INGLEWOOD, Calif. - Time has nearly expired for the long-familiar trainer-jockey combination of Bruce Headley and Alex Solis. Headley confirmed Tuesday that Solis is no longer first-call rider for the stable, and that David Flores will replace Solis on Street Boss when the improving sprinter makes his stakes debut Saturday in the Grade 3 Los Angeles Handicap at Hollywood Park.

OCEANPORT, N.J. - Monmouth Park opens for its 63rd season Friday, a scheduling wrinkle that is a throwback to an earlier era.

In recent seasons, Monmouth ran only on Saturdays and Sundays in May before switching to a Wednesday-through-Sunday schedule in June.

Fridays have been added this year, expanding the May weekends to three days: Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.

According to vice president and general manager Bob Kulina, a Friday opener is not unprecedented. Friday openers were a staple at Monmouth before the reopening of Garden State Park in the early 1980s.

ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, Ill. - Jockey Earlie Fires, 61, rode 4 winners from just 7 mounts during the opening week of the Arlington Park meet, a huge three-day total considering Fires had won just one race this year before Friday, opening day. Still, Fires confirmed Tuesday morning that the rumors are true: His Hall of Fame career is ticking down to its final moments.

GRAND PRAIRIE, Texas - El Gato Malo, who had been under consideration for the Preakness Stakes, instead will make his next start in the Grade 3, $400,000 Lone Star Derby on Saturday, said his trainer, Craig Dollase. The horse is a strong addition to a prospective field of 13 led by Samba Rooster, the runner-up in the Grade 2 Lexington.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Churchill Downs racing officials have more than five weeks to hustle horses for the Stephen Foster Handicap, but all that time still might not be enough to get a field of much size.

That's because Curlin, the reigning Horse of the Year, is tentatively being pointed to the June 14 Foster, and who wants to run against him?

"Having a horse like Curlin is great, but it sure does make it tough to get anybody else," said Donnie Richardson, senior vice president of racing at Churchill.

El Gato Malo, who had been under consideration for the Preakness Stakes, will instead make his next start in the Grade 3, $400,000 Lone Star Park Derby on Saturday, his trainer, Craig Dollase, said Tuesday. The horse is scheduled to fly from his Hollywood Park base to Lone Star Park near Dallas on Thursday.

Rafael Bejarano has the mount in the Lone Star Derby, said Dollase.

ELMONT, N.Y. - While many in the racing world will be focusing on the May 17 Preakness Stakes in Baltimore, horse trainer Dante Zanelli Jr. is in a New York state of mind.

Zanelli and his quality 3-year-old Tomcito arrived in New York from Kentucky on Sunday night to begin preparing for the $1 million Belmont Stakes on June 7. That preparation started with a gallop over Belmont's main track on Monday morning, and was to continue with an expected workout here on Tuesday morning before a start in Saturday's Grade 2, $200,000 Peter Pan Stakes.

Jockey Glen Murphy has been suspended six months by the Lone Star Park stewards after an electrical device was found in his vehicle during a routine compliance inspection at the track's stable gate last Thursday morning. Murphy was also fined $2,500, according to a ruling issued by stewards on Saturday. Murphy's suspension began on May 1 and will run through Oct. 27.

Murphy waived his right to a hearing in the case, and thus his right to appeal. He declined to comment on the ruling. Murphy's suspension will be honored in all racing jurisdictions.

Greg's Gold, the multiple stakes-winning sprinter, has been retired because of a recurrence of a tendon injury, trainer David Hofmans said Monday.

Owned by breeder Bill Boswell, Greg's Gold ended his career with a win in the Grade 2 Potrero Grande Breeders' Cup Handicap at Santa Anita on April 5. He was being considered for stakes at Hollywood Park this summer when the injury was detected.

"He's showing some heat in his tendon," Hofmans said. "We don't want to take any chances."

INGLEWOOD, Calif. - Bob Black Jack and Gayego, who finished 16th and 17th in Saturday's Kentucky Derby, are being pointed for stakes at Hollywood Park in coming weeks, their respective trainers said on Sunday.

Bob Black Jack, who set the pace to the final turn in the Kentucky Derby, is a candidate for the $100,000 Affirmed Handicap at 1o1/16 miles on June 15, according to trainer James Kasparoff. Gayego, the winner of the $1 million Arkansas Derby last month, will be considered for the $350,000 Swaps Stakes at 1o1/8 miles on July 12, trainer Paulo Lobo said.