HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – The undefeated Gemologist is closing in on his 3-year-old debut, which will come next Saturday in the Grade 2, $500,000 Rebel at Oaklawn Park. Trainer Todd Pletcher said the horse is scheduled to work Sunday at Palm Meadows training center in south Florida, then fly into Arkansas on Wednesday. Javier Castellano has the mount in the Rebel, which as of Friday was looking like it could have a maximum gate of 14.

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – Trainer Pat Byrne confirmed Friday that he would scratch Take Charge Indy from Saturday’s Grade 2 Tampa Bay Derby to await the $1 million Florida Derby at Gulfstream Park on March 31.

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – The Florida Derby is not the only important Kentucky Derby prep left on the local racing schedule this winter. The $150,000 Palm Beach Stakes may be carded on the grass, but it could well have Derby implications with both Dullahan and Howe Great among the six 3-year-olds set to go 1 1/8 miles Sunday at Gulfstream Park.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Hansen was scheduled to ship early Saturday from Turfway Park to Louisville in time to train over the Trackside training center, where the champion colt will be based until making his next start, likely in the April 7 Wood Memorial at Aqueduct.

Mike Maker, the trainer of Hansen, said Friday that he is consolidating many of his horses back to Trackside, located just a few miles away from Churchill Downs. Both Trackside and Churchill reopened Friday after the customary winter maintenance break of about 10 weeks.

Countdown to the Crown returns for a seventh season online as one of the most comprehensive handicapper’s scouting reports of the 3-year-old scene. Posted each Friday at DRF.com from Jan. 6 through the Belmont Stakes, Countdown keeps you apprised of the rising stars of the 3-year-old class from the maiden ranks through the Grade 1 stakes. You can access daily updates and interactive features at Countdowntothecrown.com as well.

Romancing the Gold, who won a first-level allowance race at Aqueduct on Wednesday, could possibly make his next start in the $1 million Wood Memorial on April 7, trainer Jeremiah Englehart said Thursday.

Bouncing back from a sixth-place finish in this same condition on Feb. 3, Romancing the Gold won Wednesday by one length, running a mile and 70 yards in 1:44.73, and earned a Beyer Speed Figure of 78.

Englehart said that Romancing the Gold came out of his previous race with a muscle strain.

ARCADIA, Calif. – A handicapping conundrum as old as the sport comes front and center Saturday at Santa Anita in the Grade 2, $300,000 San Felipe Stakes, when the raw, yet untested talent of Bodemeister takes on stakes-proven runners such as Creative Cause and Liaison in this key prep for both the April 7 Santa Anita Derby and the May 5 Kentucky Derby.

ARCADIA, Calif. - Brother Francis, third in the Grade 1 CashCall Futurity at Hollywood Park in December, will be heavily favored to win a maiden race over a mile on turf in Saturday’s second race.

Trainer Jim Cassidy envisions Saturday’s maiden race as a prep for the $750,000 Santa Anita Derby on April 7, whether Brother Francis wins or loses. Another option would have been the much tougher $300,000 San Felipe Stakes for 3-year-olds over 1 1/16 miles on Saturday.

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – The winter hasn’t gone quite as smoothly as trainer Jonathan Sheppard had hoped for Ever So Lucky, but the Hall of Fame horseman will finally take the wraps off his top 3-year-old prospect when sending him out against nine rivals in Saturday’s Grade 3, $150,000 Swale at Gulfstream Park.

Less than a month ago, the undefeated but relatively inexperienced Spring Hill Farm was well down on the depth chart of trainer Todd Pletcher’s potent team of Kentucky Derby prospects. But after two of Pletcher’s principal players, Algorithms and Discreet Dancer, recently dropped off the Derby trail, Spring Hill Farm suddenly finds himself one of the starting five and hoping to impress his coach even further with another big performance in Saturday’s $350,000 Tampa Bay Derby.