Mike Smith has chosen to ride Omaha Beach in the Kentucky Derby, trainer Richard Mandella announced Tuesday afternoon.

"I just got the call," Mandella said. "We're good. Mike Smith. I'm very happy."

Smith had ridden Omaha Beach to victory in the Arkansas Derby last Saturday at Oaklawn Park. Seven days earlier, Smith had ridden Bob Baffert-trained Roadster to victory in the Santa Anita Derby. Those two colts are among the top two in this year's Kentucky Derby on May 4 at Churchill Downs, so the choice was a difficult one for Smith and his agent, Brad Pegram.

LEXINGTON, Ky. -- A group of racing companies that includes Churchill Downs, Keeneland, and the New York Racing Association are in discussions on a plan to prohibit the raceday use of furosemide in races for 2-year-olds and in stakes races, according to three officials with knowledge of the discussions.

Kentucky Derby 2019 point standings

Leaderboard for qualifying points to the 2019 Kentucky Derby, which will be run at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Ky., on Saturday, May 4, 2019. Points are earned by the top four finishers in designated Kentucky Derby prep races.

Janice (Traister) Norwesh, 57, died Tuesday after a long battle against ovarian cancer. 

As a teenager, Norwesh was initially interested in becoming a veterinarian and entered University of Kentucky as a pre-veterinary medical student. A year later, however, a friend talked her into becoming an exercise rider.

Norwesh left school, moved to the East Coast, and soon began riding in New York.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The fourth and final pool in the 2019 Kentucky Derby Future Wager was reflective indeed of the outlook for the May 4 race, with Roadster a narrow favorite over a cluster of others when the customary three-day wagering window closed Sunday at 6 p.m. Eastern.

Roadster closed at 6-1 and was followed closely by Maximum Security (7-1), Game Winner (7-1), Tacitus (8-1), Improbable (8-1), Omaha Beach (10-1), and Vekoma (15-1). The lowest $2 exacta will-pay was Roadster over Game Winner (17-8), worth $72.80.

JACK Entertainment, the owner of Turfway Park in Northern Kentucky, has reached an agreement to sell the track’s operating assets to Hard Rock International, the casino and restaurant operator, in a transaction that also includes the sale of JACK’s casino in Cincinnati, according to the parties involved.

Both turf sprints scheduled for the hillside course Thursday at Santa Anita will be run under new conditions. Race 1 is now a six and one-half furlong dirt race; race 8 is now a mile on turf. Below is a preview of the card, prior to scratches …

Race 1 – Sir Eddie (5) is favored in this Cal-bred maiden race; the surface switch is not an issue. He reproduced the top figure of his career, 81 Beyer, three back in his most recent start on dirt. What is a problem is his penchant for finishing second. In 13 starts, Sir Eddie has six seconds, three thirds.

Hoffa’s Union, scheduled to run in the Wood Memorial on Saturday, is one of four 3-year-olds who were made late nominees to the Triple Crown via a payment of $6,000 that was due on Monday, Churchill Downs, the home of the Kentucky Derby, announced on Wednesday.

Hoffa’s Union was a runaway winner against maidens at Laurel before being purchased privately by a partnership that includes Gary Barber and Adam Wachtel. He is now trained by Mark Casse.

Sunland Park Derby runner-up Anothertwistafate will remain at the El Paso, N.M.-area track in light training rather than return to his home base at Golden Gate Fields, where a quarantine has been placed on one of the barns of his trainer.

Jose Ortiz will take over as the rider on Improbable when he makes his final start before the Kentucky Derby in the Grade 1, $1 million Arkansas Derby on April 13 at Oaklawn Park, said Elliott Walden, the president and chief executive of co-owner WinStar Farm, on Tuesday.

Improbable won all three of his starts last year, including the Grade 1 Los Alamitos Futurity. He suffered the first loss of his career in his most-recent start, his first start at 3, when narrowly losing a division of the Rebel at Oaklawn. He has been ridden in all his starts by Drayden Van Dyke.