LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Churchill Downs has set the dates for the three three-day pools in the 2011 Kentucky Derby Future Wager while announcing that exacta wagering will be offered for the first time in the single Kentucky Oaks Future Wager pool.

The dates are Feb. 18-20, March 11-13, and April 1-3.

This is the 13th year for the Future Wager, which has undergone a number of changes through the years. The latest is exactas in the Oaks pool, which will again run concurrently with Derby Pool 2. Exactas were first offered on Derby futures during Pool 2 of 2009.

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – The 2011 Preakness is still more than four months away, but the MI Developments Preakness 5.5 kicks off here next Sunday with the Grade 3 Holy Bull Stakes. The Preakness 5.5 is a $5.5 million bonus that will be awarded to the owner and trainer of any 3-year-old who wins a series of races at MID tracks culminating with the Preakness at Pimlico on May 21.

Champagne d’Oro, the fourth-place finisher in the Grade 2 El Encino Stakes last Sunday, will be given three months’ rest after suffering a bout with colic after that race that required a brief hospitalization, trainer Eric Guillot said.

Champagne d’Oro was sent to a local clinic on Sunday and returned to Guillot’s stable on Wednesday. The trainer said the 4-year-old Champagne d’Oro will return to training in May.

Champ Pegasus may be bound for Dubai in March, depending on his performance in the $150,000 San Luis Obispo Stakes over 1 1/2 miles on turf on Feb. 19.

Trainer Richard Mandella said he needs to see a win, or a top effort, from Champ Pegasus to justify a trip to Dubai for the $5 million Sheema Classic against an international field over about 1 1/2 miles on turf on March 26.

Champ Pegasus, second in the Breeders’ Cup Turf at Churchill Downs in November, finished second in his 2011 debut in Monday’s Grade 2 San Marcos Stakes, losing to Bourbon Bay.

The last time Turfway Park ran a stakes for 3-year-old fillies, Dr. Diamonds Prize was a four-length winner of the Gowell for jockey Jozbin Santana and trainer Mark Hubley.

Nearly a month later, Dr. Diamonds Prize will stay in the Hubley barn at the Thoroughbred training center in Lexington while 10 3-year-old fillies convene Saturday in the $50,000 Cincinnati Trophy at Turfway.

Russian Lane, who dominated New Mexico-bred 2-year-olds in 2010, will make his first start at 3 on Saturday in the $120,000 Pepsi Cola at Sunland Park.

A field of nine will go in the six-furlong race, which is restricted to statebreds.

ARCADIA, Calif. – Just nine days after she beat maidens in a 22-1 upset, Advantage Player will be back on Santa Anita’s hillside turf course for Saturday’s $75,000 Sweet Life Stakes for 3-year-old fillies.

While the timing of the race is not ideal, trainer Peter Miller said the opportunity is too good to pass.

“She bounced out of the race so good,” Miller said. “It’s hard to find the down-the-hill spots. If we pass this, we would probably be waiting two months to run her back.”

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ARCADIA, Calif. – Even with losses in his last two starts, Smiling Tiger’s status in the national sprint division has risen in recent months.

HOT SPRINGS, Ark. - Oaklawn Park has canceled its nine-race card for Thursday because of an expected winter storm and poor weather conditions north of nearby Little Rock, Ark.

The track was open for training on Thursday morning, but snow began to fall just after 10:30 a.m. Central. It was 36 degrees in Hot Springs early Thursday afternoon, with forecasters calling for temperatures to drop to 20 degrees overnight.

Keeneland Race Course released the stakes schedule for the 2011 spring meet with minimal change from years past, although three stakes have undergone moderate purse cuts from 2010.

The 15-day meet at the Lexington, Ky., track runs April 8-29, and the richest event, as usual, is the $750,000 Blue Grass Stakes on April 16. The Blue Grass is one of four Grade 1 races on tap, along with the $400,000 Ashland on April 9, the $300,000 Vinery Madison on April 14, and the $300,000 Maker’s Mark Mile on April 15.