Based on his form in 2011, it’s hard to knock Eighttofasttocatch. He won 5 of 10 starts, including four stakes at his home track, Laurel Park. Whether the now 6-year-old Eighttofasttocatch is ready to pick up where he left off last year, however, is debatable.

Eighttofasttocatch certainly deserves to be favored when he seeks to defend his title in the $100,000 Harrison Johnson Memorial Stakes at 1 1/8 miles on Saturday. But there are also a couple of red flags that may tempt handicappers shopping for a better price to look elsewhere in the six-horse field.

FLORENCE, Ky. – Funny how one horse can do so much for one race. When Animal Kingdom won the Kentucky Derby last year, the Churchill Downs suite where the sponsors of the Vinery Racing Spiral Stakes were watching virtually exploded.

“It was a pretty wild time,” said Bob Elliston, the Turfway Park president who watched the Derby alongside Vinery principals Tom Simon and Tom Ludt.

[TURFWAY PARK: Get PPs and watch the Saturday card live]

OLDSMAR, Fla. – Let It Rock will go for his third straight win Saturday when he tops the final leg of the Tampa Bay Downs Turf Test male division. Paris by Night and Lucky Lass, who finished one-two in a tight photo in their most recent start, will meet again in the filly and mare Turf Test finale.

The Turf Test, a starter allowance series for horses who have raced for $16,000 or less, began at a mile distance. Saturday’s divisions will be contested at about a mile and three-eighths.

ARCADIA, Calif. – A former maiden claimer, Twice the Appeal had a successful 3-year-old season last year, winning the Grade 3 Sunland Park Derby, earning $419,800, and finishing 10th of 19 in the Kentucky Derby.

This year, Twice the Appeal has lost his first three starts, leaving trainer Jeff Bonde ready to experiment with the colt in Saturday’s $100,000 Tokyo City Cup over 1 1/2 miles at Santa Anita.

The Grade 3 Tokyo City will be the longest race of Twice the Appeal’s career, which includes three wins in 14 starts.

Bach’s Homebrew makes his seasonal debut and looks to extend a three-race win streak when he heads a compact field of five older Nebraska-breds in the $25,000 Ogataul Stakes at six furlongs on Saturday at Fonner Park.

Bach’s Homebrew dominated the older division runners in the state last year, winning 6 of 8 starts, including this race in his seasonal bow.

Trained by Larry Staroscik, Bach’s Homebrew has won 12 of 18 career starts and $147,519.

Delta Downs in Vinton, La., experienced a more than 4 percent increase in average daily handle during its 88-date Thoroughbred meet that closed Saturday night. The track, which is home to the Grade 3, $1 million Delta Downs Jackpot, handled an average $1,467,689 a day on its races from all sources, compared to $1,405,551 during the corresponding meet a year ago.

PHOENIX – Five straight wins this meet, including the meet’s marquee event, have pretty much sewn up horse of the meet honors at Turf Paradise for Derive. The 6-year-old gelding, however, won’t sit on his laurels as he looks to put a cherry on top of his meet in Saturday’s $35,000 Coyote Handicap.

The 123-pound highweight, Derive hasn’t scared off the opposition as nine are lined up to face him in the 6 1/2-furlong event.

Sam Houston Race Park will have an expanded wagering format for its 27-date Quarter Horse meet that opens Thursday night and continues through May 19. The track has also grouped four of its most important stakes on a single card April 14, with the program led by the Grade 1, $100,000 Texas Challenge Championship and the Sam Houston Futurity that last year was worth $600,000.

HOT SPRINGS, Ark. - The Grade 2 Oaklawn Handicap will be worth $400,000 when it is run on April 14 following a $50,000 purse increase that was announced Wednesday. The Grade 3 Count Fleet Sprint Handicap, run on the same closing-day card at Oaklawn, also received a $50,000 increase Wednesday to bring its value to $250,000.

HOT SPRINGS, Ark. - Slamit, a maiden winner at Oaklawn who earlier this month won the $50,000 Spring Stakes at Sam Houston Race Park, is to make his next start in one of two stakes, said his trainer, Tim Ice. The horse is headed to either the Grade 3, $500,000 Illinois Derby at Hawthorne on April 7, or the $100,000 Northern Spur at Oaklawn on April 14.