For more than two years, Buccherino has benefited from an astounding home-field advantage at Parx Racing, where he has won 6 of 7 starts for trainer Alfredo Velazquez. He will return to those familiar confines in the $75,000 Blitzen Stakes on Wednesday. “I think he’s going to do good because he likes Parx,” Velazquez said. “The competition isn’t as tough, and I like the seven-eighths for him.” In September, Velazquez was forlorn in the winner’s circle after the $150,000 Parx Sprint, when he discovered that Buccherino suffered a hoof injury after a 1 1/2-length victory. He feared that the setback would cost the colt the rest of his 4-year-old season, but in November, he returned with a runner-up finish in the Grade 3 Bold Ruler at Aqueduct. “First start back, he probably wasn’t 100 percent,” Velazquez said. “I was really happy with the performance.” Back home at Parx after a game performance in graded stakes company, Buccherino will almost certainly vie for favoritism in the field of eight. Though he has never tried seven furlongs, he has won four times at 6 1/2 furlongs at Parx, giving Velazquez little to worry about for a colt returning to full strength. :: Access the most trusted data and information in horse racing! DRF Past Performances and Picks are available now. Trainer Butch Reid entered two runners in the Blitzen, including 5-2 morning-line favorite Maximus Meridius. In November, the 4-year-old gelding returned from a two-month layoff to win the $75,000 Let’s Give Thanks. “He’s still got a bad habit of waiting on horses. So when he wins, he doesn’t win by real far. But he’s a strong horse and he’s training up to this one very, very well. We’re expecting a good effort,” said Reid, who also entered Global Steve, the only 3-year-old in the field, who’s coming off a dull effort on turf in the Carle Place. The runner-up and third-place finisher in the Let’s Give Thanks, Howgreatisnate and Paradise Valley, also are entered in the Blitzen. Mrs. Claus Stakes When 3-year-old filly Boutwell Time entered Juan Carlos Guerrero’s barn at Parx in the spring, the trainer worried that she would never be able to regain her once-promising form. On Wednesday, she will make her stakes debut as a solid contender in the $75,000 Mrs. Claus Stakes. Early on, Guerrero observed that his filly was extremely nervous and thinner than he would have liked. His doubts about her form were confirmed in July, when she finished sixth by 20 1/2 lengths in her first start at Parx. He quickly put her back on the shelf with more work to do. “My owner kept telling me that she won a $100,000 [maiden-claiming race at Churchill Downs] and she’s a nice filly, but I just didn’t know where she was from her works and stuff,” Guerrero said. “So I gave her a little time, just training lighter in company with a 2-year-old. And then I decided to really work her for the first time in a while, and she gave me a really good workout. I was like, ‘Whoa.’ ” After an encouraging runner-up finish off the bench, Boutwell Time exploded in a starter/optional-claiming race at Parx in November, an 11 1/2-length romp in which she earned an 85 Beyer Speed Figure. On Dec. 12, she and apprentice rider Jeriel Catala shipped to Laurel Park and won a similar race by 8 1/4 lengths. Since finding herself on the track, the filly’s improvement in the barn has been just as remarkable. She has gained weight, and Guerrero’s wife, Lisa, can now pet her freely in her stall. She also will hesitantly accept candy and other treats, something that would have been impossible over the summer. Guerrero’s wife also takes credit for finding the Mrs. Claus for Boutwell Time, though the trainer wants to continue targeting conditioned allowances. Foxy Junior, a four-time stakes winner trained by Bernie Houghton, is the 5-2 morning-line favorite from the outside post in the field of 10. After a disappointing third in the $100,000 Maryland Million Distaff, the 5-year-old mare bounced back to win a $55,000 allowance at Parx in November. “I wanted to get an allowance for her to get back on schedule with the Lasix and all that,” Houghton said. “That’s why I found that nice allowance race for her. I tried to get her in another one, but we’re going to try and give her a stakes now. She seems to be doing real good.” Kris Kringle Stakes A highly familiar group of contenders will square off in the $75,000 Kris Kringle Stakes on Wednesday. The top three finishers from the $75,000 Turkey Trot will all stretch out to 1 1/16 miles, including Call Me Fast, who could end up as the tepid favorite for Jamie Ness, who also entered Wild Vine, winner of a Laurel allowance. “Looks like a kind of wide-open race, really,” Ness said. “Everybody seems like they’ve got a little bit of a shot. It’s a good betting race, put it that way.” Call Me Fast quickly became a stakes contender at Parx off an impressive allowance win before the Turkey Trot. Once a graded stakes contender, Ness seems to have rediscovered some of the gelding’s old form. In the Kris Kringle, he will be rematched with Ninetyprcentmaddie, who finished a head behind last time out for Butch Reid. “He’s always a strong training horse and you can tell when he’s going to run as good one,” Reid said. “He really came into the last race in good shape, and he gave a good effort for himself. I’m looking for the same thing again this week.” :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.