OZONE PARK, N.Y. - Fuzzy Britches began the week with a victory in a starter allowance Wednesday at Aqueduct. Her connections hope she ends the week here with a victory in the $65,000 Busanda Stakes.

Even before she rallied to win Wednesday's race by 2 3/4 lengths, Fuzzy Britches had been entered in Saturday's Busanda for 3-year-old fillies at a mile and 70 yards. Though Fuzzy Britches had to work harder than your normal 1-4 shot should to get Wednesday's victory, trainer Richard Dutrow Jr. said he plans to run her back.

Ready's Echo, the runner-up in the Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile here in November, was not entered for Saturday's $150,000 San Pasqual Handicap because of a "jammed ankle," according to trainer Todd Pletcher's assistant, Michael McCarthy.

McCarthy said an assessment of Ready's Echo's condition will be made this week. Owned by Let's Go Stable, Ready's Echo, 5, has won 2 of 14 starts and $517,988. He has not won a stakes, but placed in four consecutive graded stakes from August through November.

Jockey David Flores has parted with agent Ron Anderson and will begin booking his own mounts next week.

Flores decided on Wednesday to part with Anderson when the first condition book for the Santa Anita winter-spring meeting is completed on Sunday. The second book, which lists the proposed races and conditions for the next three weeks of racing, starts on Wednesday.

ARCADIA, Calif. - The Usual Q.T., the winner of six consecutive races in the second half of 2009, will switch surfaces for his next start, in the $500,000 Sunshine Millions Classic at Santa Anita, trainer Jim Cassidy said on Wednesday.

The Sunshine Millions Classic, for California-breds and Florida-breds, will be run over 1 1/8 miles on the synthetic main track at Santa Anita on Jan. 30.

Cassidy said the race appeals to him more than shipping The Usual Q.T. to Florida for the $300,000 Sunshine Millions Turf on the same day at Gulfstream Park.

John Locke, who experienced the best year of his racing career in 2009, said he is taking a break from training. Horses that had been in his care began racing for trainer Karl Broberg on Jan. 1, at both Sam Houston Race Park and Delta.

"I'm taking some time off and Karl Broberg is taking over for me," Locke said.

Locke, 67, has kept an interest in one horse, the stakes-placed Perfect Lou, who won an allowance route at Delta on Dec. 30. He said he owns the horse with Broberg and that he is being pointed for the $60,000 Triple Sec at Delta Downs on Jan. 15.

Jockey Diego Saenz and trainer Keith Bourgeois have not only dominated their divisions this meet at Delta Downs, but both Louisiana-based men are coming off career years in which they made a significant dent in the national standings. Saenz was the ninth-winningest jockey in North America in 2009 with 249 victories, while Bourgeois was the 10th-leading trainer by wins, with 192.

"I look back and see the year, and it was probably the best year I've had," said Bourgeois, whose stable is split between Delta and the Evangeline Downs Training Center in Lafayette.

Hawthorne Race Course's fall-winter meet that concluded Saturday was down, but not out.

Daily average all-sources handle declined 7 percent from the 2008-2009 fall-winter meet, falling from $2,768,911 to $2,564,354. Out-of-state handle on Hawthorne races also dropped 7 percent, from a daily average in 2008-2009 of 2,367,873 to $2,207,517 this season. That decline wiped out a 2008-2009 out-of-state gain over the previous fall-winter meet.

There are many ways for a horse to impress on the racetrack. One way is to pull clear for a multi-length victory such as Secretariat did in the Belmont. Another is putting in a game effort such as Affirmed did in his Belmont victory over Alydar.

Antares World's victory over Fashion Trend in the California Oaks on Friday at Golden Gate was of the Affirmed variety, as the two battled head-and-head down the stretch, neither yielding an inch.

Trainer Steve Specht said he knew going into the race that Antares World had a competitive streak.

ARCADIA, Calif. - Clutch Player, the Bob Baffert-trained Kentucky Derby prospect, died Monday after contracting a form of pneumonia over the weekend, the trainer said.

A colt sired by Malibu Moon, Clutch Player scored a four-length debut victory Dec. 19 at Hollywood Park, the day Baffert won four races including the Grade 1 CashCall Hollywood Futurity with Lookin at Lucky. Clutch Player won the six-furlong maiden race in a quick 1:08.91, earned an 87 Beyer Figure, and was expected to stretch out early in the Santa Anita meet.

ARCADIA, Calif. - Lava Man, who rose from a $50,000 claimer to the winner of seven Grade 1 stakes, has been retired after a comeback attempt last month ended with a last-place finish in the at Santa Anita, co-owner Steve Kenly said on Tuesday.

Kenly, who owns Lava Man with his father and sister, Dave and Tracy, and Jason Wood, made the decision earlier this week after consulting with trainer Doug O'Neill and veterinarian Doug Herthel.