History repeats itself

Saluteloot made a strong case for deja vu, winning the $50,000 April Run Stakes at Pimlico under identical conditions as the year before.

A year and a day after the April Run, a 1 1/2-mile race for fillies and mares, was taken off the turf and contested over 1 1/4 miles in the slop, the same thing happened again. Saluteloot ($7.40) nipped Polly Jo by a nose, finishing in 2:06.40.

In between the two victories, the 6-year-old Saluteloot, owned by Phyllis Dixon and trained by Tim Ritchey, had lost nine times.

Saluteloot is only 7 for 43 lifetime, but five of her wins have come on wet tracks.