ARCADIA, Calif. - Wagering at California tracks rose 14 percent in January, bucking a national trend, according to discussions at an open forum conducted at Santa Anita by the Thoroughbred Owners of California on Saturday.

“With the country being down on handle, a lot of that has to do with weather on the East Coast, wagering on California was up 14 percent and purse generation was up 12 percent,” said TOC president Joe Morris. “We’ve been consistently outperforming this year. That’s good news for us out here.”

Heitai, who has been turning out triple-digit Beyer Speed Figures on a regular basis since November, could make his next start at Sam Houston Race Park, said his trainer, Karl Broberg. The horse is being considered for one of two upcoming stakes, he said, the other being at Fair Grounds. 

Jockey Martin Pedroza faces an indefinite absence after sustaining a fractured left leg when he was unseated from Sargentina after the start of Friday’s eighth race for maiden claimers at Santa Anita.

Pedroza remained hospitalized on Saturday morning and had considerable swelling, according to his agent, Richie Silverstein. Pedroza fractured a shin when he was unseated.

“It was a straight break around the shin area,” Silverstein wrote in a text on Saturday morning.

OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Trainer Linda Rice is considering sending her two top New York-bred sprinters to Maryland for next weekend’s graded stakes races at Laurel Park.

La Verdad, who has won five consecutive races, is a definite for the Grade 2, $300,000 Barbara Fritchie Handicap on Saturday while Palace, winner of the Grade 3 Fall Highweight last fall, is possible for the Grade 3, $250,000 General George Handicap on Feb. 17.

CYPRESS, Calif. – California Chrome, who has dominated California-bred stakes in recent months, worked a half-mile in 48 seconds at Los Alamitos on Saturday, preparing for the $300,000 San Felipe Stakes at Santa Anita on March 8.

Ridden by Victor Espinoza, California Chrome worked alone on the newly expanded dirt track at Los Alamitos, which began housing Thoroughbreds in late January after the closure of Hollywood Park’s barn area.

Trainer Ken McPeek had a very busy Saturday morning when sending out a handful of his stable stars for serious work.

Four-year-olds War Dancer and Frac Daddy breezed in company, finishing five furlongs in 59.20 seconds after going neck-and-neck throughout.

“I thought they went really nice,” said McPeek. “There are a couple of allowance races in the book for them, but I’m thinking we might be heading for more ambitious spots with both.”

War Dancer is a Grade 2 winner on turf, while Frac Daddy is multiple-graded-placed while competitive on a variety of surfaces.

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – It was back to serious work for Mucho Macho Man early Saturday morning, with the reigning Breeders’ Cup Classic winner breezing an easy half-mile over a very fast track in 46.91 seconds under regular exercise rider Nick Petro Jr. It was his first work since cruising to an easy-as-can-be victory in the Sunshine Millions Classic that was little more than a public workout three weeks earlier.

HOT SPRINGS, Ark.- Oaklawn Park has canceled Saturday’s nine-race program due to the freezing temperatures that have gripped the Hot Springs, Ark., track for much of the past week. It’s the third consecutive card lost the winter blast.

Oaklawn was forced to cancel programs both Thursday and Friday. The track also lost six of its races last Sunday, when heavy rains moved into the area. The cancellations are the first of the meet that opened on Jan. 10.

The mutuel field was still a big favorite following the second of three days of wagering into Pool 2 of the Kentucky Derby Future Wager, which opened Thursday.

As of Saturday morning, and with $124,673 in the win pool, the field – the 24th or “all others” option – was the 6-5 favorite, followed by Shared Belief (12-1), Honor Code (15-1), Cairo Prince (15-1), Top Billing (17-1), Strong Mandate (18-1), and Midnight Hawk (22-1).

Indianapolis, the unbeaten stakes winner trained by Bob Baffert, will make his graded stakes debut in the $200,000 San Vicente Stakes over seven furlongs on Feb. 16.