LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Eskendereya, the favorite for the Kentucky Derby, had a workout planned for Saturday postponed because of wet weather, though trainer Todd Pletcher said he still planned to work the bulk of his Derby runners on Saturday morning at Churchill Downs.

ALTOONA, Iowa - Tornado Betty defeated seven rivals to win the $60,000 Goldfinch, a six-furlong race for 3-year-old fillies on Prairie Meadows's opening night card Friday. Tornado Betty rallied from eight lengths back at the half and won in a final time of 1:09.14, two-hundredths of a second off the stakes record.

LEXINGTON, Ky. - Closing day at Keeneland on Friday turned into old-timers day, as Musketier, a relative youngster of 8, beat 9-year-old Brass Hat to take the Grade 2, $200,000 Elkhorn Stakes for long-distance grass runners.

Musketier, making his first start since October, made a powerful run on the last of three turns to take the lead into the stretch, then safely held off a belated bid from Brass Hat to win by 1 3/4 lengths. Blushing Bear was another three-quarters of a length back in third. Sudden War, the 3-1 favorite, faded to finish ninth in the field of 12.

ETOBICOKE, Ontario - Mac Benson, back from his annual sojourn at Payson Park in Florida, is taking his usual understated approach to the Woodbine meeting.

"I've got some nice horses, if I can keep them sound," said Benson, 79, who has been based here since 1978.

Benson currently has 15 horses, all of whom were with him at Payson Park.

"I'll have 20 by the time I get them all in from the farms," said Benson.

GRAND PRAIRIE, Texas - Bella Diamante worked a bullet five-eighths in 58 seconds Friday morning at Lone Star Park in preparation for next Friday's Kentucky Oaks. She was to van to Churchill Downs on Saturday, said her trainer, Allen Milligan.

Mike Smith will have the mount on Bella Diamante, who in December was second to leading Oaks candidate Quiet Temper in the $500,000 Delta Princess at Delta Downs.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Three of the most dominant jockeys on the rugged Southern California circuit in the last two decades not only are riding at Churchill Downs through Kentucky Derby week but also will be here for varying lengths of a spring meet that runs through July 4.

Garrett Gomez, Corey Nakatani, and Alex Solis all will hold over as part of a Churchill jockey colony that already includes Kentucky regulars Robby Albarado, Calvin Borel, Shaun Bridgmohan, and Julien Leparoux.

Mother Nature is expected to shed a few tears, but hardly any horseplayers will follow suit as Sunday marks the final day of the six-month marathon that is Aqueduct.

Following a four-day break, Belmont Park opens its 59-day stint on Friday.

Sunday's nine-race card includes five races for New York-breds, four scheduled turf events, and a forecast that calls for rain. The nominal feature is a first-level allowance for males going seven furlongs.

Dual Eclipse Award winner Gio Ponti has recently resumed galloping at Payson Park in south Florida and remains on target for the Grade 1 Manhattan at Belmont Park on June 5, trainer Christophe Clement said. The Manhattan was one of four Grade 1 races Gio Ponti won in 2009.

Gio Ponti finished fourth in the Dubai World Cup, and after doing a couple of days in quarantine in New York, he shipped to Clement's stable in Payson Park.

Clement said Gio Ponti jogged for three weeks but has begun galloping the last few days. He will ship to Belmont next weekend.

Jockey John Velazquez will be at Monmouth Park for at least the first four days of that Jersey Shore track's meet, according to his agent, Angel Cordero Jr.

Velazquez is booked to ride at Monmouth on May 22-23 and again on May 29-30. He will be at Belmont on the weekdays proceeding those weekends as well as on May 31, Memorial Day, when he will ride Quality Road in the Grade 1 Metropolitan Handicap.

OZONE PARK, N.Y. - It will take more than not having a Kentucky Derby mount for the first time since 1999 to wipe the smile off jockey Edgar Prado's face these days.

Highlighted by a five-win afternoon on Thursday at Aqueduct, Prado has won with 14 of his last 36 mounts from April 11 through Friday and is building some momentum heading into the start of Belmont Park's spring meet next Friday. Coming off a disappointing Gulfstream meet - where he won just 14 races from 155 mounts - Prado needed something positive to happen at Aqueduct.