HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – Trainer Doug O’Neill might not have won a Kentucky Derby at this point in his career were it not for a man who grew up just a few miles from Oaklawn Park.

Mark Schlesinger asked friend Paul Reddam to partner with him on a horse he planned to claim and have with O’Neill more than a decade ago in Southern California. It was the first time Reddam, who was already in racing, had any dealings with O’Neill.

Ahh Chocolate began her successful 2015 campaign with a win in New Orleans, and her connections hope to launch an even better 2016 season in the $50,000 Esplanade Stakes on Friday at Fair Grounds.

The 4-year-old Ahh Chocolate is among eight fillies and mares entered to race one mile and 70 yards on dirt in the Esplanade, an overnight stakes that goes as race 8 of 10 on Friday. She figures to go favored for owner-breeder Stoneway Farm, trainer Neil Howard, and jockey Brian Hernandez Jr. over the Florida shipper Savings Account.

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – Four of the six races in Friday’s Rainbow 6 sequence will be decided on turf. The best of those six events, however, will be run on dirt – a starter optional claimer at six furlongs that drew a field of eight topped by Strong Composition, Homespun Hero, Wildcat Wish, and the speedy Armando Big.

With a pool of $3.2 million going into Wednesday’s card, the Rainbow 6 jackpot is likely to exceed $4 million for Friday if no one hits it before then.

A mandatory distribution of the Rainbow 6 is scheduled for Saturday, March 26.

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – A field of 10 older fillies and mares will hook up in Saturday’s Grade 2 Inside Information, led by Stonetastic, who will try to get back to the Breeders’ Cup for a third consecutive time later this year. Stonetastic will face Bar of Gold, Engaginglee, Flutterby, Tiger Ride, You Bought Her, Dogwood Trail and the Marty Wolfson-trained trio of Best Behavior, Kiss to Remember, and Miss Melinda.

OZONE PARK, N.Y. – If you want to get an idea of how Momameamaria will perform in Saturday’s $125,000 Correction Stakes at Aqueduct, pay close attention to her behavior prior to the race.

Momameamaria came into a high-priced optional-claiming event here Feb. 11 following back-to-back wins. After showing some early speed, she retreated to finish a well-beaten fourth, 15 3/4 lengths behind Paulassilverlining, the probable Correction favorite.

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – March is only halfway over, and it has already produced two spectacular performances here by horses making their debuts. The first came from the 3-year-old filly Lightstream, who earned a 103 Beyer Speed Figure on March 6, and the second by a 5-year-old mare named Apologynotaccepted, who ran off the screen to a 16-length triumph on March 11.

Apologynotaccepted is owned by her breeder, the former trainer Happy Alter, who showed remarkable patience before finally getting her to the races at the age of 5.

After not being hit last Friday, Saturday, or Sunday, the pick five at Laurel Park will have a carryover of $30,341 for Friday’s card.

The sequence will be on races 5-9 and includes two solid optional-claiming races, a first-level race at six furlongs for 3-year-old fillies and a third-level race at 5 1/2 furlongs for fillies and mares.

The other races are a $15,000 claimer for 3-year-old fillies, a $40,000 maiden claimer for 3-year-old fillies, and a restricted $5,000 claimer for fillies and mares.

Since moving his stable to the Mid-Atlantic from New England in 1990, trainer Ned Allard has won 85 stakes. He won a similar number in two decades up north after taking out his trainer’s license in 1970.

But in recent years, the flow of stakes horses to Allard’s barn has slowed, and when Always Sunshine won the Dave’s Friend at Laurel in December, it was Allard’s first stakes victory in five years.

ARCADIA, Calif. – Denman’s Call and Toews On Ice are expected to head the field Sunday at Santa Anita in the $75,000 San Pedro Stakes, a six-furlong race for 3-year-olds that was canceled March 11 when rain forced the cancellation of that day’s final three races.

Denman’s Call was third to Nyquist and Exaggerator in the San Vicente Stakes, his second lifetime start. Toews On Ice is turning back to a sprint after a sixth-place finish two months ago in the one-mile Smarty Jones Stakes at Oaklawn Park.

ARCADIA, Calif. – The desire to get a Grade 1 win with Penwith caused trainer Kiaran McLaughlin and owner Godolphin Racing to ship the mare from Florida early this week to take on local stars Tara’s Tango and Taris in the Grade 1, $500,000 Santa Margarita on Saturday at Santa Anita.