Even in a stagnant racing climate in Texas, fans came out in force for Thursday night’s opener at Lone Star Park in Grand Prairie, with 8,624 in attendance, the track’s largest opening-night crowd since 2007.

It was very much a blue-collar night of racing, with modest fields of reasonably hard-knocking horses, which was immediately punctuated in the meet’s kickoff race, the $50,000 Premiere Stakes for Texas-breds, when front-running Lydia’s Last Step – a horse claimed for $25,000 Feb. 26 – registered a slight upset over favored Coyote Legend.

ARCADIA, Calif. – Santa Anita and the City of Hope Cancer Center in nearby Duarte, Calif., are hosting a unique fund-raiser after the final race on Sunday, allowing fans to walk down the stretch of the racetrack to benefit cancer research.

In the event, titled “On Track to Beat Cancer,” a $10 donation allows race fans the experience to walk the final furlong of the racetrack and to have photos taken in the starting gate, which will be positioned at the eighth pole.

VANCOUVER, British Columbia – Apprentice jockey Scott Williams is hoping to catch on in a big way at Hastings this year. It wouldn’t be the end of the world for Williams if he didn’t. He could always return to Alberta, where he had a lot of success in 2010, winning 15 races from 49 mounts at Grande Prairie and 14 more from 96 rides at Northlands Park. When the meet closed in October he also was competitive in Ontario, winning six races at Woodbine and five at Fort Erie.

Williams, who was born in Vancouver, wants to ride at Hastings, though.

LEXINGTON, Ky. – The big-money chances to make the 137th Kentucky Derby thin out considerably once the $1 million Arkansas Derby and $750,000 Blue Grass Stakes have been run Saturday. A handful of lesser preps remain, perhaps most notably at Keeneland next Saturday, April 23, with the $200,000 Coolmore Lexington, a 1 1/16-mile Polytrack race for which Jaycito figures to be favored.

ETOBICOKE, Ontario - Field Commission, who has been a stalwart in the sprint division here through his last two campaigns, is on the shelf and may miss the entire season.

“He had some problems after his last race last year,” said Danny Vella, who trains Field Commission and owns the 6-year-old Ontario-bred horse in partnership with Edward Seltzer. “We started him up this spring, but he just wasn’t himself.

ETOBICOKE, Ontario – Fatal Bullet, the 2008 Canadian Horse of the Year, returns from a winter layoff Sunday at Woodbine in the $150,000 Jacques Cartier Stakes.

Fatal Bullet has been among the leading local sprinters since his memorable 2008 campaign, during which he wound up second in the Breeders’ Cup Sprint. The now 6-year-old Fatal Bullet failed to find the mark in six starts last year, but managed to finish second in his season opener in the quick Vigil Stakes behind reigning Canadian champion sprinter Hollywood Hit, who has bypassed this six-furlong event.

VANCOUVER, British Columbia – Trainer Terry Clyde, and her father, the owner Doug Clyde, are realists. So it isn’t a big surprise that they are willing to part with Victory With Class, the local 2-year-old filly champ in British Columbia last year. The Clyde’s have Victory With Class entered for the price in a six-furlong money allowance race that carries a $75,000 claiming option at Hastings Sunday.

ETOBICOKE, Ontario – Hollywood Hit, Canada’s champion male sprinter of 2010, had been expected to make his seasonal bow here in Sunday’s $150,000 Jacques Cartier Stakes. But when trainer Terry Jordan decided that Hollywood Hit wasn’t quite ready for a return to prime time, he went to the bench and entered Sports Select for the Jacques Cartier, a six-furlong race for 4-year-olds and upward.

“He’ll run as good as he’s capable of,” said Jordan, who conditions Sports Select for owner James Redekop. “He runs well fresh, and he isn’t going to get any better than he is right now.”

MIAMI - Continuing a horseplayer-friendly trend, Calder Race Course will have an industry-low takeout of 12 percent on its late pick five during the 2011 meet, which opens on April 25, the track has announced.

Gulfstream Park offered a 15-percent takeout on the pick five during its 2011 meeting, only to be trumped by Hollywood Park, which will have a 14-percent takeout on its pick five when its meet opens next week.

Fonner Park track officials canceled live racing for Friday as a powerful weather system moves through the area. Over an inch of rain had fallen overnight into Friday morning with 30-40 mph sustained winds and temperatures in the low 30s.

Rain and snow were forecast for the remainder of the day with winds gusting over 50 mph throughout the day. The decision was made to cancel at 9 a.m. Friday morning. The forecast for Saturday calls for temperatures to rebound into the 50s and a quick return to spring weather.