There is no obvious feature race at Gulfstream Park on Friday. However, betting opportunities abound in mostly competitive events, and the second and third races make it worthwhile to arrive early for the nine-race card, which begins at 12:40 p.m. Eastern.

WHO’S HOT

Tapit Trice produced a career-best performance Saturday at Keeneland, where he won the Blue Grass Stakes by a neck. The win lifts Tapit Trice from borderline participant in the Kentucky Derby to legitimate contender. Tapit Trice is the 5-1 second choice on the Derby Watch early odds line by David Aragona; Forte is the 3-1 favorite.

Kenny McPeek can keep everybody else jammed up if he wants. There’s no looming timetable as to when the veteran trainer must decide whether Sun Thunder will be entered in the May 6 Kentucky Derby, and he can take pretty much all the time he needs.

Sun Thunder, a no-factor fourth by 6 1/2 lengths as a 13-1 shot last Saturday in the Blue Grass Stakes at Keeneland, is in the Derby if so desired. Owned by R.T. Racing Stable and Cypress Creek Equine, the son of uber-sire Into Mischief is 14th on the list of qualifiers with 54 points, safely above the 20-horse cutoff.

LEXINGTON, Ky. – Emmanuel is a colt of upward mobility with back-to-back Grade 3 wins to start his year. Speaking Scout and In Love already are Grade 1 winners. Chez Pierre is 5 for 6 in a career of promise.

Up to the Mark is unbeaten on grass for Todd Pletcher, and Dr Zempf seems to have unlimited potential for Chad Brown. And Cabo Spirit is a three-time stakes winner out West.

HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – Protege might get an ideal setup Friday when he cuts back to one turn for the featured eighth race at Oaklawn Park. The first-level allowance is for 3-year-olds at six furlongs.

Protege could get a stalking trip behind Easy Action, Call Me Q, and Ryvit. The horses are part of a field of nine.

LEXINGTON, Ky. – There was celebration at Stonestreet Farm last week when homebred Dreaming of Julia was honored as Kentucky’s Broodmare of the Year. And the party may not be over yet.

Dreaming of Julia, the dam of Eclipse Award champion Malathaat, was named Broodmare of the Year at the Kentucky Thoroughbred Association and Kentucky Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders awards dinner April 5 in Lexington. Two days later, her Grade 2-winning daughter Julia Shining added a Grade 1 placing to her résumé when a close third in the Grade 1 Ashland Stakes at Keeneland.

Dontlookbackatall, who showed promise in three starts as a 2-year-old, makes her sophomore debut in a first-level allowance race that will serve as the feature race at Gulfstream Park on Thursday.

The one-mile race on turf for 3-year-old fillies drew eight horses and goes as the seventh race on an eight-race card that gets underway at 12:40 p.m. Eastern. There is a $75,000 claiming option available in the feature, with Fast Kimmie the only horse in for the price.

OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Congruent, winner of the John Battaglia Memorial earlier this year at Turfway Park, has been transferred from Antonio Sano to Chad Brown by his owners.

Brown said he has no immediate plans for Congruent, who has raced on all three surfaces – dirt, turf, and synthetic. He won the off-the-turf Laurel Futurity last fall at Laurel Park. He raced three times on turf, with a third-place finish in the Pulpit Stakes at Gulfstream Park in December his best finish on that surface. Most recently, he finished sixth in the Jeff Ruby Steaks on the Tapeta at Turfway.

OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Following his fourth-place finish in Saturday’s Grade 2 Wood Memorial, Arctic Arrogance is basically out of the Kentucky Derby picture. His 36 qualifying points leave him 27th on the list, needing seven defections to get into the field.

Trainer Linda Rice said she will likely back Arctic Arrogance up in distance anyway, which opens up several different options. One could be the Pat Day Mile at Churchill Downs on the May 6 Kentucky Derby undercard.

OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Plans for Doppelganger are fluid after the 4-year-old colt pulled off a 17-1 upset in Saturday’s Grade 1 Carter Handicap at Aqueduct.

The win, which came by 1 1/4 lengths over heavily favored Repo Rocks, was the third straight for the son of Into Mischief, all since coming to Maryland-based trainer Brittany Russell. His wins have come from seven furlongs to 1 1/16 miles, which leaves open the possibility of stretching him back out in distance at some point, according Tom Ryan, managing partner of SF Racing, which owns the colt in partnership.