HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – Champion Jackie’s Warrior ran one of his best races on a wet track, and he could get similar conditions Saturday when he makes his 4-year-old debut in the Grade 3, $500,000 Count Fleet Sprint Handicap at Oaklawn Park.

Rains have pummeled Hot Springs since the early morning hours, with training delayed an hour due to lightning in the area. Training was later called off for the remainder of the morning at 9:30 a.m. Central.

Following Sunday’s program, there is no live racing at Santa Anita until April 30, a day with four graded stakes.

The track will not race from April 22-24 or on Friday, April 29, a gap that will allow a break for the horse population leading to the final weeks of the winter-spring meeting, which ends on June 19. The stoppage of racing allows the turf course to be rested.

Desert Dawn, the upset winner of the Grade 2 Santa Anita Oaks on April 9, will be shipped to Churchill Downs on May 1 for a scheduled start in the Grade 1 Kentucky Oaks on May 6.

Friday at Santa Anita, Desert Dawn had a routine gallop, trainer Phil D’Amato said.

“She had a nice gallop,” he said. “If all goes well, she’ll be on a plane on May 1.”

There is a Grade 1 race in the short-term future for Royal Ship, the winner of the John Shear Mile at Santa Anita last Sunday in his 2022 debut.

Trainer Richard Mandella said on Friday that Royal Ship will be considered for the $400,000 Hollywood Gold Cup at 1 1/4 miles at Santa Anita on May 30, or the $1 million Metropolitan Mile Handicap at Belmont Park on June 11.

Mandella said the Grade 2 Californian Stakes at 1 1/8 miles at Santa Anita on April 30 is likely to arrive too soon.

HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – Bob’s Edge has emerged as the leading sprinter at the Oaklawn Park meet and on Saturday will get tested by a champion when he meets Jackie’s Warrior for the first time in the Grade 3, $500,000 Count Fleet Sprint Handicap.  

The Count Fleet continues the $5.4 million Racing Festival of the South, which is a collection of major stakes run throughout the month of April at Oaklawn.  

The forecast is for a high of 68 degrees and a chance of showers, according to AccuWeather.   

LEXINGTON, Ky. - Reigning Eclipse Award champion older female Letruska turned in her final serious piece of preparation for the defense of her victory in Oaklawn Park’s Grade 1 Apple Blossom Handicap on Friday morning at Keeneland.

Letruska, working solo shortly after the track's second renovation break, breezed five furlongs in 1:02.40. Irad Ortiz Jr. was in the irons, subbing for his brother, Jose Ortiz, the mare's regular rider. Jose Ortiz was scheduled to fly in for the work after riding at Aqueduct yesterday, but his flight was canceled.

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – Charge It and Simplification, the second and third finishers respectively in the Grade 1 Florida Derby on April 2 at Gulfstream Park, each turned in the first of their three scheduled works prior to the Kentucky Derby approximately 30 minutes and 40 miles apart early Friday morning in South Florida.

OZONE PARK, N.Y. -- Venti Valentine, second to Nostalgic in last Saturday’s Grade 3 Gazelle Stakes at Aqueduct, will make her next start in the Grade 1 Kentucky Oaks at Churchill Downs on May 6, trainer Jorge Abreu said Thursday.

The day after the Gazelle, Abreu had mentioned the idea of skipping the Oaks and pointing to the Grade 1 Acorn at Belmont Park on June 11. But after consultation with the owners -- NY Final Furlong Racing Stable and Parkland Thoroughbreds -- the decision was made to run in the Oaks.

Handicapper and horseman Doug McPherson is Fort Erie’s new track announcer, replacing the retired Frank Salive. McPherson, 26, has been a guest announcer at several tracks, including Woodbine and Sunland Park.

“We are thrilled to welcome Doug to Fort Erie,” said Drew Cady, general manager of the Fort Erie Live Racing Consortium. “He’s a young and passionate horseperson with a wide range of knowledge and experience in the industry, and we’re looking forward to watching him thrive in this new role.”

Steve Martinelli has replaced Patrick Mackey as racing secretary at Golden Gate Fields effectively immediately, the track announced in a one-paragraph statement on Wednesday.

Mackey was released from the position last weekend. Track officials declined to elaborate on the reason for the change over the weekend.

Martinelli has been assistant racing secretary at Golden Gate Fields for seven years, and worked at the track for 15 years.