Trainer Bobby Frankel said Skylighter didn't do well in south Florida this winter. Once back in the Northeast, however, Skylighter appeared to perk up. Her new attitude plus a soft field equaled a return to the winner's circle in Saturday's Grade 2 $150,000 Allaire DuPont Stakes.

INGLEWOOD, Calif. Faced with a shortage of horses, Hollywood Park will reduce its racing schedule by one day per week over the next month, starting with the cancellation of live racing on Wednesday. Racing this week will begin Thursday.

The California Horse Racing Board on Friday granted Hollywood approval to trim its schedule through June 14.

Thirteen days into their 2009 Thoroughbred racing season, Prairie Meadows has run three stakes races and they have all been contested over rain-soaked surfaces. Unlike the first two, which featured runaway winners, Friday night's $65,000 Mamie Eisenhower, an Iowa-bred six-furlong sprint for fillies and mares, produced a thrilling finish.

Nowndforevermore emerged from behind a wall of horses in the stretch to run down the leaders and win the $50,000 John Franks Memorial on the opening-day card Friday at Louisiana Downs in Bossier City, La. The race was one of two Louisiana-bred turf stakes on the program, with Tensas Yucatan leading throughout to win the $50,000 Honeymoon.

BALTIMORE Blind Date's first trip around two turns worked like a charm. Sitting just off pace-setting Listentothewindblo, Blind Date and jockey Jeremy Rose took control at the top of the stretch and comfortably held clear a late run from heavily favored Rena to win the $50,000 Hilltop Stakes.

Trained by Hamilton Smith for owner-breeder William Backer, Blind Date ($8.40) won for the fourth time in a five-start career. She had scored a sharp victory over Maryland-breds in a Pimlico turf-sprint stakes April 18, and ran right back to that performance.

BOSSIER CITY, La. - David Heitzmann has worn a lot of hats throughout his career at the racetrack, and he recently went from racing official to jockey agent for Pat Valenzuela and Colby Hernandez this summer at Louisiana Downs.

While he is no stranger to the agenting business, Heitzmann has been better known as a racing official during the last several years at tracks in the Midwest, including Churchill Downs Inc. properties Arlington Park and Fair Grounds, as well as the home track in Louisville.

FORT ERIE, Ontario - Trainer John Simms, who spent the winter at Tampa Bay Downs, has 18 stalls here but hopes to expand that number as the season progresses.

Off to a good start with three wins and a place in four starts, Simms was looking forward to the upcoming weeks at the Fort.

"I have been to a number of tracks over the years and believe that Fort Erie has the best surface for the Thoroughbred," said Simms.

"You'll find many an older horse enjoying a lengthy racing career at the Fort, and that is because the surface is so very kind."

INGLEWOOD, Calif. - The sun got the best of the morning clouds Friday at Hollywood Park at about the same time Zenyatta got the best of an overmatched workmate in a team drill that sets up the champion mare for her first start of the season on Saturday.

Zenyatta trains late at Hollywood, and it was already 9:30 when she and exercise rider Steve Willard reeled in an unraced maiden in the stretch of a six-furlong workout. The workmate for Zenyatta, Sabina Fay, was in reality nothing more than a target.

BALTIMORE - The scratch of Ashland winner Hooh Why not only took the only Grade 1 winner out of Friday's $150,000 Black-Eyed Susan field, it took the primary speed out of the race as well.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Wesley Ward is looking for another world to conquer. Having dominated the first couple of months of 2-year-old racing in America, the 41-year-old trainer will be sending six horses - five of them 2-year-olds - to run next month in stakes at the prestigious Royal Ascot meet in Great Britain.

"One of the main reasons for going is I don't have a lot of places to run my better 2-year-olds at this time of year," said Ward, who into Friday already had sent out 14 2-year-old winners from 32 starts.