It’s a game most trainers only get to play in their fantasies, looking at the national schedule of lucrative races and imagining where the horse of their dreams might fit. Only now Peter Eurton gets to play it for real.

Weemissfrankie, a 2-year-old filly named for a highly emotional sentiment, is in the process of taking Eurton and her owners on a wild and wonderful ride. After winning the Del Mar Debutante and the Oak Leaf Stakes out West, she finished a distant though hard-fought third in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies at Churchill Downs.

Well, that’s it. When a subject close to the heart of the game you love is lampooned by The Onion − “America’s Finest News Source” − then you’ve arrived. Where you have arrived is another matter.

For those who spend their time surfing the more intellectually fulfilling websites, The Onion is pretty much Mad Magazine meets Laugh-In, with healthy dose of snark from the Stewart-Colbert side of the spice shelf.

They may be clearing encampments of the “99 percent” movement far and wide, but Jerry Hollendorfer is still very much committed to his Occupy Golden Gate Fields strategy, with the latest demonstration scheduled for Saturday afternoon in the $75,000 Corte Madera Stakes for 2-year-old fillies.

LAS VEGAS – The Packers continue to roll along at 11-0. Their odds to complete a perfect season have been lowered to +180 (odds of 8-5), and their odds to repeat as Super Bowl champions are now 3-2.

For those trying to get past the events of last weekend at Hollywood Park, don’t bother. The images will stick around for a while, or at least they should.

A grand total of 181 horses were saddled and sent forth for the 20 races run on Saturday and Sunday. Of those 181, there were 175 that appeared to have gotten around out there okay, including the stakes winners Jeranimo, Ultimate Eagle, Pacific Ocean, and Stoney Fleece.

With a history going back to 1938, a couple of name changes, and several calendar shifts along the way, the Hollywood Derby has survived as stalwart entertainment. It is a race that people want to win, and not simply because it offers a Grade 1 bauble and decent prize money. There’s nothing wrong with being able to say your horse won the same race as Busher, A Gleam, Swaps, Riva Ridge, Affirmed, Flying Paster, Royal Heroine, and Paradise Creek, whether they did it in April, July, or November, at nine or 10 furlongs, on fast dirt or soggy turf.

It’s only 126 days until Palm Sunday and seven more until Easter, more than enough time for New York to repeal its antiquated and unreasonable ban on racing those two days. It should have been done years ago, and in 2012 there will be three more good reasons to change the law: the Aqueduct racino, the Fair Grounds Black Gold 5, and the Gulfstream Rainbow Six.

LAS VEGAS – After having the best NFL Thanksgiving menu of games that anyone can remember, we’ve got the leftovers Sunday and Monday.

But, hey, while some leftovers pale in comparison (Cardinals-Rams, Panthers-Colts, Redskins-Seahawks) there are some that heat up quite nicely (Patriots-Eagles, Giants-Saints, plus whatever games you like).

So, let’s dig through what remains in the NFL Week 12 fridge and try to pick some winners.

Back to the betting board

That crunching and groaning heard ‘round the North American racing world this week was the sound of fans and media bending over backwards in an attempt to place the 20-race win streak of Rapid Redux into sensible context.

Ramon Dominguez, racing’s Energizer bunny, takes his show on the road this Thanksgiving holiday to ride Unbridled Humor for Graham Motion in the $250,000 Matriarch at Hollywood Park, with a warm-up aboard More Than Love in the $100,000 Miesque Stakes for John Terranova.