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.

Cyber Shug
An interesting day for Saarland includes a trip to school and the debut of Cyber Shug. Two days from Kentucky Derby 128 and all is well for Team McGaughey. Meanwhile, pouring rain pelts Louisville the bulk of this Thursday.

Saarland opens the morning with a soggy one-mile gallop just after 6 a.m. Traffic is a big lighter this morning, perhaps because of the dismal weather. Nonetheless, Saarland completes his exercise before staying dry inside barn 43.

Along with the horses for today's fifth race, Saarland "schools" in the paddock. Groom Gilberto Torres walks the big horse from the stable area, across the track and back to the 20-stall paddock. There, he remains perfectly calm and passes the exam. Fans in the tunnel to the paddock clamor to get a glimpse. The staff reports that several fans along the rail were asking "Is that Saarland. Is that Saarland? That's who I'm picking." A few minutes later, it's back to the barn for steamy tub of hot bran mash.

In between serving the snacks, trainer Shug McGaughey takes part in an exclusive ESPN.com chat with fans worldwide. The response, more than 150 questions fired at the trainer, surprises and pleases McGaughey. After an hour of fielding questions, he gains a boost in pride for his horse. Hopefully, he says, that will carry over until Sunday.

For the complete transcript of Shug McGaugheys chat, click here.