HOT SPRINGS, Ark. - Oaklawn Park officials are hopeful the racing surface, which has been closed since Monday due to freezing temperatures, will be reopened for training Friday afternoon. The track was forced to cancel Friday’s opening day card, but are confident they will race on Saturday.

“We’re a 100 percent go for Saturday,” said David Longinotti, assistant general manager of racing for Oaklawn. “There’s not a weather forecast that I’ve seen that causes me any concern.”

OLDSMAR, Fla. – Jockey Rosemary Homeister Jr. won with five of her six mounts Thursday at Tampa Bay Downs, tying a personal record while also tying a track record for second-most wins on a card.

Homeister, 38, won the second race with Daddy’s Honor ($3.20), then was out of the money in the fourth race aboard Hudson Bay. She then reeled off four straight victories with Fire Cloud ($15) in the fifth, Round Trip Loner ($6.20) in the sixth, Mr. Ryder ($10) in the seventh, and He’s Appealing ($24.20) in the eighth. She did not have a mount in the last two races of the day.

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – Trainer Steve Dwoskin had no intention of running his stakes-placed Swift Warrior in Sunday’s $100,000 Dania Beach at Gulfstream Park. But after getting a call from the racing office and learning who the competition would be, Dwoskin changed his plans.

Sidney's Candy, the five-time stakes winner, will not start in Saturday's Grade 2 San Fernando Stakes at Santa Anita because of concern over his right hind leg, trainer John Sadler said Friday. Sidney's Candy would have been a heavy favorite in the Grade 2 San Fernando, which will now have a field of eight.

"He came up a little off behind today," Sadler said. "I don't think it's serious."

Sadler said that Sidney's Candy will undergo a nuclear scan test on Monday.

Harmonious may be switching surfaces for her next start.

A two-time Grade 1 winner on turf at Hollywood Park and Keeneland last year and the beaten favorite when second in the Robert Frankel Stakes at Santa Anita on Jan. 1, Harmonious could start in the $150,000 La Canada Stakes for 4-year-old fillies over 1 1/8 miles on the main track Feb. 13, trainer John Shirreffs said. The race could feature Blind Luck or Champagne d’Oro.

On Thursday, Shirreffs watched Harmonious work a half-mile in 49 seconds on the main track at Santa Anita.

ARCADIA, Calif. – Champagne d’Oro’s career has been defined by two Grade 1 wins around one-turn in New York last year – the one-mile Acorn Stakes at Belmont Park in June and the seven-furlong Test Stakes at Saratoga in August.

Trainer Eric Guillot has different goals for 2011 – winning major stakes around two turns. The first opportunity, and a difficult one, will be Sunday’s $150,000 El Encino Stakes over 1 1/16 miles for 4-year-old fillies at Santa Anita.

The distance and the age restriction suit Champagne d’Oro.

It’s common for an owner and trainer to tangle over the proper place to run a horse. When the trainer’s owner also happens to be his father, add in another layer of complexity.

Troy Young trains Flashy Wise Cat, and Young’s dad Lee owns him. Lee Young anted up $100,000 to acquire Flashy Wise Cat at auction, a major sum for a son of the obscure sire Catastrophe, and the elder Young has had strong feelings about the horse all along.

Trainer Nick Zito remains delighted with the way Fly Down has trained since shipping to south Florida shortly after his third-place finish in the Breeders’ Cup Classic. On Thursday, Fly Down continued preparations for his 2011 debut by working a half-mile in 48.60 at Palm Meadows.

HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – The $50,000 Dixie Belle will be Oaklawn Park’s opening-day feature by default. The track was to launch its meet Friday, but Mother Nature interfered with those plans and the season is expected to instead begin Saturday.

Maybe it’s fitting. The Dixie Belle has often served as the first stakes of the Oaklawn meet, but it was bumped this year in favor of the $75,000 Fifth Season. That race for older horses will now be run Sunday, so it will be the 3-year-old fillies who ring in Oaklawn 2011.