HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – Multiple Grade 1 winner Little Mike will make his 2014 debut here Saturday in the $75,000 Flying Pidgeon Stakes.

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – There’s a new Chief in town this summer, and his name is Allen Jerkens.

Jerkens, known as “The Chief,” decided this month to stable year-round at Gulfstream Park rather than return to New York at the end of the winter season in southern Florida. He’s gone back to New York for the summer since he first came to Gulfstream in 1947.

“I missed opening day at Belmont Park for the first time in 68 years,” said Jerkens, 85, who has 10 horses stabled locally, including the multiple Grade 2-placed 3-year-old filly House Rules.

BALTIMORE – Bob Baffert began the year with 3-year-old prospects like Hoppertunity, Indianapolis, Midnight Hawk, and Tap It Rich. But when they kicked the gate for the Kentucky Derby two weeks ago, his lone representative was Chitu, and he’s down to just one runner, Bayern, for the Preakness Stakes here Saturday at Pimlico.

When racing commences at Canterbury Park on Friday evening, the stable area’s nearly 1,600 stalls will be at capacity for only the second time since 1991. A marketing and purse enhancement agreement reached in 2012 with the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community, which owns and operates Mystic Lake Casino Hotel, will contribute $75 million to the horsemen’s purse structure over the deal’s 10-year span. This season, purses are estimated to reach a record $13 million for the 69-card meet, an average of just under $190,000 per day.

OPELOUSAS, La. – Racing in southern Louisiana has always been a family affair. The riding Hernandez clan, however, has taken it to a whole new level.

ETOBICOKE, Ontario – After relinquishing the lead late in the Jacques Cartier Stakes on April 13, Really Sharp reversed his fortunes last Sunday, holding off Occasional View in the final strides to win the Grade 3, $153,400 Vigil Stakes under jockey Steven Bahen.

“We were hoping we could settle a little bit off of the lead, and it went great,” said winning trainer Ian Black. “He had lots of horse turning for home, and he stayed on well. I think that was the best race he ever ran.”

ETOBICOKE, Ontario – The field for the Woodbine Oaks on June 15 is beginning to take shape after last Saturday’s $150,400 Fury Stakes, a key local prep for Canadian-bred 3-year-old fillies.

Wild Catomine, trained by Mark Casse and owned by John Oxley, captured her first stakes victory and remained undefeated in the Fury, as she stalked the early pace and held off Hot and Spicy and Lexie Lou in the final strides.

“I thought Gary [Boulanger] rode her really well,” Casse said. “She’s a talented horse.”

Mike Teel, an Oklahoma-based trainer who won titles at Will Rogers Downs and Fair Meadows, died Friday, according to friends. He had been battling cancer. Teel was 63.

Teel on Monday was represented by the final winner of his career when first-time starter Copper Flash captured the eighth race at Will Rogers, a maiden special weight sprint for fillies and mares bred in Oklahoma. The 3-year-old had been entered prior to her trainer’s death.

Finger Lakes canceled its Thursday card in order to maintain field size for the rest of the week, the track announced Tuesday. The card would have been the first Thursday program of the meet, which began April 18 and runs through Dec. 5.

Jockey G.R. Carter will enter Thursday night’s Quarter Horse program at Remington Park on the verge of becoming the sport’s all-time leading rider by wins. He is seven from tying the mark of 3,631 held by the retired Alvin Brossette.

Carter, who already owns the sport’s earnings record, had won 3,624 races from 22,925 mounts through Monday, according to statistics provided by the American Quarter Horse Association. He has eight mounts on Thursday’s card, including This Snow Is Royal, a 25-time winner set to run in the third race at the Oklahoma City track.