HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – Trainer Graham Motion thought enough of Affirmative Lady to run her twice as a maiden in stakes races. After nearly pulling off an upset in the Grade 2 Demoiselle then regressing some in the Busanda – both at Aqueduct – Affirmative Lady finally got her maiden victory on Feb. 26.

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – For six of the eight horses entered in Saturday’s Grade 2, $200,000 Pan American Stakes at Gulfstream Park, it has been at least eight months since they visited the winner’s circle. For the two whose victories have come more recently, they are suspect at the 1 1/2 miles of this turf race.

That should make for fun times handicapping the Pan Am, which runs as race 5 on Gulfstream’s 14-race marathon Florida Derby program.

HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – Wicked Halo will make her first start since the Breeders’ Cup against millionaire Matareya in a rousing inaugural edition of the $250,000 Matron on Friday at Oaklawn Park.

The six-furlong race for fillies and mares marks the start of the annual Racing Festival of the South. The Oaklawn series comprises 13 open-company stakes over various dates through April 29. The stakes are worth a combined $6 million. The richest of them is Saturday’s Grade 1, $1.25 million Arkansas Derby.

HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – Kavod took co-owner Michael Robinson on a Grade 1 ride last April when he ran in the Arkansas Derby.

The horse, who finished fifth, was one of the first runners owned by the 46-year-old family practitioner from Sayre, Okla.

Robinson will again see action in the Arkansas Derby on Saturday, as the co-owner of Two Eagles River.

How fast did Derma Sotogake run Saturday when he dazzled in the UAE Derby? The colt’s time was the second-fastest UAE Derby since the race moved to Meydan and lengthened to 1 3/16 miles in 2010.

But compared to the Dubai World Cup time, Derma Sotogake probably ran “faster” than UAE Derby winner Mendelssohn, who won in a record 1:55.19 over a quick Meydan surface in 2018. That year, Thunder Snow won the 1 1/4-mile Dubai World Cup in 2:01.38, fastest at Meydan.

ARCADIA, Calif. – Traditional beliefs about weather and class handicapping are being revised this season at Santa Anita.

Contrary to the 1972 hit song, it always rains in Southern California. Another storm in a series of storms arrived midweek, creating uncertain conditions Friday at Santa Anita, where three of the eight races are scheduled for turf.

Mr Brightside was 19-1 when he won his first Group 1 in the Doncaster Mile at Royal Randwick Racecourse in Sydney, Australia, last year.

Despite losses in six subsequent appearances in Group 1 races, the 5-year-old Mr Brightside will start favored in a field of 20 in the $2.6 million Doncaster Mile on Friday evening.

Mr Brightside ended a six-race losing streak since the Group 2 Feehan Stakes in September with a half-length victory in the $3.32 million All-Star Mile at Moonee Valley Racecourse on March 18.

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – Winning a race like Friday’s $87,000 main event at Gulfstream Park with a talented filly like Spirit Wind is special for any trainer. But winning this particular race will mean more than usual to her trainer, Ralph Nicks, in light of the recent passing of Spirit Wind’s owner-breeder Fred Brei.

HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – The first Saturday in April is Frank Fletcher’s first Saturday in May.

The owner of Rocket Can is seeking to win the Arkansas Derby on Saturday at Oaklawn Park. It’s the dream he’s been chasing since he got into racing in 1989.

“This is why I race,” Fletcher said.

“I was born in Arkansas, and I’ve lived here all my life. Oaklawn is my very favorite track and what makes racing fun is for all the people you know joining you in the celebration. We’ve got friends coming from one end of Arkansas to the other for this race.”

Chad Summers had a proud papa moment last Saturday when he watched Derma Sotogake win the $1 million UAE Derby at Meydan by 5 1/2 lengths. Summers trained Mind Your Biscuits, the sire of Derma Sotogake. Though Mind Your Biscuits was a New York-bred champion sprinter, Summers had always felt he could have successfully stretched out in distance.

“To see one of his offspring do it and make it to the Kentucky Derby is pretty cool,” Summers said.