Editor's Note: Since January 1, ESPN.com has been tracking the progress of Triple Crown hopeful Saarland in a weekly diary of the horse's season-long progress. Over the course of Saarland's nine days in Louisville, his final Kentucky Derby tune-ups will be updated daily.

It's official
Trainer Shug McGaughey drops Saarland's name into the overloaded entry box this morning for Kentucky Derby 128. Exactly four months after this series began, Saarland's Road to the Roses reaches realization. Three days remain until the test, but he now has become a bonafide starter in the world's most important horserace.

Saarland opens entry day with an early trip to the track. He cuts through the 6:10 a.m. darkness to put in a light jog for 15 minutes before returning to the barn. All is well as the swarm of media and fans surround the McGaughey stable. Shug stops to talk to a group of more than two dozen tourists, discussing the Derby from his first-hand experience.

Interest in Saarland has picked up this week. His classy pedigree and leggy looks give his supporters much to appreciate. After all, his sire was 1990 Kentucky Derby champion Unbridled while his dam (mother) was Grade 1 winner Versailles Treaty.

One man who can speak strongly to Saarland's pedigree is trainer Carl Nafzger, who managed the career of Unbridled. Nafzger mentions Harlan's Holiday and Saarland has two horses he's eyeballing for this year's Derby.

"Unbridled's offspring have strong confirmation eighty percent of the time," Nafzger says. "They're confident horses as well. Most of all, they have an unbelievable capacity to go and go without getting tired. One thing about the Unbridled's, they're slow learners typically. It takes them a while to get it together, but once they do ... "

"I would totally agree with that," McGaughey says when told of Nafzger's analysis. "That's why I think Saarland will appreciate the 20-horse field. There will be so much going on around him, he'll have to stay focused. He won't have a chance to let his mind drift."