ARCADIA, Calif. - There was a minor element of mystery surrounding a five-furlong workout by the 3-year-old Intrepido at Santa Anita on Sunday, but only because of brief weather conditions.

Intrepido, scheduled to start in the Grade 1 Santa Anita Derby on April 4, worked five furlongs in 1:00.40 at dawn. Trainer Jeff Mullins said later in the morning that the workout met his satisfaction, at least the part he could witness.

“It was foggy,” Mullins said. “We couldn’t see much.”

Visibility improved through the morning as the fog lifted.

HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – Jockeys Ramon Vazquez and Cristian Torres, who are battling it out atop the standings at Oaklawn Park, will be based on different circuits after the meet wraps on May 2.

Vazquez is Oaklawn’s current leading rider with 44 wins. His mounts have earned $2.2 million. Cody Autrey, the agent for Vazquez, said the rider will head to Lone Star Park near Dallas after this meet ends. Lone Star opens April 16 and races through July 12.

HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – Oaklawn Park will have a special entry date for the Grade 1, $1.5 million Arkansas Derby, which will be held on March 28, according to track racing secretary Pat Pope.

Pope said entries for the 1 1/8-mile race will be taken on Saturday. Entries for the remainder of the March 28 card will be taken Sunday.

“What’s new is that the Arkansas Derby will be drawn on the day before, and the rest of the Derby card will be taken on Sunday,” Pope said.

Tammy Johns of Meridian, Idaho, leads a field of 83 entries still eligible for the title of Horseplayer of the Year heading into the final day of National Horseplayers Championship on Sunday at Horseshoe Las Vegas.

The field of 828 entries was cut to the top 10 percent after two days of contest play on Saturday. Under the contest rules, players make mythical $2 win and place wagers on races from an array of tracks selected by the contest organizers. Some of the races are mandatory for all players.

Sunday’s $1 Coast-to-Coast Pick Five, featuring three races at Gulfstream Park and two from Santa Anita, has a carryover of $119,873.

There is also a carryover of $32,101 in Sunday’s $2 pick six at Santa Anita, which covers the fourth through ninth races on a nine-race program that begins at 1 p.m. Pacific. The bet has fields of 5, 9, 5, 10, 7 and 10.

There is a carryover of $47,002 in the $1 Sunset Six, which covers the final three races at Gulfstream Park and Santa Anita.

OLDSMAR, Fla. - Now that The Puma has confirmed his connections’ belief that he is a Kentucky Derby horse, they will spend the coming week or so figuring out the best route to get him to the May 2 Run for the Roses. 

The Puma earned his way into the Kentucky Derby with a three-quarter-length victory in Saturday’s Grade 3 Tampa Bay Derby at Tampa Bay Downs. With 56 qualifying points - he also got six points for his third in the Sam Davis - The Puma, a maiden entering the Tampa Bay Derby, should comfortably make the Churchill Downs starting gate. 

ARCADIA, Calif. - Potente’s game win in Saturday’s Grade 2 San Felipe Stakes at Santa Anita has made the undefeated colt a leading contender in the Grade 1 Santa Anita Derby on April 4, should trainer Bob Baffert select that race.

If Potente starts in the $500,000 Santa Anita Derby at 1 1/8 miles, he may face a familiar lineup of runners. The trainers of Robusta, So Happy and Secured Freedom, who finished second through fourth in the $201,000 San Felipe Stakes at 1 1/16 miles, are also considering the Santa Anita Derby, the leading Kentucky Derby prep race in California.