Thirstforlife, who was scratched from last month’s $300,000 Essex Handicap, returns in Thursday’s eighth race at Oaklawn. He goes in an optional $65,000 claiming route over a mile, and figures to start as the favorite in a field of seven that includes Grade 3 winner Sticksstatelydude.

Thirstforlife finished second to The Player in the Grade 3 Mineshaft at Fair Grounds in his last start. Trainer Wes Hawley decided to target the Essex with Thirstforlife, but said he had to scratch the horse when he got hurt shipping from New Orleans to Oaklawn.

HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – The 27-year-old owner Staton Flurry has racked up a number of recent stakes wins among his home track of Oaklawn, Fair Grounds, and Sam Houston, and is now eyeing Grade 1 action at Keeneland.

Mr. Misunderstood has been the star of Flurry’s stable of 10 horses, winning five stakes last year at 3, including the Super Derby at Louisiana Downs, the Grade 3 Commonwealth Turf at Churchill and the Woodchopper at Fair Grounds. Flurry said he and trainer Brad Cox are leaning toward running the horse in the Grade 1, $300,000 Maker’s 46 Mile on April 13 at Keeneland.

ARCADIA, Calif. – The $2 pick six, frequently overshadowed by lower-cost bets such as the 50-cent pick four and 50-cent pick five, will be the focus of Thursday’s eight-race program at Santa Anita.

The two-day carryover of $339,082 from Sunday in the main pick six pool is too significant to ignore. In addition, there is a carryover of $245,751 in the single-ticket jackpot portion of the pool, paid only if there is one winning ticket. The pool of new money should surpass $1.2 million.

HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – Dream Baby Dream, the runner-up in the Grade 3, $800,000 Sunland Derby on March 25, is being pointed for the Grade 1, $1 million Arkansas Derby, said his trainer, Steve Asmussen. The 1 1/8-mile race is April 14 at Oaklawn.

“He ran well at a mile and an eighth at Sunland – it was the first shot to run him that far – and I thought he ran as expected with the distance,” said Asmussen.

Dream Baby Dream entered the Sunland Derby off a third-place finish in a Feb. 19 allowance at Oaklawn. He is owned by Dream Baby Dream Racing Stable.

HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – Amy’s Challenge, who worked a bullet half-mile in 46.20 seconds Saturday at Oaklawn, is scheduled to be ridden by Mike Smith in the Grade 3, $400,000 Fantasy, trainer Mac Robertson said Monday. A Kentucky Oaks points race, the Fantasy is April 13 at Oaklawn.

Amy’s Challenge emerged from her work in good order, said Robertson, and galloped on Monday. It was her first day back to the track following her work, which was the fastest of 114 at the distance here on Saturday.

LEXINGTON, Ky. – It’s spring, allegedly, in Kentucky, but you can’t tell by sight nor feel. The final spasms of winter’s grasp will make for an uncomfortable opening weekend at Keeneland, where a slew of major stakes will be run amid unseasonable cold and intermittent rain.

The 16-day spring meet opens Friday with Analyze It as a heavy favorite in the Grade 3 Transylvania Stakes – although it’s not certain the race will remain on turf, since rain and a high temperature of 48 are in the forecast.

Mike Repole has seen the change in the Thoroughbred ownership game over the last several years, and instead of trying to fight it, he’s embraced it.

HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – Terra Promessa, who won four stakes races Oaklawn Park, has been retired, according to her trainer, Steve Asmussen. He said she has returned home to the Kentucky operation of her breeder and owner, Stonestreet Stables.

Terra Promessa retires with a record of 7 wins from 16 starts for earnings of $920,350. She is a 5-year-old by Curlin – the two-time Horse of the Year who raced for Stonestreet and was trained by Asmussen – and she is out of the multiple stakes-winning mare Missile Bay.

Turf racing is back on at Evangeline Downs.

The Opelousas, La., track opens Wednesday night with a rejuvenated turf course after the surface was closed down for much of last season due to maintenance procedures that took longer than anticipated. The first races over the turf will come at the end of April or the first part of May, said Chris Warren, director of racing for Evangeline.

“The quality of the turf course should be the best it’s been in years,” he said. “We’ve been working diligently for the last year with our consultant.”