Michael Thompson has been a licensed trainer even since before he graduated from high school in Louisville in 1977. In all that time, he hasn't gotten many bigger thrills than the one he got here Thursday.

Thompson, who operates a six-horse stable at the nearby Trackside training center, swept the late daily double when Irish Witch ($38.20) won the co-featured eighth race as the longest shot in the field and Bk's Sis' Birthday ($18) rolled to victory in the ninth. The $2 double paid $378.40.

Thompson, 51, has 221 career victories.

ELMONT, N.Y. − After virtually each of Eightyfiveinafifty's races, trainer Gary Contessa heard from someone wanting to know how the horse was doing. Following Eightyfiveinafifty's last-place finish in the Grade 2 Woody Stephens on Belmont Stakes Day, Contessa heard from no one.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Eclipse Award-winning jockey Julien Leparoux has been sidelined since mid-May with a back injury sustained in a spill at Pimlico - and that's not even close to being the bad news for Leparoux's agent, Steve Bass.

Fortunately for Leparoux, it appears he will be able to return to riding at Churchill Downs by July 1. On Thursday, Leparoux saw his physician, who cleared him to begin an exercise regimen that will allow him to begin exercising horses on June 24, with his first day of competition tentatively set for a week later.

Commander Buck had been a staple at Louisiana Downs ever since 2005, but he was retired from racing last fall and is on a new career path: three-day eventing. A popular horse on the track for both his frequent wins and his significant height, Commander Buck has made a nice transition to a sport that combines different disciplines, such as jumping and dressage.

"He's a young horse, in the novice level, just starting out," said Mike Huber, a former Olympian and Pan American Games gold medalist who now trains Commander Buck in Flower Mound, Texas. "We'll see how far he goes."

Trainer Joe Petalino has a nice pair of stakes-winning 3-year-olds gearing up for the second half of 2010.

Golden Euro, who remained perfect at two turns when he won the $100,000 USA Stakes last month at Lone Star Park, is now being pointed for the $100,000 Prelude Stakes at Louisiana Downs. Pleasant Storm, meanwhile, is targeting a fall stakes at Remington Park.

ETOBICOKE, Ontario - Owner/trainer Sue Leslie already was president of the local Horsemen's Benevolent and Protective Association, a board member of both the Fort Erie Live Racing Consortium and LongRun Thoroughbred Retirement Society, and chair of the Ontario Horse Racing Industry.

Last week, Leslie added the position of president of Ontario Horse Racing Industry, an umbrella association that represents all segments of the industry.

All of which raises the question: When does Leslie find time to train her horses?

VANCOUVER, British Columbia - Apprentice jockey Geovanni Franco is hoping his win aboard Dyna Stroll for trainer Troy Taylor in the $54,790 Jim Coleman Province for 3-year-olds last Saturday will help propel him to better mounts at the meet.

INGLEWOOD, Calif. - What started out last winter as a kitschy promotion at Hollywood Park on Sunday has turned into much more than a giveaway at the turnstile.

The track always planned to give away a bobble-head doll of the popular two-time champion Zenyatta in conjunction with Sunday's $250,000 Vanity Handicap, a race the mare won in 2008 and 2009. When owners Jerry and Ann Moss and trainer John Shirreffs announced in late April that Zenyatta would start in the Vanity, seeking an unprecedented third consecutive win in the Grade 1 race, the day become an even bigger draw.

FORT ERIE, Ontario - Fort Erie has had its share of controversy when it comes to the wagering dollar. The opportunity to bet with U.S. dollars as well as Canadian was denied last season, resulting in the need for Americans to change their money in order to bet.

However, Tom McKinnon, the track's new wagering and development manager, decided to reinstitute tellers dedicated to U.S. dollars, and American customers have certainly welcomed the opportunity to place a bet in their own currency.

ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, Ill. - Arlington Park will cut $725,000 from the rest of its 2010 stakes schedule because of a sharp decline in handle on the track's races since last year.