ahead of the Bruins with nine games remaining for both teams. "We wanted to make a statement to the league that we deserve to be where were at," Oshie said. "We want that target on our backs." St. Louis coach Ken Hitch**** believes his club is peaking at the right time. "Were not going to be overwhelmed because were the favourites in a playoff series," he said. "Were going to embrace it." Even Minnesota coach Mike Yeo was impressed with the Blues. "Theyve got a great team" he said. "They smelled blood and they went after it. "This was a team loss." Miller made nine saves in the first 6:07 before coasting to the win. "We got settled into our 5-on-5 game and really limited the puck possession by the other team," he said. "This was a big step forward." Schwartz netted his 23rd goal of the season on a power play midway through the second period to make it 3-0. The Wild lost for the second time in two nights after dropping a 5-3 decision to Vancouver on Wednesday. "I dont think anyone can really be happy," Kuemper said. "Weve got to turn this thing around." St. Louis has killed 23 straight power plays against Minnesota over six games. NOTES: Steve Cash and Josh Pauls, members of the USAs gold-medal winning Paralympic hockey team, were honoured before the game. ... Minnesota began a four-game trip that also has stops at Phoenix, Los Angeles and Chicago. ... The Blues are shooting for their first Presidents Trophy since the 1999-2000 season. ... Minnesota LW Dany Heatley has gone a season-high 13 games without a goal. ... Wild RW Jason Pominville led all players with seven shots on goal. ' ' '
