With the closing of New York City Off-Track Betting Corp. in December, the New York Racing Association enjoyed a tremendous spike in ontrack business during Aqueduct’s recently concluded inner track meet, but the loss of approximately $9.6 million in payments from OTB caused declines in revenue for the four-month period.

ETOBICOKE, Ontario – Both the Toronto Maple Leafs and Raptors missed the playoffs for the umpteenth time this spring, which has left Toronto sports fans starved for some action. The return of Thoroughbred racing to Woodbine on Saturday can help fill that void. The 10-race card is the opener of a 167-day meeting that concludes Dec. 4.

Wagering on live racing was up by 8.9 percent in 2010, an impressive figure that bucked recent industry trends. Glenn Crouter, Woodbine’s vice president of media and sponsorship, said a higher profile in the United States helped to fuel the increase.

HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – Comedero is coming home, and what a homecoming it will be for the Arkansas-bred sprinter, who won five stakes last year between Oaklawn, Pimlico, and Charles Town.

He will start as a short-priced favorite Saturday in the $50,000 Nodouble at Oaklawn, and later the same evening will be recognized as the 2010 Arkansas-bred of the year during a downtown gala put on by the Arkansas Thoroughbred Breeders’ and Horsemen’s Association.

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ARCADIA, Calif. – One was exhausted, one needed knee surgery, and another was plagued by bad feet.

A marathon run of 24 trials for the $780,000 Remington Park Quarter Horse Futurity will begin Saturday night at the Oklahoma City track and continue through Sunday afternoon. There will be 12 trials on each program, with a 13-race card Sunday to include the Grade 3, $35,000 Pauls Valley at 870 yards for Quarter Horses.

Mike Maker has dominated the 2011 winter-spring meeting at Turfway Park, even with the proverbial one hand tied behind his back. Despite his better horses wintering at Gulfstream Park and Fair Grounds, Maker daylighted his colleagues with shrewd placements, racking up 34 wins from 96 starts as the meet winds to a close this weekend.

Fittingly, the final Saturday of the meet could be a showcase for Maker, as the 42-year-old trainer will send out La Gran Bailadora as a major contender in the $50,000 Fairway Fun Stakes at the Florence, Ky., track.

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HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – For a filly who won a Grade 1 race and was second in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies at 2, R Heat Lightning was still a bit underappreciated entering her 3-year-old season.

That changed on Feb. 26, when R Heat Lightning rolled to a decisive 7 1/4-length victory in the Grade 2 Davona Dale Stakes, beating the highly-regarded Dancinginherdreams in the process.

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HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – As good a year as Unrivaled Belle had in 2010, imagine how good it could have been had she not had to run against horses trained by Todd Pletcher.

Pletcher-trained fillies and mares handed Unrivaled Belle three of her four losses last year, though Unrivaled Belle beat both Life At Ten and Malibu Prayer when it mattered most in the Breeders’ Cup Ladies Classic last Nov. 6 at Churchill Downs.

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ARCADIA, Calif. – The presence of Gilded Gem, Mother Ruth, and Subsidized give Bob Baffert half the starters in Saturday’s $100,000 Las Flores Stakes for female sprinters at Santa Anita.

That has not led to overwhelming confidence from the Hall of Fame trainer.

“I’ve got to beat” Broken Dreams, Baffert said.

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OZONE PARK, N.Y. – With a purse slashed 50 percent for its 99th running, the $100,000 Excelsior at Aqueduct on Saturday could easily be mistaken by handicappers as just another overnight stakes of winter.