Churchill Downs Inc. announced Wednesday that Ken Dunn will be stepping down from the position of vice president of operations at the Churchill-owned Calder Race Course, a position he has held since 1999. He will serve as an adviser to the track until Aug. 1. No successor has been named.

"We are transitioning Calder into a destination with horse racing and casino-style gambling and have a need for management skills and leadership experience in both industries," said Steve Sexton, a Churchill Downs Inc. vice president, in making the announcement.

OZONE PARK, N.Y. - Gary Contessa hopes his success in the 3-year-old filly stakes run over the inner track during the winter carries over to the main track on Saturday when he sends out both Ready for Fortune and Love Co in the Grade 2, $150,000 Comely at Aqueduct.

LEXINGTON, Ky. - Ventura unleashed a furious rally down the middle of the main track to overtake longshot Street Sounds and go on to her first graded stakes triumph Wednesday in the Grade 2 Vinery Madison at Keeneland.

Bred and owned by Juddmonte Farms and trained by Bobby Frankel, Ventura was making her second start in North America, having won a Santa Anita turf allowance last month. Ridden by Garrett Gomez, the 4-year-old daughter of Chester House returned $10 as second choice in a field of 11 fillies and mares.

CINCINNATI - In a change from recent years, River Downs, which begins its 83rd season Friday, will race more days on its own - rather than as part of the Ohio 7&7 program - during the month of April.

Under the 7&7 program, two of Ohio's three Thoroughbred tracks - Beulah Park and Thistledown are the others - alternate their races as part of a single simulcast signal, with each track carding seven races. Because Thistledown has trimmed its meet from 136 days in 2007 to 122 this year, it won't open until May 1.

ARCADIA, Calif. - Salute the Sarge, the winner of three sprint stakes, including the San Miguel Stakes on March 29, remains on course for the $325,000 Coolmore Lexington Stakes at Keeneland on April 19, but is doubtful for the Kentucky Derby on May 3, trainer Eric Guillot said on Wednesday.

Guillot said he would like to start Salute the Sarge in the Preakness Stakes at Pimlico on May 17, the second leg of the Triple Crown, if the colt runs well in the Grade 2 Lexington Stakes over 1 1/16 miles.

Jockey Chris Zamora notched his 1,000th Thoroughbred victory last Sunday when he guided Dixie Bandjo to victory in the seventh race at Sunland Park. Dixie Bandjo stalked the pace in the six-furlong maiden race, took over into the lane, and drew clear to win by 3 1/2 lengths as the 4-5 favorite.

With that victory Zamora, 43, a rider for more than 22 years, made it 1,974 overall in his career. Of his 974 non-Thoroughbred victories, 972 have come aboard Quarter Horses while riding primarily in the Southwest. He also has two mixed-breed wins in his career.

With four weekends remaining in the Fonner Park season, Yuri Yaranga has taken control of the rider standings. Yaranga was excused from his remaining mounts during last Sunday's card because of the flu, halting his string of multiple win days.

Yaranga booted home four winners last Friday and added his third triple of the season Saturday to take a 39-27 lead over Beth Butler in the standings.

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. - E.T. Baird was not riding anywhere when the year started, did not join the Gulfstream riding colony until mid-February, and is uncertain where he's going when the meet ends here April 20.

But the jockey knows exactly where he will be on May 3 - at Churchill Downs to ride Recapturetheglory for trainer Louie Roussel in the Kentucky Derby.

ARCADIA, Calif. - By way of California and Idaho, Doppio will have a most unlikely homecoming when he starts in Saturday's $400,000 Commonwealth Breeders' Cup Stakes at Keeneland. A 6-year-old Kentucky-bred gelding, Doppio has overcome a severe tendon injury in 2005 that very nearly led to his retirement, and will make his stakes debut in the Grade 2 Commonwealth in search of the ninth win of his 16-race career.

The key to the comeback - a restful year spent in a snowy Idaho pasture that helped Doppio recover from the injury and return to racing.

CALGARY, Alberta – The competition runs deep here Friday in a six-furlong first-level allowance, with the edge going to West Coast invader Bold Knockout. A full field of 10 3-year-olds will run in the $17,400 race, the seventh on the card.

Hastings-based horses ruled the roost here last weekend, with several of them drawing off to win impressively at short prices. The Vancouver runners appear to have an edge on their local counterparts this early in the season.