NEW ORLEANS – They first burst on the scene in the spring of 2002 with Harlan’s Holiday, who won the Florida Derby and the Blue Grass Stakes and finished seventh as the favorite in the Kentucky Derby. They raced under the name of Starlight Racing, but because co-owners Jack and Laurie Wolf surrounded themselves with a large, fun-loving entourage, they became known as “The Wolfpack.”

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – Eight 3-year-olds, led by likely favorite Cairo Prince, were entered Wednesday for Saturday’s $1 million Florida Derby at Gulfstream Park.

Cairo Prince, an easy winner of the Grade 2 Holy Bull Stakes in his only start at 3, will break from post 3 with Luis Saez aboard in the Grade 1 Florida Derby. Wildcat Red, the winner of the Grade 2 Fountain of Youth, drew the rail, much to the delight of his trainer, Jose Garoffalo.

Wildcat Red will be ridden for the first time in the 1 1/8-mile Florida Derby by John Velazquez.

WHO’S HOT

Mount Pleasant Meadows, a recently shuttered mixed-breed racetrack in central Michigan, will be converted into a training center, according to the Michigan Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association.

A deal was reached Tuesday between a group of area horsemen and the Isabella County Co-Expo Board, which controls day-to-day operations of the county’s fairgrounds, to keep the four-furlong oval open for training, beginning April 1. The Michigan Gaming Control Board has indicated that an official clocker will eventually be made available for timed workouts.

Harvey Clarke said he never lamented the Kentucky Derby winner he virtually gave away. He is simply glad to have another chance to make it back to America’s most famous horse race.

In 2010, Clarke sold a yearling son of Flower Alley for $11,000 at the Keeneland September sale. That colt, out of the dam Arch’s Gal Edith, turned out to be I’ll Have Another, who in 2012 won the Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes but was scratched from the Belmont Stakes due to an injury, thus ending his bid to become Thoroughbred racing’s 12th Triple Crown winner.

ETOBICOKE, Ontario – A total of 36 horses and people, including 18 Thoroughbred racing candidates, have been selected to appear on the 2014 Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame ballot.

The Hall of Fame’s 20-member election committee, which will determine the winners in six different Thoroughbred categories, will announce the results on April 8, with the induction ceremony set to take place at the Mississauga Convention Centre on Aug. 6.

Wise Dan, the reigning two-time Horse of the Year, continued on a resolute path toward a comeback when he breezed six furlongs Tuesday morning in 1:13.20 over the Polytrack surface at his home base at Keeneland in Lexington, Ky.

Trainer Charlie LoPresti said he is “keeping his fingers crossed” in hopes that Wise Dan continues to thrive toward his targeted return, the Grade 1 Maker’s 46 Mile on April 11 over the Keeneland turf.

Owner Ahmed Zayat said Monday he is parting ways with trainer Steve Asmussen, moving a dozen horses from his barn to three trainers on different circuits.

Zayat announced the decision on Twitter late Monday afternoon and confirmed the names of the trainers to whom those horses will be going in a phone conversation with Daily Racing Form.

Corey Lanerie, the winner of 3,556 races in his career to date, was honored with the George Woolf Memorial Jockey Award between races on Sunday at Santa Anita Park.

Lanerie, 39, has been a leading rider at Churchill Downs, Ellis Park, Lone Star Park, Retama Park, and Sam Houston Race Park. He is currently riding at Gulfstream Park in Florida.

The Woolf Award honors riders for success on the racetrack and personal character in everyday life. Lanerie described winning the Woolf Award as a “lifetime achievement.”