Top Oaklawn finishers boost bids for Kentucky

HOT SPRINGS — One early take from Saturday’s Kentucky Derby preps is that the Arkansas Derby and Florida Derby winners overcame extenuating circumstances. Another is that juvenile champion Forte remains the one to beat in the Kentucky Derby on May 6 at Churchill Downs, his Gulfsteam Park victory coming with a wide trip but coldly efficient and sending him to Louisville as the solid choice he has been for months. Owner Mike Repole beat the drums for Forte after his win under Irad Ortiz Jr. “Forte and Irad are way ahead of the crop right now,” the New Yorker tweeted…