LEXINGTON, Ky. - Reigning Eclipse Award champion older female Letruska turned in her final serious piece of preparation for the defense of her victory in Oaklawn Park’s Grade 1 Apple Blossom Handicap on Friday morning at Keeneland.

Letruska, working solo shortly after the track's second renovation break, breezed five furlongs in 1:02.40. Irad Ortiz Jr. was in the irons, subbing for his brother, Jose Ortiz, the mare's regular rider. Jose Ortiz was scheduled to fly in for the work after riding at Aqueduct yesterday, but his flight was canceled.

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – Charge It and Simplification, the second and third finishers respectively in the Grade 1 Florida Derby on April 2 at Gulfstream Park, each turned in the first of their three scheduled works prior to the Kentucky Derby approximately 30 minutes and 40 miles apart early Friday morning in South Florida.

OZONE PARK, N.Y. -- Venti Valentine, second to Nostalgic in last Saturday’s Grade 3 Gazelle Stakes at Aqueduct, will make her next start in the Grade 1 Kentucky Oaks at Churchill Downs on May 6, trainer Jorge Abreu said Thursday.

The day after the Gazelle, Abreu had mentioned the idea of skipping the Oaks and pointing to the Grade 1 Acorn at Belmont Park on June 11. But after consultation with the owners -- NY Final Furlong Racing Stable and Parkland Thoroughbreds -- the decision was made to run in the Oaks.

Handicapper and horseman Doug McPherson is Fort Erie’s new track announcer, replacing the retired Frank Salive. McPherson, 26, has been a guest announcer at several tracks, including Woodbine and Sunland Park.

“We are thrilled to welcome Doug to Fort Erie,” said Drew Cady, general manager of the Fort Erie Live Racing Consortium. “He’s a young and passionate horseperson with a wide range of knowledge and experience in the industry, and we’re looking forward to watching him thrive in this new role.”

Steve Martinelli has replaced Patrick Mackey as racing secretary at Golden Gate Fields effectively immediately, the track announced in a one-paragraph statement on Wednesday.

Mackey was released from the position last weekend. Track officials declined to elaborate on the reason for the change over the weekend.

Martinelli has been assistant racing secretary at Golden Gate Fields for seven years, and worked at the track for 15 years.

HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – Trainer Larry Jones will become a private trainer for his partners and himself starting in July in a move that will end a 40-year run as a public trainer during which he won Grade 1 races from New York to Southern California.  

Jones, who is 65, said he wants to cut back on his travel and will base year round in Kentucky. He and his wife, Cindy, have a home in Henderson, Ky. Jones, who has four grandchildren, is currently based at Oaklawn Park.  

HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – Fantasy runner-up Beguine has found herself on the bubble for the Kentucky Oaks after the latest round of preps, but her connections are proceeding as if she will draw into the filly classic that has a field-size limit of 14. 

Trainer Dan Peitz said Tuesday that owner Charles Matses has made Beguine eligible for the Kentucky Oaks by paying a late nomination fee to the race. The $1,500 fee is due Saturday. Peitz also said plans are to send Beguine, who is based at Oaklawn, to Churchill Downs.

OZONE PARK, N.Y. - Trainer Gary Sciacca on Wednesday morning was still enjoying the spoils of Exotic West’s three-quarter-length victory as the longest shot on the board in Sunday’s $100,000 Top Flight Invitational.

If you don’t count her losing her rider at the start of the Ladies Stakes in January, it was the third straight victory for Exotic West, a daughter of Hard Spun owned by Louis Lazzinnaro.

“I watched the replay again and he never hit her,” Sciacca said, referring to jockey Javier Castellano.

OZONE PARK, N.Y. - First Captain finished last of seven as the third choice in last Saturday’s Grade 1 Carter Handicap and trainer Shug McGaughey isn’t sure what happened.

“I got no explanation,” McGaughey said Wednesday morning at his Belmont Park barn. “He galloped this morning as good as a horse could gallop, I can’t find anything wrong with him. He wasn’t going to beat [Speaker’s Corner] - the winner freaked - but he folded up in a hurry.”

OZONE PARK, N.Y. - A pair of solid efforts going a mile or farther - including a victory in the Forever Together Stakes here last November - made Saturday’s $100,000 Plenty of Grace Stakes at Aqueduct a logical target for Flower Point to make her seasonal debut.