OZONE PARK, N.Y. - Time is running out on trainer Nick Zito to get one of his 3-year-olds to the Kentucky Derby. Perhaps his best chance at this stage is Just a Coincidence, who Zito confirmed on Wednesday as a starter for the Grade 1, $750,000 Wood Memorial to be run here on April 4.

The Wood has been kind to Zito, who has 3 wins and 2 seconds from 10 starters in this race since 1990. Though it took six tries for Just a Coincidence, a son of Forestry, to earn a maiden win, he has put together two straight victories in one-turn mile races at Gulfstream Park.

Trainer Bob Baffert first started visiting Sunland Park as a 14-year-old kid tagging along with his father. Sunday, he has two bullets to fire at the meet's richest race, the $800,000 Sunland Park Derby. Baffert will send out Mayor Marv, the morning-line favorite for the 1 1/8-mile race, and Mythical Power, a recent Santa Anita maiden winner who wil be ridden by Garrett Gomez.

"It's a lotta money up for grabs," said Baffert.

NEW ORLEANS - Jockey Patrick Valenzuela's first season at the Fair Grounds appears to be done. Valenzuela took off his scheduled mounts last week, and his agent, Paul Pembo, said the stewards told him Valenzuela was suspended for the last three days of meet, which ends Sunday.

"I haven't seen the official statement," said Pembo. "But the stewards called me in and told me not to take any more mounts for him for the rest of the meet."

ARCADIA, Calif. - The dream of starting Square Eddie in the Kentucky Derby on May 2 remains for owner Paul Reddam and trainer Doug O'Neill.

Despite not starting since January because of a cannon bone injury, Square Eddie, winner of the Grade 1 Breeders' Futurity at Keeneland last fall, has resumed training and could be trained up to the Kentucky Derby, Reddam and O'Neill said Wednesday.

Reddam said that weekly X-rays in the last month have shown enough improvement to allow Square Eddie to resume full exercise.

NEW ORLEANS - When Angel Montano and his ownership team, also known as his sons and son-in-law, claimed Geniver for $16,000 in May of 2008, she was already 7 years old, and gave no indication that her best days were still ahead.

Handicappers can brush up on their competitive nature this Sunday when the second installment of Fonner Park's Handicapping Contest is held, featuring the day's live racing card.

The contest is limited to the first 60 paid entries and requires a $25 entry fee, plus a $100 bankroll that will be deposited to the player's account through the mutuel system. Contestants are free to choose the amount they wish to wager from their bankroll on any race and in any pool offered on Fonner Park's card.

Sir Silver Fox established himself as a viable candidate for next month's $100,000 Webb Snyder Stakes at Charles Town by winning a 4 1/2-furlong optional claiming race with a 97 Beyer Speed Figure last Saturday night.

The Webb Snyder, named in honor of the 96-year-old former jockey who rode at Charles Town's inaugural meet as a 20-year-old in 1933, will be contested at 4 1/2 furlongs and is among three supporting six-figure stakes on the April 18 card headed by the inaugural running of the Charles Town Classic.

Kelly Leak was one of the top 2-year-olds in Southern California last year, but rather than point him for the Kentucky Derby his connections are taking a more conservative approach and hitting the road for Sunday's $800,000 Sunland Park Derby.

Kelly Leak is eligible for a $100,000 bonus if he wins, because he accumulated graded earnings last year in the Grade 2 Best Pal at Del Mar. He will be making his first start beyond a mile in the 1 1/8-mile Sunland Derby, which heads a five-stakes card worth more than $1.4 million at the New Mexico track.

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. - On Monday morning, trainer John Ward was singing the praises of Beethoven and looking forward to running his latest 3-year-old star in the Grade 1 Florida Derby. A little more than 24 hours later, Ward's dreams of winning a second Kentucky Derby were all but gone after Beethoven came down with a minor injury that will force him to miss Saturday's important Derby prep.

Ward, who won the 2001 Kentucky Derby with Monarchos, said he discovered something was amiss with Beethoven when he returned to his barn to check his horses Tuesday evening.

Blues Girl Too is the career-defining horse for trainer Joe Bassett. This year, he has a pair of half-siblings to Blues Girl Too, and their promise has Bassett excited about the upcoming futurity season.

Blues Girl Too won the Los Alamitos Two Million Futurity in 2006 and the $1 million Champion of Champions in 2007 to become the all-time richest female in Quarter Horse racing. She retired in early 2008 with earnings of $2,032,328. Bassett, 25, trained Blues Girl Too with an assist from his father, John.