NE W ORLEANS – The difference between decent sprinter and standout sprinter is “not that great,” according to trainer Tom Amoss, who will send out Delaunay as a solid favorite Saturday in the marquee sprint of the Fair Grounds meet, the $150,000 Duncan F. Kenner Stakes.

OLDSMAR Fla. – The Grade 3, $150,000 Hillsborough Stakes at 1 1/8 miles on the turf and the $100,000 Suncoast, run over a mile and 40 yards on the main track, top a strong undercard for the 12-race Festival Day program at Tampa Bay Downs, which is highlighted by the Grade 2 Tampa Bay Derby.

The Hillsborough, for older fillies and mares, could turn into a battle between two of the sport’s top trainers in Todd Pletcher and Chad Brown.

The man named Small sure has lived a big life in racing and beyond.

Richard “Dickie” Small, a lifelong horseman who was a Green Beret in his younger days, has been stricken in the last couple of years by an aggressive form of cancer. But that hasn’t stopped the 67-year-old from making his presence felt on his home Maryland circuit.

Small will be represented Saturday by Dynamic Strike, one of the top contenders in the $150,000 Private Terms Stakes at Laurel Park in Laurel, Md.

In Washington Park on Chicago’s south side, there’s a low brick building with green trim that until 1905 stabled horses at the original Washington Park racetrack. In the south suburban town of Homewood, a street called Derby Avenue harks back to Washington Park’s second incarnation, which burned in 1977. Through mid-20th-century, Chicago attracted many of the best stables in the country every summer. The remains of the old tracks lie all over Chicagoland: Aurora Downs, Garfield Park, Harlem Race Track, Dexter Park, Brighton Park. Sportsman’s Park.

HOT SPRINGS, Ark. - King Henny, who upset Titletown Five in the $60,000 Gazebo for 3-year-olds at six furlongs last Saturday at Oaklawn, will remain sprinting, said trainer Steve Asmussen. The horse won his third career stakes and earned a career-high Beyer of 83.

"I think three-quarters to seven-eighths is his best lick," Asmussen said.

Asmussen said the goal now is to run King Henny back in a sprint at Oaklawn, with the most likely option the $75,000 Bachelor for 3-year-olds at six furlongs April 6.

HOT SPRINGS, Ark. - Master Rick, who dominated allowance foes last week at Oaklawn, is being pointed for the Grade 3, $200,000 Texas Mile at Lone Star Park, said his trainer, Steve Asmussen. The race is April 27.

“We like him at a flat mile and think that’s his distance,” said Asmussen, who trains Master Rick for Richard L. Davis. “This gives him plenty of time off a nice win.”

HOT SPRINGS, Ark. - Unstoppable U, who shipped into Sam Houston Race Park last Saturday night and won the $100,000 Maxxam Gold Cup, is to make his next start in the Grade 2, $500,000 Oaklawn Handicap on April 13, said his trainer, Ken McPeek.

Unstoppable U has now won two of three starts this year, his other score coming in an allowance at his Oaklawn base. In the Maxxam, run over the same mile-and-an-eighth distance of the Oaklawn Handicap, he tracked the pace and went on to a one-length win. Unstoppable U earned a career-high Beyer Speed Figure of 89.

OZONE PARK, N.Y. - Smooth Bert, winner of the Damon Runyon Stakes for New York-bred juveniles last December, breezed three furlongs in 37.89 seconds Wednesday morning at Belmont Park.

It was the first work for Smooth Bert since he finished sixth in the Grade 3 Withers on Feb. 2. It also was his first work since he had a testicle removed and became a ridgling.

Trainer Leah Gyarmati said Smooth Bert had been bothered periodically by an ascended testicle. Sometimes, he would walk awkwardly around the shed row, Gyarmati said.

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. - Trainer Eddie Kenneally reported that he has sent two of his promising 3-year-old prospects, Majestic Hussar and Bradester, to the farm. Majestic Hussar set the pace before finishing a tiring fourth stretching out around two turns for the first time in the Fountain of Youth. He had defeated Palace Malice in his previous start.

[DERBY WATCH: Top 20 Kentucky Derby contenders with odds and video]

OZONE PARK, N.Y. - Trainer Nick Canani was back in New York on Wednesday morning, but his prize pupil, Called to Serve, was getting a brief vacation in Kentucky following his third-place finish in Saturday's Grade 1 Santa Anita Handicap.

Called to Serve was flown from Southern California to Lexington on Wednesday and was to spend a couple of days at a farm. He was expected to van back to Belmont Park over the weekend.