ELMONT, N.Y. - In the summer of 2005, Linda Rice had high hopes for a 2-year-old she had purchased at auction for a reasonable $70,000. But a few months later, that same horse lay in a New Jersey equine hospital getting treated for a rare heart ailment.

Doctors at that clinic thought it unlikely that Executive Fleet would ever make it to the races. A month ago, Executive Fleet came within a half-length of winning the Grade 1 Carter Handicap. On Saturday, Executive Fleet could be favored to win the Grade 3, $100,000 Bold Ruler Handicap at Belmont Park.

INGLEWOOD, Calif. - Shamdinan, the runner-up in the Breeders' Cup Turf last fall, was one of the eight nominees for Saturday's $250,000 Jim Murray Handicap at Hollywood Park. But instead of running him in that Grade 2 race over 1 1/2 miles on turf, trainer Doug O'Neill has opted for a $70,000 allowance race over a mile on turf later on Saturday's program.

O'Neill hopes to give Shamdinan a confidence boost after disappointing ninth- and seven-place finishes in graded stakes at Gulfstream Park and Santa Anita earlier this year.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - A pick-six payoff of more than $1.1 million was returned Wednesday to one winning bettor after a 49-1 shot won the ninth and last race of the day at Churchill Downs. The payoff of $1,127,774 narrowly missed the Churchill record of $1,168,136, set on June 25, 2003.

ELMONT, N.Y. - His family ties to the Belmont Stakes are the main reason Casino Drive has been shipped from Japan to New York. Whether Casino Drive proves to be as talented as his half-brother Jazil, the 2006 Belmont winner, and half-sister Rags to Riches, the 2007 Belmont winner, remains to be seen.

OCEANPORT, N.J. - The temporary seats and bleachers are gone. The tents have been packed away. Monmouth Park is back to normal as it prepares to open Friday for the first card since hosting the Breeders' Cup in October.

Also missing is the palpable tension and anxiety that filtered through last season as Monmouth strained to finish a major overhaul of the grandstand, clubhouse, and backstretch in time for the Breeders' Cup.

GRAND PRAIRIE, Texas - The last time trainers Vladimir Cerin and Bob Hess Jr. started a horse at Lone Star Park, they won significant stakes races. Cerin sent out Luftikus to capture the Grade 3 Lone Star Park Handicap in 2000, while Hess trainee Spring Meadow won the $150,000 Stonerside in 2002. Saturday, both return for the first time since their local stakes triumphs to run horses in the Grade 3, $400,000 Lone Star Derby.

"I've always hoped to get back," said Hess. "I just needed the right kind of horse."

INGLEWOOD, Calif. - Colonel John, the Santa Anita Derby winner who finished a troubled sixth in the Kentucky Derby last Saturday, will return to California in mid-May and is expected to start at the current Hollywood Park meeting, trainer Eoin Harty said Wednesday.

Colonel John is being given a rest at WinStar Farm in Kentucky and will return to Harty's base at Santa Anita in the "next 10 days," Harty said. The $100,000 Affirmed Handicap at 1 1/16 miles on June 15 and the $350,000 Swaps Stakes at 1 1/8 miles on July 12 are possibilities, with an emphasis on the Grade 2 Swaps.

OCEANPORT, N.J. - There are only two places where Joe Bravo wants to spend a summer: the Hamptons or the Jersey Shore.

Since there is no racetrack in the Hamptons, Bravo, not surprisingly, will be back at Monmouth Park when the meet begins Friday.

Bravo, born in nearby Long Branch, will be looking to continue his Monmouth dominance. He won another title here last summer, a lucky 13th crown as he managed to shake the injury bug that had dogged him in recent years.

He comes into this meet rested and relaxed.

Thlstledown completed its first week of racing Monday, and after five programs, Weldon Cloninger Jr. leads the jockeys' race with eight winners. In close pursuit is Anne Sanguinetti with six.

Sanguinetti had an interesting off season, which included a stop in Dubai.

"I spent three weeks in Dubai as the exercise rider for trainer Wesley Ward's Esperamos," said Sanguinetti. "He finished sixth in the Golden Shaheen but still earned $40,000. I had a ball over there. It was amazing. I never spent a cent until I was ready to come home and bought $200 worth of souvenirs."

Ramon Gonzalez, last year's leading trainer at SunRay Park, leads again this year with eight Thoroughbred wins and a pair of Quarter Horse tallies, including six wins last week.