HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – Two leaders of the older handicap division, Shackleford and Mucho Macho Man, took advantage of a gorgeous morning in south Florida to work over a fast racetrack Friday at Gulfstream Park.

Usually big-name horses result in less depth and fewer betting options. But for most part, that’s not evident in the pick five Saturday, Feb. 25, 2012, at Gulfstream Park, with only the opening leg, the Grade 3, $100,000 Sabin, having a short field.

Here's my race-by-race rundown of picks. I'm building my wager with TicketMaker, found exclusively on DRF.com.

NEW ORLEANS – It turns out Havre de Grace, the 2011 Horse of the Year, will make her 2012 debut here at Fair Grounds after all.

Owner Rick Porter, having been informed that Havre de Grace’s weight assignment for the New Orleans Ladies on March 17 would be far more advantageous than originally told and encouraged by Fair Grounds management boosting the purse of the race, early Friday afternoon said Havre de Grace would run in the New Orleans Ladies, rather than go to the Grade 3 Azeri at Oaklawn Park the same day.

Jockey Garrett Gomez said Thursday he is hoping to receive doctor’s clearance this weekend to resume exercising horses after missing the last seven weeks with a heel injury.

Gomez underwent X-rays on Tuesday on his injured heel and said a CAT scan will be taken in coming days that will provide further information on the status of his recovery. He said he has not placed a timeframe on a comeback date, but is hoping to return as early as the weekends of March 3 or March 10.

Game On Dude, who will be favored in the $750,000 Santa Anita Handicap on March 3, worked six furlongs in 1:10.80 on Thursday, his final major exercise before the meeting’s top race for older horses.

Trainer Bob Baffert timed Game On Dude galloping out seven furlongs in 1:23.20.

Dale Capuano became the 27th trainer in North American racing history to win 3,000 races when he sent out Father Mudd to capture the ninth and last race Thursday at his home track, Laurel Park in Laurel, Md.

Capuano, 49, was greeted with signage and a special presentation in the Laurel winner’s circle following the two-length triumph by Father Mudd, a 4-year-old gelding bred and owned by Steven Newby. Kevin Navarro was aboard Father Mudd, who returned $12.40 as third choice in the $5,000 claiming sprint.

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – With the elation of her Breeders’ Cup victory and disappointment of her aborted trip to Argentina now in the rearview mirror, Perfect Shirl will finally begin her 2012 campaign when she takes on a full field of long-distance, filly and mare turf specialists in Saturday’s $100,000 The Very One at Gulfstream Park.

So far, the most noteworthy race in the career of Thiskyhasnolimit was one he lost, a second-place finish to Lookin At Lucky in the 2010 Indiana Derby. But from the appearance he made winning the Louisiana Handicap on Jan. 21, his first start since July, Thiskyhasnolimit might not yet have hit his ability’s limit.

Isn’t He Clever, who tested graded stakes rivals last out in Southern California, has returned home to New Mexico for Saturday’s $150,000 Borderland Derby at Sunland Park. The 1 1/16-mile race, which has received a purse boost of $50,000, is the local stepping-stone to the Grade 3, $800,000 Sunland Park Derby on March 25.

The Borderland will go with seven horses, among them Zackn’mat, a maiden special weight winner at Santa Anita last month for trainer Marty Jones, and Tequila Factor, a multiple stakes winner who last fall was 14th in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf.

HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – Comedero put on a show in the Nodouble Breeders’ Stakes a year ago at Oaklawn Park, when he won the Arkansas-bred sprint by 10 lengths with a Beyer Figure of 100. He’s back to defend his title Saturday, but late last year his appearance in the six-furlong race was in doubt. Comedero was hit with a severe infection in what became a two-month ordeal for the graded stakes winner, who has earned more than $600,000.

“We’re just happy we got him back to the races,” said Michael Stidham, who trains Comedero for Peter Redekop.