KENTUCKY DERBY : Latest From Lukas on Serena’s Song: She’ll Be Running : Horse racing: Trainer reverses himself one more time, saying filly will be in the big race. It’s uncertain whether Nakatani will be her jockey.

Reversing himself for at least the third time, trainer Wayne Lukas said Saturday that Serena’s Song, a filly who has earned $1.2 million, will run in next Saturday’s Kentucky Derby.

Lukas, who won the 1988 Derby with Winning Colors, only the third filly to win the race, has agonized over the decision for months as Serena’s Song’s winning streak has reached five races. The filly’s only loss in the last seven starts came at Churchill Downs in November when her stablemate, Flanders, won by a head in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies. Serena’s Song beat a weak field of males in the Jim Beam Stakes at Turfway Park on April 1.

“She’s got a legitimate chance to win the race, so let’s give it a roll,” Lukas said. “She’s hickory tough, and she’s never been better. I’ve got her as good as I’ve ever had her right now. This should add a lot of pizazz to the Derby.”

Late last week, Lukas seemed almost certain that he would run Serena’s Song in the Kentucky Oaks, Churchill Downs’ premier race for 3-year-old fillies, which will be run Friday. He was so certain about the Oaks that Corey Nakatani, who rides Serena’s Song, accepted the mount on In Character for the Derby.

It was unclear late Saturday whether Bruce Jackson would release Nakatani to ride Serena’s Song. Before Lukas announced his Derby decision during a nationally televised interview from Churchill Downs, Jackson said: “I don’t care what Lukas does, I’ve got a call from Nakatani to ride my horse.”

Bob Meldahl, Nakatani’s agent, said that he will be talking with Jackson. “I’ll try to clear things up,” Meldahl said.

Lukas also was not sure that Nakatani would ride Serena’s Song. “We’re offering the filly to Nakatani to ride, and they’ll have to sort things out from there,” Lukas said. “When I told Meldahl that he could shop around for a Derby mount, I said that he should leave a crack open with anybody that he gave a call to, because there was still a chance that we’d run the filly in the Derby.”

With Serena’s Song in the Derby, Talkin Man, the Wood Memorial winner, will be dislodged as the race favorite. Serena’s Song and Lukas’ colt, Timber Country, will run as a betting entry because Bob and Beverly Lewis own the filly and one-third of Timber Country, who won the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile at Churchill Downs in November.

Thunder Gulch, the Florida Derby winner and another Lukas starter in the Kentucky Derby, will not be coupled with the other two horses because of separate ownership.

Lukas said that the decision on Serena’s Song was made Friday night, after the Lewises arrived in Louisville. Lukas was asked about Serena’s Song’s status at the barn Saturday morning, but parried the questions and waited for his interview with ABC several hours later.

“I laid all the cards on the table, and the Lewises were comfortable with running in the Derby,” Lukas said. “They’ll have the chance to flirt with greatness. They threw the ball into my court when it came time to make the final decision.”

Horse Racing Notes

A field of 19 horses is expected for the Kentucky Derby. These are the probables: Serena’s Song, Timber Country, Thunder Gulch, Jumron, Afternoon Deelites, Lake George, In Character, Dazzling Falls, Wild Syn, Suave Prospect, Tejano Run, Jambalaya Jazz, Pyramid Peak, Talkin Man, Knockadoon, Mecke, Eltish, Citadeed and Ski Captain. Besides the Lukas coupling, another two-horse entry will be Jambalaya Jazz and Pyramid Peak. . . . The $100,000 Derby Trial, run Saturday at Churchill Downs, produced one candidate for the Preakness, the middle leg in the Triple Crown, and probably discouraged a few others from running at Pimlico on May 20. Peaks And Valleys, the 5-2 second choice ridden by Pat Day, won the one-mile race by a half-length over Our Gatsby and is headed for either the Preakness or the Illinois Derby. Our Gatsby finished three lengths in front of Strategic Intent. The rest of the order of finish was Mr. Greeley, Muhtafal, Houston Sunrise and Stark Ridge. Adams Trail was scratched. Muhtafal, who led for six furlongs in 1:10 4/5, was the 13-10 favorite. Peaks and Valleys’ time was 1:36 2/5.