OZONE PARK, N.Y. - Given Arctic Arrogance’s tendency to put on weight quickly, trainer Linda Rice thought it best not to wait too long between starts for the 3-year-old colt. That, as much as anything, is why Rice has opted to run Arctic Arrogance in Saturday’s $150,000 Jerome Stakes at Aqueduct.

Rice entered Arctic Arrogance as well as recent claim Valenzan Day in the Jerome, the first stakes for 3-year-olds in 2023 on this circuit and one that offers qualifying points to the Kentucky Derby to the first five finishers (10-4-3-2-1). A field of eight was entered Wednesday.

Sam Houston Race Park will open Friday with all of its traditional trappings in place – from a reduced 12 percent takeout on multi-race wagers to the $800,000 Houston Racing Festival – but the reach of its simulcast signal will be limited.

Due to an ongoing impasse between the Texas Racing Commission and the federal Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority, Sam Houston’s races can only be exported to other racetracks in Texas and international locales.

Yuugiri, a recent allowance winner in her first start since the Kentucky Oaks, could run next in the Carousel on Feb. 25 at Oaklawn, according to trainer Rodolphe Brisset. The filly earned a career-high Beyer of 90 for her Dec. 30 win at Oaklawn.

“I think she looks like she wants to fire when she’s fresh,” Brisset said. “I was very curious to see what she was going to do. I think I’m going to wait for that, not rush anything.”

Brisset said he will take things race to race with Yuugiri, with a long-term goal the Grade 1 Madison at Keeneland.

It’s about 2,000 miles from Calgary, Alberta, to Hot Springs, Ark., and that’s the journey trainer Robertino Diodoro’s parents have made to be with their son as he nears a career milestone of 3,000 wins.

Diodoro is the leading trainer at his winter base of Oaklawn, and through Tuesday had registered 2,997 wins in Thoroughbred races. They have come in his native Canada and the United States. Diodoro also is actively racing at Turf Paradise, Delta Downs, and Sam Houston.

It was a New Year’s weekend to remember for Arkansas-based owner Frank Fletcher.

A day after his Frank’s Rockette won the Grade 3 Sugar Swirl on Dec. 31 at Gulfstream Park, he was at his home track of Oaklawn to watch Victory Formation capture the first Kentucky Derby points race of the year, the $250,000 Smarty Jones. Fletcher races the undefeated Victory Formation with Spendthrift Farm.

Turfway Park officially divides its roughly four months of racing into two meets – the holiday meet, which ran from Nov. 29 through Dec. 31, and the winter/spring meet, getting underway now. The holiday meet ended with jockey Gerardo Corrales, trainer Paulo Lobo, and owner Larry Best’s OXO Equine winning their respective meet titles.

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Grace McEntee rang in the new year as a new face in the Kentucky jockey colony. The 22-year-old, fresh from England, piloted her first two U.S. mounts over the weekend at Turfway Park.

ARCADIA, Calif. - Pizza Bianca, the two-time stakes winner and third-place finisher in the Grade 1 Matriarch Stakes at Del Mar last month, will remain in training in 2023, trainer Christophe Clement said over the weekend.

Pizza Bianca finished sixth, beaten 2 1/2 lengths, in the Grade 1 American Oaks at 1 1/4 miles on Dec. 26 at Santa Anita, after a troubled trip through the stretch.

“I thought she ran okay,” Clement said. “It was not a very lucky trip. She ran a good race in the Matriarch and she was placed in a Grade 1.”

In his first mounts in Kentucky since September 2021, Kent Desormeaux rode three horses on New Year’s Day at Turfway Park. All three were for trainer Wesley Ward. Desormeaux won two maiden special weight events and finished second in the Holiday Cheer aboard Outadore after a troubled start.

Desormeaux has battled substance-abuse issues throughout his career. He has won three editions of the Kentucky Derby and three Eclipse Awards, and is a member of the Racing Hall of Fame.

Williamson Racing’s homebred Visitant turned 7 on New Year’s Day, and he celebrated with a four-length victory as the favorite in the $125,000 Holiday Cheer Stakes at Turfway Park, where he has been consistently successful.

Visitant, a Ghostzapper horse trained by Bill Morey, earned a Beyer Speed Figure of 102, matching the number he earned in an allowance-optional claiming victory on Dec. 16 at Turfway, his first start in more than eight months. Those two wins have moved his record at Turfway to 10-8-1-1, with four stakes wins.