A couple of familiar names in the riding ranks are off to hot starts at Evangeline Downs. John Jacinto, a two-time riding champion at Louisiana Downs in his second full season here, and veteran Gerard Melancon, who also won a pair of riding crowns at Louisiana Downs as well as titles here and at Delta Downs, have accounted for 19 wins between them during the first eight days of the season.

Jacinto, 34, began to build momentum late in the Fair Grounds meeting that concluded in March, including nine wins during a two-day span in the final month of the season.

The field for the showcase event of the Fonner meet, Saturday's $75,000 Bosselman/Gus Fonner Stakes, was beginning to solidify Wednesday morning, with a field of seven considered definite while as many as five others were still on the fence to fill out the field of 10 maximum starters.

Shadowbdancing and Calm and Collected were the confirmed shippers as of Wednesday. Shadowbdancing is the likely favorite for the 1 1/16-mile fixture and is trained by Terrel Gore.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - As manager of the Los Angeles Dodgers, Joe Torre could have found himself in any one of 16 different cities Wednesday morning. But as luck would have it, the Dodgers are in the midst of a series with the Cincinnati Reds, affording Torre the opportunity to make the two-hour drive to Louisville to be on hand to watch his Homeboykris work six furlongs in 1:14.48 in preparation for an expected start in the Kentucky Derby.

LEXINGTON, Ky. - Cloudy's Knight, the 10-year-old gelding who has earned more than $2.5 million and would have been a solid favorite Friday in the closing-day Elkhorn Stakes at Keeneland, might have to be retired after suffering a tendon injury in a Monday workout, trainer Jonathan Sheppard said.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The quest for that perfect Derby workout continued Wednesday morning at Churchill Downs, and while it might not have been perfect, Lookin At Lucky delivered a performance that came close enough to keep the bandwagon fully loaded and trainer Bob Baffert brimming with confidence.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - When it came to training his Kentucky Derby horses, D. Wayne Lukas always kept everybody in the dark.

Lukas, a four-time Kentucky Derby winner, would traditionally send his Derby hopefuls out to train before dawn. None of his horses wore their personalized saddle towels, which would have identified them to both the media and public alike.

Stewards at Penn National Race Course have issued two suspensions totaling 90 days to trainer Anthony Adamo for the illegal possession of hypodermic needles and the "intent to administer an unnatural and unauthorized substance" to a horse owned by Michael Gill.

GRAND PRAIRIE, Texas - Euroears is set to make his two-turn debut Saturday against a diverse group of older horses in the Grade 3, $200,000 Texas Mile. Mythical Power, winner of last year's Lone Star Derby, flew in Monday from Southern California for the race, while Jonesboro, the defending champ, and Star Guitar, a 10-time stakes winner, also are a go.

The Texas Mile will share a card with two other stakes, the $50,000 Grand Prairie Turf Challenge and the $50,000 Irving Distaff. All are designed as stepping-stones to rich stakes on the Lone Star Million Day program May 31.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Eskendereya led a star-studded contingent of trainer Todd Pletcher's South Florida-based horses who arrived at his Churchill Downs barn shortly after 1 p.m. on Tuesday.

Eskendereya was joined on the flight by fellow Kentucky Derby starters Rule, Discreetly Mine, and Mission Impazible, as well as Devil May Care, who will run in either the Kentucky Oaks or Derby. Also aboard were Oaks contender Alailea, and the older, Grade 1-caliber sprinter Munnings.

The filly Devil May Care, considered one of the leading contenders for the Kentucky Oaks on April 30, could be entered instead in the Kentucky Derby on May 1, a scenario her trainer, Todd Pletcher, termed "a possibility" on Tuesday morning.