LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Apart was assigned post 2 when 11 3-year-olds and upward were entered Tuesday for the Grade 1 Clark Handicap, which will be run Friday for the 136th time at Churchill Downs. As a 3-year-old owned by Adele Dilschneider and trained by Al Stall Jr., Apart will be trying to follow in the footsteps of his more accomplished former stablemate, Blame, winner of the 2009 Clark on his way to a triumph in the Breeders’ Cup Classic nearly a year later.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Astrology heads a prospective field of eight or nine colts and geldings for the Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes, while Aide and Kathmanblu lead the likely cast for the sister race, the Golden Rod Stakes. Both are Grade 2, $150,000 races that will be run at 1 1/16 miles Saturday.

Astrology, winner of the Iroquois Stakes here opening day, Oct. 31, will be favored in a field that also likely will include Cane Garden Bay, Major Gain, Rogue Romance, and Trubs. Other contenders for the Golden Rod include Gran Lioness and Missyoulikecrazy.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The Klein family experienced one of their many thrills in racing when Allamerican Bertie carried their familiar lime and black silks to victory in the Falls City Handicap at Churchill Downs on Thanksgiving Day 2002. Bert and Elaine Klein and their son, Richard, will be hoping for another memorable holiday when Cash Refund makes his turf debut in one of four undercard allowance races Thursday at Churchill.

ETOBICOKE, Ontario – Michael Pino, the leading trainer by win percentage at this year’s Woodbine meet, possesses superb numbers in numerous statistical categories, but first-time route (13 percent) isn’t one of them.

The Pino-trained Magical Merry will negotiate 1 1/16 miles for the first time as one of the favorites in Thursday’s seventh race, and it will be interesting to see how far she’ll go in the first-level allowance for 2-year-old fillies.

INGLEWOOD, Calif. – Before the weekend Turf Festival at Hollywood Park begins Friday with the first of five grass stakes, Cushion Track remains the focus Thursday with two key races on the main track.

Early post Thanksgiving is 11 a.m. Riveting Reason faces maidens in race 1, his first start since he set the pace and finished eighth in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile. A victory by Riveting Reason at 1 1/16 miles would lead to the Grade 1 CashCall Futurity on Dec. 18.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Family tradition being what it is on Thanksgiving, a certain edge might have to be granted to Wally Dollase and his wife Cincy this Thursday at Churchill Downs. Few racetrack couples epitomize the core values the Dollases have come to represent, and it would seem most appropriate if it was them occupying center stage after the Grade 2 Falls City Handicap is run for the 95th time.

INGLEWOOD, Calif. − In the hours before entries were taken for the Grade 2 Oak Tree Derby last month, trainer Ben Cecil scrambled to find a rider. He wound up with Martin Garcia, who rode Sebastian Flyte to a fourth-place finish, losing by three-quarters of a length.

Sebastian Flyte will start in Sunday’s $250,000 Hollywood Derby, and this time Cecil had no trouble finding a jockey well in advance. Joel Rosario, who through Sunday led the jockey’s standings at the fall meeting, has the mount.

ETOBICOKE, Ontario – Steve Attard and Mike DePaulo are brothers-in-law and brothers in arms in the training ranks here at Woodbine Racetrack.

And while both Attard and DePaulo already are moderately satisfied with their results at the 2010 meeting each has one major item on their wish lists for the final two weeks, which began with Wednesday’s program.

Steve Attard, 48, has his sights set on his stable reaching $1 million in purse money.

Due to poor track conditions caused by freezing temperatures, Portland Meadows has canceled live racing for Tuesday. Racing is scheduled to resume on Wednesday, with first post at 12:40 p.m.

With temperatures expected to rise over the holiday weekend, the second annual XpressBet Jockey Challenge is still on tap for next Monday.
 

The West Virginia Racing Commission has approved Charles Town’s request to race 235 days in 2011 – the same as this year.

In its year-long meet that runs Jan. 4 to Dec. 30, Charles Town will conduct live racing five days a week, but will condense its schedule to four times a week between June 8 and Sept. 6.

The track will be open Tuesday through Saturday from January through April, then switch to a Wednesday through Sunday schedule starting in May.