Shortly after Janis Whitham put horses into Carl Nafzger’s barn in 2004, the Hall of Fame trainer began to scale back his operation, eventually turning his stable over to his longtime assistant, Ian Wilkes.

Whitham is a fixture in the Thoroughbred business. With her husband, Frank, she campaigned two-time Breeders’ Cup Distaff winner and female champion Bayakoa. And according to her son, Clay, she never thought about moving her horses out of Wilkes’s barn after Nafzger retired.

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – Biz Biz Buzz, who showed a surprising turn of early foot to get back to the winner’s circle following a prolonged absence earlier this month, will try to duplicate the effort when taking on 10 rivals under similar high-priced optional claiming and allowance conditions going five furlongs on the turf in Friday’s $97,000 feature at Gulfstream Park.

HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – Speed Bias will have recency on probable favorite Magic Tap when the Grade 3-placed runners meet in Friday’s featured ninth race at Oaklawn Park.

The conditioned allowance is for 4-year-olds and up over 1 1/8 miles. The field of eight includes Black Powder, who won a second-level allowance in his last start Jan. 5, and Masqueparade, a Grade 3 winner of more than $900,000.

Burnham Square

Gelding by Liam’s Map – Linda, by Scat Daddy

Bred in Kentucky by Whitham Thoroughbreds

Burnham Square, winner of the Grade 3 Holy Bull, looks to take the next step on Gulfstream’s path to the Kentucky Derby in Saturday’s Grade 2 Fountain of Youth. The Liam’s Map gelding is a third-generation homebred for Whitham Thoroughbreds.

Coal Battle locked up a spot in the Kentucky Derby with his win in the Grade 2 Rebel last Sunday at Oaklawn Park. Whether he goes straight to the classic or has one more prep in the Arkansas Derby is a decision that will be made after the horse settles back into his training routine, said trainer Lonnie Briley.

“You think all the time,” Briley said of a trainer’s approach to a stable. “I tell everybody it’s 30 hours a day, eight days a week. If you’re not doing it, you’re thinking it.”

Trainer Robert Falcone Jr. hopes the stretch out in distance will help Prove Worthy handle the step up in class when he sends out the 5-year-old gelding in a first-level allowance/optional $45,000 claiming race going 1 1/4 miles Friday at Aqueduct.

In the spring of his 3-year-old year, when in the barn of Todd Pletcher, Prove Worthy won a 1 1/4-mile maiden race at Churchill Downs. He has gradually moved down the ladder having been claimed by Falcone for $25,000 last summer at Saratoga.

California Burrito’s résumé has looked better over time as horses he tangled with last year have come back with strong efforts. And now, with less than 10 weeks to the Kentucky Derby, he has further burnished his credentials.

California Burrito won the John Battaglia Memorial last Saturday night at Turfway Park, putting himself at the forefront of the Florence, Ky., track’s road to the Derby.

ARCADIA, Calif. – Handicapping paradoxes abound Friday at Santa Anita.

Those include lone speed on a closers-friendly turf course, a first-time Lasix user who might be distance challenged, and a low figure earned in a productive race. How should bettors cope with conflicting factors? By insisting on a fair price. That won’t happen the final two races.

Citizen Bull, the Bob Baffert-trained 2024 champion juvenile male and favorite in the Daily Racing Form Derby Watch Top 20, remains on target for the Grade 1 Santa Anita Derby on April 5.

Citizen Bull looked strong in a solo work Feb. 23 at Santa Anita, going six furlongs in 1:13. Baeza, a half-brother to Mage and Dornoch, was scheduled to work this week, his first drill since an impressive maiden win Feb. 14. Baeza, trained by John Shirreffs, also is aiming to the Santa Anita Derby.

Is it too soon to give up on Gaming? A Grade 1 winner and second in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile, Gaming fell off the Derby radar when he disappointed in two subsequent starts. After finishing a distant third in the Grade 2 Los Alamitos Futurity, Gaming broke poorly and finished eighth in the Grade 3 Southwest Stakes on Jan. 25 at Oaklawn Park. He needed a freshening.

“I was disappointed his last two outs, so I just backed off a little bit,” trainer Bob Baffert said.