A spike in offtrack business helped Sunland Park in New Mexico achieve an increase of more than 5 percent in average daily handle during its 77-date mixed meet for Thoroughbreds and Quarter Horses that ended April 20.

Sunland handled an average $851,540 a day on its races from all sources, which was up from last season's average of $807,603. At sites offtrack, patrons bet an average $756,809 a day on Sunland, which was up 6 percent. Ontrack, an average $94,731 a day was bet on Sunland's races this meet, which was down 1 percent from last season.

Despite getting off to an extremely poor start, Gulfstream Park concluded its 2010 season on Saturday showing an increase in all-sources handle over the corresponding meet one year earlier.

After being down 13 percent in all-sources handle and 19 percent in ontrack handle after the opening month of the meet, Gulfstream Park rallied to close the 79-day session up 4.2 per cent in all-sources handle and down just less than 1 percent ontrack compared with the 2009 session.

He ranks fifth all-time in races and purse money won and has trained the Horse of the Year for the last three years. But trainer Steve Asmussen still gets excited about winning a trainer's title. Considering he had never won a title at a New York Racing Association meet before, perhaps the joy he displayed Monday morning was warranted.

INGLEWOOD, Calif. - Trainer Alexis Barba was on the first leg of a flight from Los Angeles to Louisville when her stable won its richest prize of the year in Saturday's $200,000 Snow Chief Stakes.

Alphie's Bet, who was considered for Saturday's Kentucky Derby until he finished sixth in the Santa Anita Derby on April 3, dominated the Snow Chief Stakes for statebred 3-year-olds, his second stakes win of the year.

"I'm sorry I missed it," Barba said from the Atlanta airport.

OLDSMAR, Fla. - Kathleen O'Connell must feel like a Nascar driver in the final laps of a 500-mile race, checking her fuel gauge and asking for her chief competitor's lap times, as she attempts to hold off the late surging Jamie Ness stable in the battle for leading trainer in the closing days of the meet at Tampa Bay Downs.

O'Connell enjoyed the best year of her training career in 2009 and carried over that momentum to this season, leading the standings for much of the meeting.

ALBANY, Calif. - Mission accomplished!

Bold Chieftain attained the final goal set by his connections with his victory in the Grade 2 San Francisco Mile on Saturday on the Golden Gate Fields turf, notching his first graded stakes victory.

Bold Chieftain also provided Russell Baze with his first victory in the San Francisco Mile. Baze, who has more wins than any other jockey, had finished second in the Mile on six previous occasions.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Rusty Arnold tends to speak only when spoken to. This axiom doesn't normally apply to 55-year-old Kentucky hardboots, but Arnold seldom has been one to randomly pop off, especially when it comes to his horses.

ETOBICOKE, Ontario - Trainer Audre Cappuccitti was concerned Essence Hit Man could be up against it in last Sunday's $174,800 Woodstock, his first start since last October.

But Essence Hit Man proved there was nothing to fear, breaking from the inside post in the field of seven 3-year-olds and leading all the way to score a three-quarter-length victory.

"I didn't expect that at all," Cappuccitti said. "I was in shock. I'd said if he ran third or fourth, I'd be happy."

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The complexion of the 136th Kentucky Derby this Saturday at Churchill Downs changed dramatically in the 24 hours ending Monday, going from a race seemingly dominated, at least parimutuelly, by Eskendereya, to a more wide-open race that now will include the filly Devil May Care.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Perhaps the only thing worse than rain on Derby Day is rain the week of the race, when the majority of the contenders stabled at Churchill Downs get in their final works.

Four consecutive days of rain altered training schedules and forced Derby hopefuls to gallop and work over a racetrack that may not have been to their liking and may bear little resemblance to the one they'll compete over on Derby Day.