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.

OPELOUSAS, La. - The Louisiana State Racing Commission badge that trainers must wear has a second purpose these days at Evangeline Downs. In addition to providing proof that a trainer is licensed, it also serves as a nametag in what has become almost a horsemen's convention atmosphere.

River Downs director of publicity John Englehardt is an accomplished equine photographer, so it shouldn't come as a surprise that he is putting a collection of his photographs on exhibit at a Cincinnati restaurant. The one-man show, titled "Seen and Unseen" began May 3 and will run for six weeks in the banquet area of A.J.'s Roadhouse, right down Kellogg Avenue from the track.

"Very few photos in the show feature actual race action, rather moments leading up to preparing a horse for the races and the beauty and serenity the early morning brings to a racetrack," Engelhardt said.

ETOBICOKE, Ontario - Trainer Alec Fehr headed down to Florida's Palm Meadows last December with a specific program in mind.

"With my potential good runners, I wanted to give them a chance to develop, and possibly have a Queen's Plate horse," said Fehr.

And while Fehr has been having his ups and downs lately, he still has Niagara Thunder on track for the June 22 Queen's Plate, with Sebastian's Song and Tacito scheduled to get another chance at proving they belong.

Although it's too early to establish any wagering trends in a season that is only 12 days old, Prairie Meadows had its fourth highest all-time wagering day Monday when more than $1.5 million was bet on the track's nine-race card. That number represents the highest Prairie handle in more than seven years.

Wagering on this year's Kentucky Derby also broke a record, as fans in central Iowa wagered $231,892 on the Derby.

Oaklawn Park's qualifying tournament for the Daily Racing Form/National Thoroughbred Racing Association National Handicapping Championship will be held two months earlier this year, on the weekend of June 14-15. The first three finishers will earn a fees-paid berth into the national final, which will be held in Las Vegas in January 2009.

Oaklawn's qualifier will have a purse of $25,000, with $10,000 going to the winner. The purse is based on 150 entries, Oaklawn spokesman Jason Milligan said.

Some new faces greeted a record crowd of 18,230 on Canterbury Park's opening day Saturday when the jockey colony was introduced to the fans.

Two who made a quick impression were Jason Lumpkins and Jose Betancourt, who each enjoyed multiple race wins on opening weekend.

Lumpkins captured three wins during the nine-race card Saturday, winning a statebred maiden contest aboard Sahan, then returning to win a claiming contest on Ski Dubai, and capping the day with an allowance win on Bailey Road. He returned Sunday to capture another maiden contest on Jayana.