The most likely potential spoilers in American Pharoah's bid for history include Frosted (fourth in the Kentucky Derby) and Materiality (sixth), the second and third favorites at 5-1 and 6-1 respectively, who are superior closers capable of overtaking fading contenders down the stretch.
Even as polls show the former secretary of state trouncing other Democratic contenders in a hypothetical primary, O'Malley has begun citing differences between him and Clinton on issues such as the minimum wage, social security benefits and a major trade deal brokered by the Obama administration that has irked progressives.
The contenders for hapless Ed's position are all cut from the same cloth so there has never been a better time for a Scottish Democratic Labour party.
This year the awards were shared out between the obvious contenders, with the end result being that nobody has a clue who's going to win the big ones on Oscars night.
Brighton have been generous hosts to three of the promotion contenders this month, Norwich and Bournemouth both winning here in the last three weeks, and Middlesbrough play Chris Hughton's side at the Riverside on Saturday.
The other main contenders for the job are Patsy McGlone, an assembly member who represents the party's rural wing, and Alex Attwood, the SDLP's sole minister in the power-sharing coalition at Stormont.
Her rare jabs at GOP presidential contenders on Wednesday were met with both laughter and applause from an audience of roughly 200 people, who also responded enthusiastically to another issue seldom raised by Clinton on the campaign trail: her age.
The leading GOP contenders for 2016 took turns in criticising nuclear talks with Iran and President Obama's efforts to combat Isis; supporting religious freedom legislation of the kind that recently stirred controversy in states such as Indiana and Arkansas; and talking about gun ownership, often in the same breath as they roasted Hillary Clinton.
"First, Chelsea wouldn't sell to Tottenham in any way or form, as they think that we are title contenders," said the Portuguese, whose side are yet to drop a point in the Premier League this season.
A Guardian straw poll on York Road, where at least four of the contenders have rented empty shops for the campaign, suggests that enough Labour voters plan to defect or stay at home to dispel any complacency.
While the potential Republican contenders have been active on the campaign trail, Clinton has been quiet in recent weeks, and the conference was her first domestic public appearance of the year.
