Ralph Nicks likes what he sees about the race in which he will run a 4-year-old gelding named Perfect Easter – as long as the Fair Grounds main track is reasonably fast Sunday.

“It looks like he’ll be real salty against those horses he’s up against,” said Nicks, “although he does like to hear his feet rattle.”

Perfect Easter, with Robby Albarardo to ride, looks like the horse to beat in the ninth and richest of 10 Sunday races at the New Orleans track, a $47,000, first-level allowance at six furlongs. Perfect Easter was assigned post 1 among the seven horses entered.

Daniel Smithwick Jr. is scheduled to be at Turfway Park on Sunday afternoon to saddle a 6-year-old horse named Cardiff Road, one of the 17 horses in his public stable. That, in itself, qualifies as news.

Smithwick sustained potentially life-altering injuries in a horrific fall down a flight of steps at his Louisville home in late October and had been hospitalized until Wednesday.

Ducky Drake is less than a month from turning 9, but he is coming into Saturday’s $50,000 KLAQ Handicap at Sunland Park in top form. The 5 1/2-furlong race opens the stakes program at the New Mexico track, and it will share a card with the $120,000 Jess Burner Memorial for Quarter Horses, which drew Grade 1 winner One Diamond Kitty.

Caleb’s Posse, Aces N Kings, and Behold de Buy are the most accomplished 2-year-olds in Saturday night’s $250,000 Springboard Mile, but each has significant questions to answer in the competitive race that closes out the meet at Remington Park.

Al Stall didn’t have much time to brood over Star Guitar’s shocking defeat in the $100,000 Gold Cup on Nov. 5 at Delta Downs. The next day, Blame would win the $5 million Breeders’ Cup Classic. That’ll take the sting out of a loss.

Now it is on to another Classic for Stall, though this one carries slightly less than the one with Zenyatta in Louisville. The question now is whether Star Guitar will bounce right back from his first loss in years to a Louisiana-bred foe and win the $100,000 Louisiana Champions Day Classic for the second year in a row.

Trainer Bret Calhoun entered three horses in Louisiana Champions Day races Saturday at Fair Grounds, and a perfect afternoon is within his grasp.

Su Casa G Casa looks like the favorite in the $100,000 Juvenile, Take Me Home Too could well be favored in the $100,000 Lassie, and Speedacious should be no worse than second choice in the $100,000 Ladies Sprint.

INGLEWOOD, Calif. – Cost of Freedom starts in Saturday’s $55,000 Miles Tyson Stakes because the 7-year-old gelding seems too fond of the Hollywood Park Cushion Track surface to pass up the opportunity, trainer John Sadler said.

“We’re not so sure he’ll like the dirt, but we know he likes it here,” Sadler said.

OLDSMAR, Fla. – Reduced minimum betting amounts on many exotic wagers and the chance to possibly see a future Kentucky Derby winner up close are just a few of the attractions that await racing fans this season as Tampa Bay Downs begins its 85th racing season on Saturday with an 11-race program. The 91-day meet will continue through May 8.

STICKNEY, Ill. – Next Kitten is by Kitten’s Joy, a turf star in his day, and out of a mare by the European sire Danehill. His first four races came on turf and Polytrack, the surfaces for which he is best bred, but Next Kitten’s peak race came Nov. 24 at Hawthorne in his dirt debut, and it’s that performance that should make him the favorite in the $100,000 Jim Edgar Futurity on Saturday at Hawthorne.

INGLEWOOD, Calif. – Saturday has been circled on trainer Mike Puype’s calendar for months.

When Turbulent Descent made a successful debut in a maiden race at Hollywood Park in October, winning under a hand-ride from jockey David Flores, a start in Saturday’s $300,000 Hollywood Starlet became a feasible goal.

Turbulent Descent became the favorite for the Grade 1 Starlet when she followed her maiden race win with a comprehensive victory in the $100,000 Moccasin Stakes over seven furlongs on Nov. 21.