Four-time defending champ back

Fonner Park's second weekend of racing is the traditional slot for the $10,000 Grasmick Stakes, a race Leaping Plum won seven consecutive times.

Leaping Plum will lead the Grasmick post parade Saturday. Now 19, Leaping Plum won this race from 1995 to 2001 and again in 2003 to claim his eighth Grasmick.

In 2004, Tonight Rainbow, a member of Saturday's field, began his rise to dominance by winning the Grasmick. He lost the race in 2005 but has won the last four runnings while building a strong following in Nebraska.

An 11-year-old, Tonight Rainbow has not raced since finishing second in the Route 66 Stakes at Fair Meadows Tulsa last summer. Trainer Boyd Caster has been working him steadily for his title defense. Scott Young will be in to ride.

Tonight Rainbow should go favored as he seeks to improve on his 13-1-4 mark from 23 starts over the five-furlong Fonner Park oval. Tonight Rainbow has earned $386,731 with an overall record of 22-14-8 from 73 starts.