NBC is in, ABC is out, Baffert is back, and Lukas may not have a starter in this year's Derby

As in most every year, the current Triple Crown campaign has more than a few interesting new angles. NBC is taking over from ABC as the Triple Crown broadcast partner. A host of owners and trainers will experience the Kentucky Derby (G1) for the first time. D. Wayne Lukas may not send out a Derby starter; the last time that happened, Ronald Reagan was running for President.

Not everything changes, however. The Derby is still 1 1/4 miles. Churchill Downs still has its distinctive Twin Spires. And Bob Baffert is back to make more mischief.

The Southern California-based trainer-he of the perpetual wisecracks and ever-present sunglasses-has sent out at least one starter in every Derby since 1996, chalking up two victories, a second, and a third along the way.

And after two years in which his runners were not serious factors in the run for the roses, he is back with two contenders: the probable favorite and quite possibly the most talented member of this year's quality-rich (if numbers-poor) three-year-old crop.

Baffert's Derby duo, likely favorite Point Given and rapidly improving Congaree, represent the new breed of Derby starter-talent that requires less experience than previous Derby starters. Point Given, one of the leaders among last year's two-year-olds, has made just two starts in 2001. Congaree, whose physical travails starting at birth would provide enough material for a season's worth of episodes of a veterinary television series, has made just four lifetime starts. His stakes debut came just three weeks before the Derby, when he dusted Florida Derby (G1) winner Monarchos in the Wood Memorial Stakes (G2).

But the Triple Crown is about more than Baffert and his dynamic duo. The pursuit of a second Kentucky Derby victory by 54-year-old jockey Laffit Pincay Jr., who will ride Millennium Wind, gives the race a heartwarming note. The possible presence of former basketball star Bobby Hurley in the owner's box on Derby day gives racing a fresh face to publicize. The expectations arising from Bob Costas co-hosting the Triple Crown television coverage could bring new viewers to the sport to see just what the man might say.

The classics are back, and there should be enough interesting stories about the old and the new to keep everybody focused and entertained.