HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – Strong Mandate has had a couple of eventful mornings this week at Oaklawn Park but remains on course for the Grade 1, $1 million Arkansas Derby on April 12 despite a less-than-ideal workout Wednesday.

Strong Mandate breezed a half-mile in 54 seconds soon after the track opened, then lost his exercise rider, Alberto Rodriguez, galloping out after the wire. Strong Mandate was caught by an outrider without incident and came back fine, as did Rodriguez, trainer D. Wayne Lukas said later in the morning.

ARCADIA, Calif. – Tom Ludt, the former chairman of the Breeders’ Cup, was named president of Santa Anita on Wednesday, replacing George Haines, who will direct the network of Southern California offtrack wagering locations, the track announced.

Ludt, 49, joined Santa Anita in April 2013 as senior vice president of racing and gaming. He has a background as an executive in both Thoroughbred racing and breeding as the president of Vinery Farms in Kentucky from 2004-13 and the chairman of the Breeders’ Cup board of directors from 2011-13.

ARCADIA, Calif. - Wednesday, Game On Dude worked a half-mile in 48 seconds, preparing for a start in the $1.5 million Charles Town Classic in West Virginia on April 19.

Trained by Bob Baffert, Game On Dude won the 2013 Charles Town Classic.

Wednesday, Baffert worked two of his leading 3-year-olds – Bayern and The Admiral.

[ROAD TO THE KENTUCKY DERBY: Prep races, point standings, replays]

ARCADIA, CAlif. - Honey Ride, the winner of a maiden race over a mile on March 2, may run in the $400,000 Santa Anita Oaks on April 5, trainer John Sadler said. The Grade 1 Santa Anita Oaks would be the stakes debut for Honey Ride, who races for Jerry and Ann Moss.

Sadler said that a workout on Sunday would determine whether Honey Ride runs.

“I’d like to go in an easier race,” Sadler said. “You don’t want to go from a maiden to a [graded] race.”

ARCADIA, Calif. - Moreno, the winner of the Grade 2 Dwyer Stakes at Belmont Park last July, will skip Sunday’s $75,000 Santana Mile in favor of stakes at Charles Town or Oaklawn Park, trainer Eric Guillot said on Wednesday.

Guillot said he is considering the $1.5 million Charles Town Classic April 19 or the $500,000 Oaklawn Handicap on April  12. Moreno has not raced since finishing 10th in the BC Classic last November.

ARCADIA, Calif. – Ever Rider arrived in California from Argentina last fall with the reputation as a main-track distance horse who would be dangerous in the Breeders’ Cup Marathon.

Ever Rider was the 4-1 favorite in the Marathon, but did not finish the race. Jockey Gary Stevens pulled him up on the backstretch.

“The saddle wasn’t right that day,” trainer Mike Puype said on Wednesday. “When he was done, Gary stopped on him.”

Turfway Park in Florence, Ky., will close out its winter-spring meet with a three-day weekend. The track has run just two-day weekends for most of March but has opted to end the meet with a Sunday afternoon card.

The feature of a 10-race Friday night card is a $31,500, one-mile allowance in which Impassable Canyon and Chalice figure as favorites in a field of six older horses.

Impressive debut winner

The 15-day Keeneland spring meet starts next Friday, April 4, in Lexington, Ky., where there will be no shortage of big races and big horses.
Foremost will be Wise Dan, the reigning two-time Horse of the Year, expected to make his 7-year-old debut in the April 11 Maker’s 46 Mile “provided we can get horses to run against him,” Keeneland racing secretary Ben Huffman said Wednesday. “We’ve been calling people all week, and all we’ve got right now is Lochte.”

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Churchill Downs officials are promising that the latest renovations at their ever-changing racetrack will be ready when the 2014 spring meet opens April 26.

Racing was canceled at Turf Paradise in Phoenix, Ariz., on Tuesday after jockeys refused to ride and met with management over their concerns about the track’s insurance policies in the wake of an accident earlier this month in which a rider was paralyzed, according to officials.