LEXINGTON, Ky. – He already has Forte as the Kentucky Derby favorite, with Kingsbarns as a backup. Next up for Todd Pletcher is putting the finishing touches on another hot prospect, Tapit Trice, in lining up the troops for the first Saturday in May.

ARCADIA, Calif. – Spring finally arrived at Santa Anita, where the disruptions during a wet winter were matched by instability among Santa Anita Derby and Kentucky Derby aspirants.

More than 34 inches of rain this season led to the cancellation or rescheduling of eight racing programs since opening day on Dec. 26, as horsemen juggled workouts and races around the weather. The chaos filtered into the California 3-year-old division.

LEXINGTON, Ky. – Caravel, one of three 2022 Breeders’ Cup winners returning to host track Keeneland this week, is looking for her third consecutive victory on this turf course as she headlines the field for the Grade 2, $350,000 Shakertown Stakes. However, the presence of the reigning Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint winner has scared no one away. There is a full field of 12, plus one also-eligible, for the 5 1/2-furlong tilt, and Caravel is the only female in the field.

LEXINGTON, Ky. – Conventional wisdom is that Breeders’ Cup winners making their first start back following a layoff are perennially overestimated. That would seem to apply to Goodnight Olive returning from a five-month rest Saturday in the Grade 1 Madison Stakes, but Chad Brown doesn’t necessarily agree.

“She hasn’t missed a beat,” Brown said of Goodnight Olive, who will make her 5-year-old debut as a heavy favorite in the $600,000 Madison. “She’s had a really nice winter.”

Five Star General might have a tactical advantage Saturday night when he runs in the $100,000 Evangeline Downs Mile.

“It looks like he could be the controlling pace,” said trainer Grant Forster.

A field of seven is set for Evangeline’s signature race, which is for 4-year-olds and up. It will be showcased on a card that includes the $60,000 Lafayette for 3-year-olds at six furlongs. First post is 5:30 p.m. Central.

LEXINGTON, Ky. – Florida invaders will dominate the pre-race speculation into the Grade 2 Appalachian Stakes.

Pleasant Passage, runner-up in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf last fall at Keeneland, will make her seasonal debut Saturday versus eight other 3-year-old fillies in the $400,000 Appalachian after finishing off her winter training in Florida for Hall of Fame trainer Shug McGaughey.

OZONE PARK, N.Y. – After Occult successfully stretched out to 1 1/8 miles winning the Busher Invitational at Aqueduct in January, trainer Chad Brown was faced with the dilemma of shortening the filly up, shipping out of New York, or waiting nearly three months to run her back at the same distance.

HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – Midnight Taxes and King Peanut rank among the most impressive Arkansas-bred maiden winners of the Oaklawn Park meet and on Saturday the pair will meet for the first time in the $150,000 Rainbow.

The six-furlong race is for 3-year-olds bred in Arkansas. It shares a card with its counterpart for fillies, the $150,000 Rainbow Miss.

Midnight Taxes was a four-length winner of a maiden special weight over older rivals Feb. 25, while King Peanut won his debut by seven lengths in a maiden for 2-year-olds in December.

OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Trainer George Weaver believes Pass the Champagne has a solid, albeit short, run. It just has to be timed correctly.

Weaver hopes jockey Jose Lezcano can time it right Friday when Pass the Champagne runs in the Grade 3, $150,000 Distaff Handicap, a seven-furlong race for fillies and mares at Aqueduct.

The Distaff is the featured event on an eight-race card that also is marked by the return of grass racing to this circuit, with three such events.

With six Group 1 wins since August, Anamoe is certain to be named Australian Horse of the Year for the current 2022-23 season.

Anamoe has a chance to equal Winx’s record of seven Group 1 wins in a year in the $3.36 million Queen Elizabeth Stakes at 1 1/4 miles at Royal Randwick Racecourse in Sydney on Friday evening. Winx reached the milestone in the 2018-19 season.