OZONE PARK, N.Y. – The day after Firenze Fire won the $150,000 Jerome Stakes at Aqueduct, trainer Jason Servis said he most likely would wait until the Grade 3 Gotham Stakes on March 10 to run the horse again.

He did leave the door slightly ajar for the Grade 3 Withers pending how the horse came out of the Jerome.

Well, Firenze Fire apparently came out of the Jerome so well that on Friday, Servis confirmed that Firenze Fire would indeed run in next Saturday’s $250,000 Withers Stakes at Aqueduct.

OZONE PARK, N.Y. – As a result of a partnership between FOX Sports, the New York Racing Association and The Stronach Group, there will be broadcasts of major stakes – mainly Kentucky Derby prep races – on Fox Sports 2 over a period of six Saturdays in February and March, it was announced Friday.

OZONE PARK, N.Y. – A quarantine placed on Barn 44 at Belmont Park due to a case of the equine herpesvirus was lifted Friday after the horse in question tested negative for the virus this week.

Linda Rice trains most of the horses in that barn, and trainer David Duggan has six. Those horses will be permitted to enter races and may now train with the general horse population. For the last two weeks – including Friday – horses in that barn had to train after regular training hours.

OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Matt Salvato, who last fall was promoted to racing secretary at the New York Racing Association, has been ruled off the grounds at the three NYRA tracks, the company said Friday.

Though no reason was given, NYRA spokesman Pat McKenna said Salvato has “been trespassed from NYRA properties as of Jan. 25. As it is a personnel matter, we won’t be commenting any further.”

Salvato, reached Thursday after he was escorted out of Aqueduct by security, said he was “suspended” indefinitely. Salvato, citing an ongoing investigation, declined to comment further.

ARCADIA, Calif. – Parlay wagering in win, place, and show pools will resume Thursday after an absence of several years, according to Santa Anita director of operations John Perrotta.

The option was introduced in the 1990’s and later discontinued because of a lack of interest, track officials said at the time.

Perrotta, who joined Santa Anita’s staff last month, said customers had requested that parlay betting be reinstated.

“I had so many people ask me to bring it back,” he said.

ARCADIA, Calif. – Silent Bird, the multiple stakes winner who sustained a sesamoid injury in a workout at Santa Anita on Wednesday, is scheduled to undergo surgery this weekend, trainer Mark Glatt said Friday.

Glatt said the surgery will stabilize the injured leg with a plate.

“He doesn’t act like a hurt horse,” Glatt said. “He takes good care of himself.

“He seems to have good blood flow. As long as he has good blood flow to his feet, and we can keep him comfortable, we’ll probably be okay.”

ARCADIA, Calif. – From champion sprinter Roy H to promising 3-year-olds, older horses, and turf marathoners, there is a wide array of stakes at Santa Anita on the first weekend of February.

Roy H, the winner of the Breeders’ Cup Sprint at Del Mar in November, was named the champion sprinter of 2017 at the Eclipse Award ceremony in Florida on Thursday. Roy H will have his 2018 debut in the Grade 2 Palos Verdes Stakes at six furlongs at Santa Anita next Saturday.

Runaway Ghost invades Sunland Park from Southern California for the $100,000 Riley Allison on Sunday, but he’s no newcomer to New Mexico.

“He’s coming home to where he started,” trainer Todd Fincher said. “We broke him and got him ready to run and sent him to California.”

Runaway Ghost made his first four starts in California for trainer Mike Machowsky and returned to the region last month to target the 3-year-old series at Sunland. It begins with the Riley Allison, which is one of two local preps for the Grade 3, $800,000 Sunland Derby.

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – Irish War Cry, one of the top 3-year-olds of 2017, continues on a steady work pattern toward his anticipated comeback in the Feb. 24 Hal’s Hope, a one-turn mile at Gulfstream.

“He’s coming along great,” said trainer Graham Motion. “I guess depending on how things go the next few weeks, the Hal’s Hope does seem like a possible target, but he wouldn’t have to miss a beat.”

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – It never ends at Gulfstream Park. One weekend after the $16 million Pegasus World Cup and the dispersal of a gigantic Rainbow 6 pool were to occur here, the first major race in the Gulfstream series of Kentucky Derby preps for 3-year-olds is on tap with the 29th running of the Grade 2, $350,000 Holy Bull Stakes next Saturday.