The "do or die" Saturday for many of this year's Kentucky Derby hopefuls was April 12th, and it produced some dramatic finishes and at least one disappointing result.

The Blue Grass Stakes (gr. I) at Keeneland was supposed to be the continuation of the Pyro train, but the son of Pulpit was surprisingly flat in the 1 1/8 mile race. Although much outcry over the condition of the surface and Pyro's inability to run on Polytrack, rewatching the race leaves something to be desired when it comes to the former Derby favorite. Pyro broke well and was behind most of his rivals early, then appeared to be backpedaling as soon as the field entered the turn. Jockey Shaun Bridgmohan was whipping and driving in the stretch as if expecting Pyro's typical late kick, but it simply wasn't there.

This takes nothing away from the winner, Monba, and his dueling stablemate Cowboy Cal, who led the field throughout the entire race but could not hold off Monba in the final strides. Monba leaned on Cowboy Cal coming into the stretch, possibly brushing him, then was angled out by jockey Edgar Prado and drove to the wire powerfully. He won by a neck in 1:49.71. Longshots Kentucky Bear and Stevil were third and fourth, with the talented Derby hopefuls Visionaire (5th), Cool Coal Man (9th), and Big Truck (11th) filling out the field. Pyro finished 10th. Todd Pletcher trains Monba, a son of Maria's Mon, and Cowboy Cal.

The Holy Bull (gr. III) at Gulfstream Park featured the longest Derby prep race in the country. The 1 3/16 mile race was headlined by Hey Byrn, the only colt in the field of seven who had a chance to proceed to Churchill Downs. As expected, Hey Byrn won, but it wasn't the easy romp many were expecting. After breaking well and settling off the leader in a roughly run race, Hey Byrn took the lead at the 1/4 pole. Instead of shrugging off his competition he had to work for the win, finally shaking clear of his rivals at the 1/16th pole. It was a solid performance for the son of Put It Back.

Oaklawn Park's Arkansas Derby (gr. II) boasted a full field of equally matched horses, led by the favorite, Gayego, a California shipper hoping to test his dirt ability in the 1 1/8 mile race. It worked for trainer Paulo Lobo and jockey Mike Smith, who guided Gayego off the flank of pacesetter Tres Borrachos, then overtook that rival entering the far turn. The Steve Asmussen-trained Z Fortune rallied off the turn and attempted to run Gayego down in the stretch, as did the flying Indian Sun, but Gayego dug in and fought gamely to the wire, edging away from Z Fortune in the final strides to win by 3/4 of a length. Z Fortune finished four lengths ahead of Tres Borrachos in third, with Indian Sun fourth.