Break out the roses, hats, and mint juleps. It's Derby time. The Fishbowl Kitchen Team has been hard at work shopping, baking, and cooking all day in preparation for tomorrow's party honoring the most exciting two minutes in sports.

Now the Hotline has been collecting Jack Germond's horse picks for over a decade (after all, in D.C., what's closer to an OTB than Hotline?), and this year the Fat Man in a Middle Seat has tapped Bandini from the field--yes, for the record, there are horses running tomorrow not named Bellamy Road, although it might be hard to tell.

"Bellamy Road is a deserving favorite based on his form. So if you're one of these cultural conservatives, he's your bet. But you have to pay the price of a small payoff and the damage to your good name from supporting, however tenously, George Steinbrenner, which is sort of the sports equivalent to supporting Tom DeLay. I'm taking Bandini because of his rider, John Valasquez, and betting a triple box with Afleet Alex. The smart bets will be exactas and triples with the three favorites and Noble Causeway, High Fly and Flower Alley, any one of whom can make a price coming down that long stretch."

Now Edelman VP Craig Brownstein, who himself is hosting D.C.'s second-hottest Derby party (after our own, of course), is a bit more circumspect: "I'll play a few trifectas boxing the following runners but this is how I see the order of finish:
1. High Fly 8-1: Jerry Bailey in the irons boots him home.
2. Bandini 6-1: Will be overplayed as 2nd or 3rd choice to Bellamy Road
3. Wilko 20-1: Overlooked sleeper."

Despite the fervor, our guess is that there'll be at least one D.C. Power Couple not watching tomorrow: LAT guru and CNN analyst Ron Brownstein will be married this weekend to former CNN producer and current McCainiac Eileen McMenamin. Provided, of course, she doesn't pull a Jennifer Wilbanks....