ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, Ill. – Back at his best distance of one mile or thereabouts, Workin for Hops turned in his second straight strong performance winning the Hanshin Cup on Saturday at Arlington. The three-length victory marked his first win of the year, but Workin for Hops was coming off a good second-place finish to Get Stormy – subsequent winner of the Grade 1 Woodford Reserve Turf Classic at Churchill – in the Grade 1 Maker’s Mark Mile over the Keeneland turf course.

ETOBICOKE, Ontario – Paso Doble has not enjoyed much stability during his career, spending time in five different barns before being shipped to Mark Casse in Florida this year.

But it would appear that Paso Doble, a 5-year-old gelding who races for the Centennial Farm (Niagara) syndicate, has found a home based on his impressive victory here in last Sunday’s $125,000 New Providence Stakes.

Purchased by his current owners last fall, Paso Doble finished the season here and then was sent to Casse in Florida.

Daily average handle at Turf Paradise was off for the recently concluded meet, with an increase in total ontrack handle and a decrease in total all-sources handle for the 155-day 2010-11 meeting, which ran eight days longer than the 2009-10 meeting. The meet at the Phoenix track began last Oct. 1 and ended May 8.

ELMONT, N.Y. – Youth, not to mention talent, may be served in Wednesday’s feature race at Belmont Park as Sky Blazer, the only 3-year-old in the field, faces a group of seemingly ordinary older males in a $53,000, first-level allowance at 1 1/16 miles on the inner turf course.

There is a pick-six carryover of $43,718 entering Wednesday’s card, and five of the six races in the sequence are scheduled for the turf, though intermittent rain is forecast throughout the week.

ETOBICOKE, Ontario – Dance to the Moon seems poised to find the winner’s circle in Wednesday’s seventh race at Woodbine, an Ontario-sired allowance for nonwinners of three. The seven-furlong event is the final leg of the pick four, which has a guaranteed pool of $75,000.

Dance to the Moon graduated in a seven-furlong maiden special on Oct. 31. Three weeks later, she doubled up in an Ontario-sired allowance, in which she beat a weak field after setting a sleepy pace. She failed to stay 1 1/16 miles on the frigid final day of the 2010 meet.

While the upset victory by Shackleford in the 136th Preakness Stakes on Saturday at Pimlico denied Kentucky Derby winner Animal Kingdom a chance to shoot for the Triple Crown, there is a good chance that the final leg of the Triple Crown, the June 11 Belmont Stakes at Belmont Park, will feature a showdown between the Derby and Preakness winners, a matchup that has not taken place in the Belmont since 2005.

Business figures for the Preakness Stakes and its undercard on Saturday were a mixed bag, providing no clear guidance as to whether racing’s big events can help the sport emerge from a prolonged and dramatic slide.

Handle on the Preakness itself was up, while handle on the entire card was down, according to the chart of the Preakness and figures provided by Pimlico. Attendance at Pimlico on a sunny day with mildly warm temperatures was up compared to last year, while television ratings for the race were down.

Trainer Charlton Baker notched his 1,000th career win Saturday at Finger Lakes when Boston Chief scored a half-length victory in the seventh race.

Baker, a 44-year-old native of Jamaica, has scored 868 of his 1,000 triumphs at Finger Lakes. He finished the 2010 meet in second place in the trainer standings behind Chris Englehart with 82 wins. He is currently fifth in the young 2011 season with 10 victories.

AUBURN, Wash. - Noosa Beach picked up Sunday where he left off at Emerald Downs last summer, capturing the $50,000 Governor's Handicap to run his latest winning streak to five and his overall record since the beginning of 2010 to eight victories in nine starts.

INGLEWOOD, Calif. – Former Northern California-based trainer Dean Pederson is relocating to Southern California, so the $16.60 upset by Logical Single in the $73,550 Fran’s Valentine Stakes on Sunday at Hollywood Park was well-timed.