Rick Dutrow doesn’t mince words. "I think that it’s our race to lose," Dutrow said. "I think that he is the best horse in the race and I think if he breaks with the field, he’ll win the race." He also is right. I'm rooting for Big Brown to pull into Belmont with a shot at a Triple Crown and immortality.

The Rail invites readers to submit questions for Joe Drape , The New York Times’s Eclipse Award-winning horse racing writer. To submit a question, add a comment below. Joe will be checking in from Churchill Downs throughout the day Thursday to talk about the Derby field, the draw, workouts and anything else readers want to know about. Have a question about synthetic surfaces ? Want to know more about...