OZONE PARK, N.Y. - Lost in the amazing effort turned in by I Want Revenge in last Saturday's Wood Memorial was the solid performance put forth by West Side Bernie, whose runner-up finish to I Want Revenge earned him a spot in the Kentucky Derby.

ARCADIA, Calif. - Wins this year in two optional claimers have made Theodora a filly to watch in Southern California. It does not even get her into the top two in trainer John Shirreffs's barn.

With 2008 champion older female Zenyatta preparing for a comeback this year, and Life Is Sweet having already won three graded stakes this year, Theodora has a way to go to crack that exacta.

"I'm really lucky, aren't I?" Shirreffs said Thursday.

LEXINGTON, Ky. - That's two straight sensational performances at Keeneland for Informed Decision - and two straight brutal beats for Ventura.

With John Velazquez making all the right moves, Informed Decision used a torrid inside run Thursday to nip heavily favored Ventura in the final strides of the Grade 1, $300,000 Vinery Madison Stakes. The victory came in the first start for Informed Decision since she ran off to a 4 1/4-length romp here last fall in the Grade 2 Raven Run Stakes.

John Gosden is well known in America as the trainer of the first Breeders' Cup Mile winner, Royal Heroine, and the latest Breeders' Cup Classic winner, Raven's Pass. The jockey he is bringing with him from England to ride Mafaaz in Saturday's Blue Grass Stakes at Keeneland, however, is not as well known, despite his worldwide accomplishments.

Handle on races at the Fair Grounds meet that ended March 29 fell across the board compared with 2007-2008, a season that also saw declines from the previous year.

Despite racing five more days this year than last year, Fair Grounds's total all-sources handle at the meet was down 6.1 percent, from $353,249,033 to $331,806,035, according to statistics supplied by the Louisiana State Racing Commission. Fair Grounds does not supply handle information as part of a policy instituted by the track's parent company, Churchill Downs Inc.

HOT SPRINGS, Ark.-Euphony just keeps winning. She picked up her fourth consecutive stakes win on Wednesday in the $100,000 Bayakoa at Oaklawn Park, improving her local record to 4 for 4. The win came in Euphony's first start since October.

"That was cool," said Josephine Abercrombie, who bred and owns Euphony.

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. - With the Kentucky Derby ruled out of Big Drama's future, trainer David Fawkes and owner-breeder Harold Queen have mapped out tentative plans for their colt's next start. The itinerary could still find Big Drama involved in this year's Triple Crown.

"Right now, the Withers looks like our top priority, and if all were to go well we would probably consider the Preakness after that," Fawkes said on Wednesday. "Our backup plan if we don't go to the Withers would be the Lone Star Derby."

HOT SPRINGS, Ark. - Flat Out's come-from-behind win in the $50,000 Smarty Jones at Oaklawn in January was impressive. A month later, his stock went up again when he made up more than 10 lengths to finish a good fourth to Old Fashioned after significant trouble in the Grade 3, $250,000 Southwest Stakes.

"The way he got left in the gate and still ran fourth, it was a big race," said Scooter Dickey, who trains Flat Out for Oxbow Racing.

The Nebraska Racing Hall of Fame will welcome four new members to its ranks next Thursday evening at Fonner Park. The Nebraska Racing Hall of Fame was relocated to Fonner Park following the close of Ak-Sar-Ben after the 1995 season, and the inductions were resumed in 2006.

The new members are racing official Bob Pollock, jockey Wayne Anderson, trainer Marv Johnson, and the mare Falls Amiss.

STICKNEY, Ill. - There may yet be a Kentucky Derby contender stabled at Hawthorne Race Course. Giant Oak went to the track to train Wednesday morning for the first time since his second-place finish in the Illinois Derby, and nothing about the colt's physical condition should deter his connections from taking the plunge and shipping to Churchill Downs for a shot at the Derby.

"He's doing real well," trainer Chris Block said. "He doesn't seem knocked out from the race at all. He seems like he came out of the race better than he did the two races at Fair Grounds."