OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Good weather and a slight increase in field size have led to a strong opening month of 2012 business-wise for the New York Racing Association.

Ontrack handle on Aqueduct’s races was $16,136,236, up 8.1 percent over $14,926,169 in 2011. The average daily ontrack handle of $806,811 is up 2.7 percent from a year ago.

Total handle, including wagering from simulcast outlets, on Aqueduct’s races is up 6.6 percent to $117,841,942 from $110,556,714 wagered last year. Average daily total handle is up 1.2 percent.

After a dip in early nominations to the Triple Crown last year, the numbers came roaring back this year, with 397 3-year-olds – led by champion 2-year-old colt Hansen - announced on Saturday as nominees to the 2012 Triple Crown, the Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes, and Belmont Stakes.

Owner hears ­announcer's cry loud and clear

In his Jan. 29 letter to the Racing Form, "Track voice calls for accurate closing odds," Michael Wrona took exception to the constant late changes to the final odds displayed on the tote boards and the archaic systems that are used in racing, specifically California racing.

The American Graded Stakes Committee has agreed to allow graded stakes in Louisiana to retain their grades as long as the state’s racing commission enforces the lower phenylbutazone threshold level adopted by the committee in 2010 when conducting postrace drug tests for the stakes, an official with the organization said on Friday.

A day after Sean Alfortish, the former president of the Louisiana Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association was sentenced to 46 months of prison on an array of fraud charges, the organization’s former executive director, Mona Romero, was sentenced to 13 months in prison and three years of supervised release.

2011 Experimental Free Handicap

The Experimental Free Handicap is a weight-based assessment of the previous year’s leading 2-year-olds for a hypothetical race at 1 1/16 miles on dirt, the exact conditions of the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile and Juvenile Fillies. It has been published by the Jockey Club since 1935. Read article »

Sean Alfortish, the former president of the Louisiana Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association, on Thursday was sentenced to 46 months in prison and three years of supervised release for his role in rigging an HBPA election and an array of other charges. He was also ordered to pay $105,104 in restitution. The sentence was handed down in federal court in New Orleans.

Alfortish, 44, has about 60 days to get his affairs in order before reporting to prison, according to the offices of U.S. Attorney Jim Letten.

Veteran jockey recorded the 3,000th victory of his career Jan. 19 at Delta Downs, becoming the 159th rider to reach that mark.

Birthdate: March 15, 1963, in Tomahawk, Wisc.

Family: wife, Deianna; son, Jarid

See the questions HERE.

1. For years in the 19th and early 20th centuries, racetrack operators battled with “pool rooms,” which offered patrons the opportunity to bet into auction pools on horse racing and to shoot billiards while waiting for the results.

The pool-room operators, however, unlike the ontrack bookmakers, did not pay a fee to the racetracks for the privilege of booking bets.

After a one-year hiatus, the Withers Stakes, an event older than the Kentucky Derby for 3-year-olds, will return to the New York racing calendar at Aqueduct on Saturday for the 132nd time.

First run in 1874, this traditional spring fixture will be contested in winter for the first time and will serve as a $200,000 prep for the $400,000 Gotham and $1 million Wood Memorial.

The race is named for David Dunham Withers (1822-1892), one of the most respected horsemen of the 19th century.