Wynn Is Inn

- Thanks to the readers who let us know that Excelsior did officially announce that Steve Wynn and a couple of real estate developers have joined Excelsior's partnership just one day before hearings scheduled in New York for public presentations of the bidders' proposals. [Daily Racing Form] Paul Post, writing in The Saratogian, calls it a surprise last-minute development, but it was, of course, no surprise to yours truly, who wrote back on April 2: I wonder if Richard Fields has Steve Wynn's number in his Rolodex. It just seemed like a natural fit, and I think it's important that Excelsior had a new team assembled going into the hearings. There was some question for awhile about the group's continued viability, and this certainly solidifies their bid. In fact, it may indeed make some aspects of Excelsior more appealing to some. But on the downside, Swindal was from a sports background, and was in my view more likely to be aggressive in pushing the racing side of the business. With Wynn and Fields as the top guys, the organization leans heavily to the slots side.

Fields is presumably the new leader of the group with the departure of Swindal, and the shareholders' team additionally consists of William Mulrow, a friend of Eliot Spitzer and an unsuccessful aspirant to the NY comptroller position; and the Johnston family of Chicago, the operators of Balmoral and Maywood Park.

- Some Derby developments from the Form tonight: Ketchikan, who generated a lot of interest after his controversial race in the Louisiana Derby, is out of the Arkansas Derby. He came up lame in his left front leg, and the cause has yet to be determined. This presumably takes him off the Derby trail, but who knows these days?

Hard Spun is officially out of the Blue Grass, and will either aim for the Preakness, or train up to the Derby, pending a workout at Churchill Downs on Tuesday. And the Arkansas Derby is shaping up as a showdown between two lightly raced colts in Deadly Dreamer and Curlin.