1915, 1980, 1988, and Now 2008?

It was Regret in 1915. She was the very first Kentucky Derby winner of the female variety.

Genuine Risk won the Derby and was second in the Preakness and Belmont in 1980, making her our closest call to a filly winner of the Triple Crown. Winning Colors won the Derby in 1988. And of course our most recent filly star, Rags to Riches won the Belmont in 2007. This could be the first year in quite some time that a filly runs in the Kentucky Derby, and not just one--two, a situation that hasn't occurred since 1999, when Excellent Meeting and Three Ring finished 5th and 19th respectively. This year, they are Eight Belles, and Proud Spell, both trained by Larry Jones who trained Hard Spun to a Derby second and Preakness third last year. These fillies are both good--in fact, they are the two favorites for the Kentucky Oaks. But do they have the class to beat the boys?

Eight Belles jumped on to the Derby scene about a week ago, and she has every right to be there. She's shown a lot of class in her four starts this year. She's won from the front, from the last, and after one of the most interesting gate breaks I've seen in a while. She's a very large filly, and with the right luck at Churchill Downs, she could be better than the boys on Derby Day. She isn't a definite yet--she's entered in the Derby and the Oaks, and the decision will come down to Derby post position.

Proud Spell was overshadowed by Indian Blessing for quite some time. Indian Blessing is the only horse that's ever beaten her. But Proud Spell defeated the undefeated Indian Blessing in the Santa Anita Oaks, and that race bumped The Juvenile Filly Champ off the Oaks list. Proud Spell is the second highest money earner on the Derby list behind Pyro. I think that Proud Spell would have an excellent shot at either the Oaks or the Derby, wherever she runs. That too, will come down to post position. I suppose this means that if neither filly runs in the Derby, we'll only have an 18 horse field this year.