As good as he is, Bobby Frankel isn't perfect. Just ask him. Having had plenty of time to digest Empire Maker's defeat and rather lackluster performance in the Kentucky Derby, Frankel has made a stunning admission: he blew it.

"I was like a basketball team that looked too far ahead," he said. "I looked past the unranked team."

There's no rewriting history. Funny Cide won the Kentucky Derby and has gone on to become racing's brightest star. Empire Maker, the horse who many thought was ready to play that role, underachieved in the Derby, even though he finished second. Funny Cide is shooting for the Triple Crown. All Empire Maker can achieve is revenge.

But Frankel is convinced that it didn't have to be that way. He believes he was so overconfident that he didn't properly prepare his horse for an assignment that proved to be more difficult than he imagined. He, too, got caught up in the hype.

The hysteria reached a new level after Empire Maker won the Florida Derby by 9 3/4 lengths, at which time Frankel started to think about more than the Kentucky Derby. He envisioned a possible Triple Crown sweep and began to plan accordingly. The goal was not just to win the Kentucky Derby, but to save something for the Preakness and Belmont. That's what got him in trouble.

Frankel wanted to win the Wood Memorial, but he wanted an easy race that he thought would leave him with a fresh horse. Empire Maker and rider Jerry Bailey followed orders, winning by a half-length over Funny Cide in what appeared to be a rather effortless performance.

"Instead of worrying about Jerry winning the Wood by a neck, I should have told him to let the horse roll," he said. "But once it's over, there's no use second-guessing yourself."

In the ensuing three weeks between the Wood and the Derby, Frankel continued down the same path. His training routine was conservative. The screws were not tightened.

"I only worked him once between the Wood and the Derby and that's because I was looking ahead," he said. "Even when he worked, we could've let him finish stronger. Even though he worked fast, I needed to let him do something more."

Anyone who saw Empire Maker win the Florida Derby and the Wood Memorial knows that wasn't the same horse who plodded his way around Churchill Downs and never delivered the expected kick. It was his class that got him second-place money and nothing else. Frankel, careful not to deflect any credit from Funny Cide, nonetheless believes he so undertrained his horse that Empire Maker wasn't fit enough or sharp enough to get the job done.

"Somebody with my experience shouldn't have been worried about any races other than the Kentucky Derby," he said. "I've should have gone for that race and worried about the rest later."

This Kentucky Derby may be over with, but there's plenty of time left to prove that Empire Maker is as good as many, Frankel included, believed. There are several major races left on the calendar and since Empire Maker and Funny Cide are both based in New York they should meet each other a few more times this year. But it is the Belmont that could be the defining race of Empire Maker's career. Frankel has been more aggressive with his training and vows that the real Empire Maker will show up Saturday. Will that be good enough? There's little doubt that he thinks it will. He had steadfastly maintained since the Derby that he still believes that Empire Maker is a better horse than Funny Cide.

"(Funny Cide) ran a great race in the Derby and he turned out to be a lot better horse than everybody thought he was, myself included," he said. "He caught me by surprise, but he won't catch me by surprise again...He's dead fit for this race. I didn't baby him. He's ready now."

It's time for Empire Maker and Bobby Frankel to step up and deliver. Frankel says there will be no excuses this time; he has learned a painful lesson. The bruised foot is ancient news and Frankel has been given five weeks to prepare a horse for a peak performance. This one is about redemption, for the horse and for his trainer.