Pinnacle Entertainment, the casino company that owns River Downs in Ohio and six casinos in three states, has reached an agreement to purchase 75.5 percent of Retama Park outside San Antonio, Texas, the company said on Thursday.

Pinnacle is paying $22.8 million for the majority share in the company that owns the track’s racing license, a subsidiary of Call Now Inc. With the stake, Pinnacle will gain a foothold in a state where tracks and casino lobbyists have long sought legislation to legalize casino gambling at racetracks, though those efforts have so far been unsuccessful.

Florida Derby winner Take Charge Indy  worked five furlongs in 1:00:47 at Palm Meadows on Thursday in his final prep for the Kentucky Derby.

Any chance that Empire Way had of starting in the Kentucky Derby essentially ended with a ninth-place finish in the Grade 2 San Felipe Stakes at Santa Anita on March 10. There may still be a derby for Empire Way later this year, perhaps on turf.

On Friday, Empire Way makes his racing debut on that surface in a $54,000 allowance race over a mile. Trained by Mike Harrington for Heinz Steinmann, Empire Way is the lone 3-year-old in a field of seven.

Keeneland ends its 15-day meet Friday in Lexington with not only a terrific renewal of the Elkhorn Stakes, but also three allowance races that drew some recognizable names, most notably Stately Victor, winner of the 2010 Blue Grass Stakes. Remarkably, even with earnings of more than $900,000, Stately Victor is still eligible for the third-level restriction that governs the sixth race and is listed as the 8-5 favorite to go through that allowance condition when facing five other older horses for a $62,000 purse in the 1 1/8-mile Polytrack race.

WHO’S HOT
Ahmed Zayat. He sold a piece of Arkansas Derby winner Bodemeister on Wednesday, taking some money off the table while retaining the majority share in the favorite for the Kentucky Derby on May 5 at Churchill Downs. Bodemeister is the 9-2 favorite on the Derby future line set by Mike Watchmaker, Daily Racing Form’s national handicapper. The only horse added to the list this week is the speedy Trinniberg, who is a 50-1 shot on Watchmaker’s line.

John Parisella said he plans to run Yawanna Twist one more time before giving up training duties for the New York-bred. Parisella said that race would most likely the Pimlico Special on May 18.

Owner Jim Riccio Sr. transferred Yawanna Twist to Parisella from trainer Richard Dutrow Jr. so that he would be permitted to run the horse in the Oaklawn Park Handicap. Dutrow is currently facing a 10-year ban in New York and would not have gotten licensed in Arkansas.

ELMONT, N.Y. – Trainer Bill Mott came barreling down his Belmont Park shed row shortly after 9 a.m. Wednesday, yelling out some instructions to his help in a matter akin to a coach giving his team a pep talk.

INGLEWOOD, Calif. – In the last month, Starlight Magic has earned her way into Saturday’s $300,000 Melair Stakes for California-bred 3-year-old fillies at Betfair Hollywood Park.

Since Starlight Magic finished second in the Evening Jewel Stakes for statebreds at Santa Anita on March 31, her first start since October, trainer Mark Glatt has had the lucrative Melair Stakes as a goal. At the same time, he closely watched the filly’s training for clues as to her well-being.

ELMONT, N.Y. – The allure of big money, the arrival of several new outfits, and an all-star jockey colony have heightened the enthusiasm for the Belmont Park spring/summer meeting, which kicks off its 56-day run Friday.

Fueled by revenue from the Aqueduct casino, average daily purses at Belmont are expected to increase 44 percent from last year to an average of $620,000 a day. That figure factors in stakes purses, which received a $1.9 million increase over 2011.

Both on and off the track at Churchill Downs on Wednesday, the Bob Baffert barn was the newsmaker, with a partial interest being sold in Bodemeister, the likely favorite for the May 5 Kentucky Derby, and Liaison, Baffert’s other Derby runner, working six furlongs.