ARCADIA, Calif. – Estrechada, the 7-year-old stakes winner, is based in California with trainer Mike Puype, but she is likely to appear at any racetrack in the nation that has a marathon turf stakes for fillies and mares.

Last August, Estrechada had a career-defining win in the Grade 3 Waya Stakes at 1 1/2 miles on turf at Saratoga.

For 2018, Puype plans to keep Estrechada active throughout the nation. Her first objective is a home game – Sunday’s $75,000 Astra Stakes at 1 1/2 miles on turf for fillies and mares.

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – Two-time Eclipse Award-winning jockey Julien Leparoux was absent from riding at Gulfstream Park on Wednesday for good reason: He became a U.S. citizen at a ceremony in his adopted hometown of Louisville, Ky.

Leparoux, 34, first came to the United States from his native France in 2003. He began his riding career in the United States in 2005 and has become a perennial leading jockey at Keeneland and Churchill Downs while also competing regularly at Saratoga in the summer and Gulfstream in the winter.

McGaughey nears 2,000 mark

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – Caledonia Road, winner of the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies in November, is scheduled to return to the track this coming week at Gulfstream, trainer Ralph Nicks said.

“We’ll start her out jogging and just ease her back into training,” Nicks said. “She’s been on a little break and is doing really well.”

Nicks said he is looking for two prep races, “depending on how everything goes,” for Caledonia Road leading into the May 4 Kentucky Oaks.

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – Short lists of nominations portend short fields for the Sunshine Millions, the four-race series to be renewed next Saturday (Jan. 20) at Gulfstream.

Top names likely among the 10 nominees to the richest of the four races, the $200,000 Sunshine Millions Classic, are Mr. Jordan and Richard the Great, the respective 2-3 finishers in the Harlan’s Holiday here last month.

Fourteen nominations were taken for the $150,000 Turf; 16 for the $150,000 Filly and Mare Turf; and 12 for the $100,000 Sprint.

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – The last two starting spots in the $16 million Pegasus World Cup have yet to be firmed up, but whichever horses complete the field of 12, they’re bound to be longshots that will barely move the needle on pre-race wagering.

OZONE PARK, N.Y. – The cancellation of Thursday’s card due to track condition forced the New York Racing Association to once again have to reschedule the $100,000 Bay Ridge Stakes. The 1 1/8-mile race for New York-bred fillies and mares, lost when the Jan. 1 card was canceled, is now scheduled for Thursday, Jan. 18.

Meanwhile, the Alex M. Robb, lost when the Dec. 31 card was canceled, was supposed to be brought back for Sunday. However, the race only drew four entrants and was not carded. It is expected to be brought back at a later date.

OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Graded stakes winners Takaful and Highway Star topped a busy work tab Thursday morning at Belmont Park where 185 horses put in timed workouts over a fast training track.

As is.

After undergoing much tinkering the last several years, the 2018 Saratoga stakes schedule will virtually mirror that of 2017, with 69 stakes worth $18.8 million offered through the 40-day meet, which runs July 20 through Sept. 3.

ARCADIA, Calif. – The rematch between Paradise Woods and Unique Bella is on hold while Paradise Woods recovers from an illness that will cost her nearly two weeks of training.

Trainer Richard Mandella said Thursday he is hopeful Paradise Woods will resume training late next week. The interruption means Paradise Woods probably will miss a Feb. 10 rematch with Unique Bella in the Grade 2 Santa Maria Stakes.

ELMONT, N.Y. – A barn at Belmont Park housing mostly horses trained by Linda Rice was placed under quarantine Wednesday after an unraced 3-year-old trained by Rice tested positive for the equine herpesvirus (EHV-1) on Tuesday, according to the New York Racing Association.