ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, Ill. – When Workin for Hops concluded his 2011 season and went for a winter rest, he departed the barn of trainer Mike Stidham, who had trained him since he made the races as a 2-year-old in 2009. But when Workin for Hops returned for his 2012 campaign, his owner, Estrorace LLC, had transferred the 5-year-old to trainer Graham Motion.

ETOBICOKE, Ontario – Hunters Bay stamped himself as the leading older router at Woodbine when he trounced a quality field in the Grade 3 Eclipse Stakes. He will lengthen out to a mile and a quarter Sunday at Woodbine in the $200,000 Dominion Day Stakes, a Grade 3 stakes which will have just five starters after the scratch of Newsdad.

Hunters Bay showed lots of ability early last year before going to the sidelines. He was second to Pants On Fire when he came off the shelf in a March 3 optional claimer at Gulfstream.

MIAMI – According to the racing office at Calder, it seems getting horses to south Florida over the next week may be the obstacle that keeps field sizes to a relative minimum for Saturday’s rich Summit of Speed program.

One trainer who took it upon himself to make sure he got his horse to Calder, and got her there in plenty of time, is Steve Margolis, whose Bouquet Booth arrived here Thursday for the Grade 1 Princess Rooney. The start will be the first against Grade 1 competition for Bouquet Booth since she finished fifth 14 months ago in the Kentucky Oaks.

Indiana Downs will push back first post to 7:25 p.m. Eastern on Friday evening in an effort to “beat the heat,” racing secretary Scott Speine said. First post had been scheduled for 6:55 p.m.

“It is just too hot earlier in the day,” Speine said. “We feel that waiting until later will benefit the horses and the horseman.”

Tempatures in the Midwest were expected to top 100 degrees Friday afternoon.

ETOBICOKE, Ontario – Awesome Fire just missed in the June 3 Woodbine Oaks, coming up three-quarters of a length shy of the victorious Irish Mission as the third-place finisher in that 1 1/8-mile stakes.

On Sunday, Awesome Fire will be looking to improve on that result in the $250,000 Bison City, a 1 1/16-mile race that follows the Woodbine Oaks as the second leg of the triple tiara for Canadian-bred 3-year-old fillies.

The Grade 3 Berkeley Handicap at Golden Gate Fields on May 28 was bittersweet for trainer Billy Morey.

The sweet part was that Positive Response finished first in the race. The bitter part came when Positive Response was disqualified from first to fourth for causing interference.

It’s the sweet part that has Morey looking forward to Sunday’s $50,000-added Alamedan Handicap at the Alameda County Fair in Pleasanton.

“We feel good that the horse actually won the race,” said Morey. “We wanted to see him win again.”

OCEANPORT, N.J. – Monmouth Park brings out the best in Maple Forest.

A 4-year-old trained by Todd Pletcher, Maple Forest is 2-2-0 in four starts at Monmouth. Her latest effort here was a career-best front-running victory in the Red Cross Stakes on Memorial Day, producing a 92 Beyer Speed Figure despite a layoff of almost three months.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Butch Lehr was cleaning out his desk Friday morning when he started to feel the weight of reality setting in. Lehr, 63, will work as a full-time employee at Churchill Downs for the last time Sunday night, ending a remarkable tenure of more than 40 years, including the last 30 as track superintendent.

“I’ve had the last few days to really think about it, and I’m going to miss it, that’s for sure,” he said.

FORT ERIE, Ontario – Tree Lo, the only local entrant, owns by far the best record on grass among a field of eight Ontario-sired fillies and mares in Sunday’s $125,000 Rainbow Connection, a five-furlong turf stakes at Fort Erie.

The 8-year-old Tree Lo, trained by Gary Chudobiak , has won 5 of 11 starts and $49,317 on turf. Tree Lo is listed at 15-1 on the track’s morning line. She is stepping up sharply in class following a win over $5,000 starter allowance competition.

ETOBICOKE, Ontario -- Northern Passion, who was the 7-5 morning-line favorite for Sunday's $250,000 Bison City at Woodbine, has been scratched.

"She just seemed under the weather, and wasn't herself this morning," said Mark Casse, who trains Northern Passion for John Oxley. "I elected to go ahead and scratch her. I'd just been kind of so-so on the way she'd trained up to this race."

Northern Passion had finished second in the 1 1/8-mile Woodbine Oaks, which precedes the Bison City as the first leg of the triple tiara for Canadian-bred 3-year-old fillies.