OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Eight of the 10 older males in Thursday’s six-furlong feature are in for the optional $50,000 claim price, but seven of them ran in at least one stakes race last year. Indeed, the slots-fueled purse of $64,000 is virtually identical to what overnight stakes were worth here last winter, even though it carries second-level allowance conditions.

The speedy Mysticism and the late-running De Price remain eligible for the condition, and either or both could make their presence felt in race 6, the lead-off leg of the late pick four.

ARCADIA, Calif. – January is the right time for 3-year-olds to experiment, which is why sprinter Spirit Rules will try two turns and turf horse Smart Ellis will try dirt Thursday at Santa Anita.

The sprinter and the grass horse meet likely favorite Sky Kingdom in race 2, a 1 1/16-mile main-track allowance that will lead to either the Derby trail or a letdown.

ARCADIA, Calif. – With Jockey Garrett Gomez out of action with a foot injury, several choice stakes mounts at Santa Anita came open this holiday weekend, most notably Jeranimo, whom Gomez was scheduled to ride on Monday in the Grade 2, $150,000 San Gabriel Stakes for older turf horses.

Gomez was aboard Jeranimo for his last start, an impressive victory in the Grade 2 Citation Handicap at Hollywood Park on Nov. 26. Jeranimo is expected to be a heavy favorite in the San Gabriel. As of Tuesday, his trainer, Michael Pender, had not named a replacement.

HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – With the backstretch nearly bursting at the seams Tuesday and the grandstand undergoing a spit-and-polish job, it is clearly Oaklawn time in Arkansas.

“This is like Christmas for us, what we work all year for,” said Eric Jackson, the track’s general manager. “It’s [three days] away, and we can’t wait.”

There was a time when the California Derby stood by itself as a goal for 3-year-olds at the Golden Gate Fields meeting, but now it is simply a prep race for the Grade 3 El Camino Real Derby, which has become Northern California’s signature race for 3-year-olds and will be run Feb. 18.

It’s always more fun when you win, and that’s why Tom Amoss didn’t have a particularly good time Monday night in the Superdome in New Orleans. Amoss was on hand to watch the football team representing his alma mater, Louisiana State University, take a 21-0 drubbing from Alabama in the BCS national championship game.

“No fun,” Amoss said the next morning. “Not at all.”

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – It took Ninja Blade six starts to finally win his maiden in his 3-year-old finale. It’s not likely to take the talented, but somewhat unlucky, colt nearly as long to win again.

ARCADIA, Calif. - A funeral mass for Lewis Cenicola, who died Sunday night from cancer, will be held Thursday at 1 p.m. at Saint Rita of Cascia, 318 N. Baldwin Ave, in nearby Sierra Madre, according to his widow, Donna.

A reception will follow, beginning at 2:30, at the banquet room of the Santa Anita Golf Course, 405 S. Santa Anita Ave., in Arcadia.

A rosary also was scheduled for Cenicola on Wednesday night at 7 p.m. at Douglass and Zook Chapel of Remembrance Funeral Home, 600 E. Foothill Blvd., in Monrovia.

ARCADIA, Calif. – Jockey Garrett Gomez will undergo surgery Thursday to repair a heel fractured in a pre-race accident Sunday, his agent, Tony Matos, said Tuesday morning.

Gomez visited orthopedic specialist Dr. James Tibone, as well as specialist Dr. Jae H. Chon, at the Kerlan-Jobe Orthopaedic Clinic in Los Angeles on Monday afternoon. That clinic treats many of the elite athletes in the area, including the Lakers.

OZONE PARK, N.Y. - Caixa Eletronica, who rolled to a 4 3/4-length victory in Sunday’s $75,000 Rise Jim Stakes, will be under strong consideration for the Grade 3, $150,000 Toboggan Stakes here on Feb. 4.

Caixa Eletronica overcame a bit of a wide trip to win the Toboggan rather convincingly under Cornelio Velasquez. He ran six furlongs in 1:11.04 and earned a 101 Beyer Speed Figure.