April Fools’ Day is not a holiday. It evolved in the years following the 16th century European conversion to a calendar year that began on the first day of January instead of the first day of April. Those who continued to celebrate New Year’s Day on April 1 were considered foolish. People can be so cruel.

Through the years, the pranksters have gotten even. April Fools’ Day has evolved into a culturally encouraged opportunity to humiliate the humorless and expose the dangerously gullible. These are good things.

Barry Meadow, a prominent handicapping author and horseplayer, is a contrarian whose favorite bet is the pick six but who also makes the occasional show bet expecting only a $2.10 for $2 payoff. As a pioneering proponent of value betting, he believes there are situations when a horse’s (or a coupled entry’s) true chances of running third or better are so high that a mere 5 percent profit is actually a bargain. He recently made two such winning online wagers on coupled entries, betting $2,600 for a $130 profit at Golden Gate and $2,400 for a $120 profit at Santa Anita.

The proud American in this reporter winces at the fact that while the racing world is paying rapt attention to the unfolding of the Dubai World Cup Festival on Saturday morning, U.S. time, chances are the events later that afternoon at Fair Grounds Race Course in New Orleans will go seriously under-reported.

The comparative math is brutal. In Dubai, there will be seven events worth a total of $26 million, led by the $10 million Dubai World Cup. In New Orleans, there will be four events worth $2.3 million, with the $1 million Louisiana Derby doing the heavy lifting.

It’s spring, and as the old saying goes, ’tis the season when a young man’s fancy turns to baseball.

Maybe it’s because the NCAA Tournament is dwindling down to fewer games, or perhaps it’s the labor strife in football and basketball that threatens their next seasons, but it seems like baseball is getting more attention these days ( and we’re not just talking about the Barry Bonds perjury trial).

While partnered with Kenny Troutt in the ownership of WinStar Farm, Bill Casner won the Kentucky Derby, the Belmont Stakes, the Travers, the Santa Anita Derby, and a pair of Haskell Invitationals, along with numerous other baubles precious to anyone who plays the game.

If you held his feet to the fire though, Casner wouldn’t take long to confess that a particular racing moment in March 2009 stands out above the rest – that moment when the WinStar homebred Well Armed won the $6 million Dubai World Cup.

Few in Thoroughbred racing know the man who is trying to save New Jersey’s Meadowlands by spending $100 million to privatize the track and take it off the hands of Gov. Chris Christie, who otherwise wants to close it.

It’s time for an introduction.

If a bill that cleared a Florida state senate subcommittee last Thursday is approved by the legislature, greyhound tracks in the Sunshine State would no longer be required to conduct any live racing in order to continue operating slot machines and card rooms. It is a chilling proposal, and one that may well be coming to Thoroughbred racing sooner than you think.

On March 26 at Meydan Racecourse in Dubai, 13 horses – 14 if you count Sweet Ducky, once trained by Kelly Breen, in the UAE Derby – will try to add to the total of 20 victories American-trained horses have racked up during the 15 years of Dubai World Cup Night.

VIDEO: Watch Dubai racing live from Meydan – get free PPs and bet with DRF Bets

Now that the West Coast has survived both the Santa Anita Handicap and the distant ripples of Japan’s tragic earthquake and tsunami, it is time to spring forward – both literally and figuratively. Don’t forget those clocks.

I got this from Itsuko Goda, a racing journalist who lives with her family in a Tokyo suburb, after inquiring about their well-being:

“My family is okay, having supply of electricity and water, while the cell phone is not working well.”

The report of the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission on the Life At Ten incident on Breeders’ Cup Friday at Churchill Downs last Nov. 5, finally released this past Thursday, was at once both reassuring and discouraging.

The positive news was the commission’s finding that there was absolutely no “evidence of intentional wrongdoing or nefarious or fraudulent activity.” There were no wagering irregularities, and nothing to suggest anyone knew or suspected anything was amiss with the filly in the days or hours leading up to the race.