NEW ORLEANS — One day last year during the Fair Grounds race meeting in New Orleans, a crew showed up on the backstretch and, in a space between trainer Al Stall's barn and a neighboring outfit, installed a makeshift photo set. Lush flowers, sod, ornamental bushes − a lavish backdrop. Out of Stall's barn was led a horse who for five years has resided in stall No. 5, Star Guitar, who stood, barely bothered by the strange change in routine, for a couple of hours while a photographer crafted the perfect shot.

Hansen and Union Rags, the one-two finishers in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile and in the voting for the Eclipse Award as champion 2-year-old male of 2011, on Thursday were announced as the co-highweights for the 2011 Experimental Free Handicap, which is published by the Jockey Club.

Both colts received 126 pounds, the traditional assignment given to the topweight. Creative Cause, third in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile, is next at 124 pounds.

Over the last month, “only in horse racing” met up with Joseph Heller’s “Catch-22.”

I got a call last Saturday from owner Robert Cole, less than two weeks removed from getting that Special Eclipse for Rapid Redux’s perfect 2011. He said he wanted to tell me a story.

Cole claimed a 5-year-old gelding named Aaron’s Legend out of a 4 1/2-furlong $7,500 maiden claimer on Dec. 17 at Charles Town. Little did he know he was claiming a horse that was not eligible to run at Charles Town or, for 60 days, anywhere else.

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. - Kentucky Derby winner and 3-year-old champion Animal Kingdom will likely launch his 2012 campaign on Feb. 25 on the grass in the Grade 3 Tampa Bay Stakes, trainer Graham Motion confirmed on Wednesday.

Motion, who was in Fair Hill, Md., on Wednesday, made the announcement shortly after Animal Kingdom worked five furlongs over the Palm Meadows turf course in 59.61 seconds, according to track clocker Bryan Walls.  Animal Kingdom completed his final quarter in 22.93 before galloping out six furlongs in 1:11.61 and pulling up seven-eighths in 1:24.05.

LAS VEGAS – Three horseplayers joined NHC 13 winner Michael Beychok in earning berths into next year's Daily Racing Form/NTRA National Handicapping Championship in a qualifying tournament held Sunday at Treasure Island Hotel & Casino.

LAS VEGAS – What's the difference between $150,000 and $1 million?

One dollar.

That was the margin of victory as Michael Beychok became horse racing's latest millionaire by winning the 13th annual Daily Racing Form/NTRA National Handicapping Championship in the final race Saturday to claim the $1 million first-place prize and an Eclipse Award as Handicapper of the Year.

Track voice calls for accurate closing odds

The self-described "four regular guys" who eruditely conveyed their frustrations in the Jan. 8 letter to the editor "Game loses its fun when players find they can't win" fell directly into stride with me concerning closing odds.

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. - Bookended by double-digit priced winners Hooh Why ($37.40) and Chokecherymary ($18.80), Saturday’s Luck Pick Six returned $13,816 to each of 30 winning tickets.

 The wager had a pool of $543,301, easily surpassing the guarantee of $250,000.

 The Luck Pick Six was a wager that combined three restricted stakes races each from Gulfstream Park and Santa Anita, and was done as a promotional tool for the HBO series “Luck,” which premieres Sunday night.

LAS VEGAS – Early in the second and final day of the 13th annual Daily Racing Form/NTRA National Handicapping Championship, there was little movement on the leaderboard as low-priced horses were coming in from coast to coast.

And, then, bam! Alan Levitt, who was in second after yesterday's action moved into first place over Day 1 leader Nolan White shortly after 11 a.m. Pacific.

Mike Tammaro, a fixture at Turfway Park and River Downs for the last two decades and whose family is well known in the East and beyond for their work as Thoroughbred horsemen, died Friday at St. Elizabeth Hospital in Edgewood, Ky., after suffering a massive heart attack at his home in Florence. He was 57.

Tammaro started his training career in 1975 and won with 930 of 8,380 starters for stable earnings of more than $17 million.