Todd Pletcher has been a regular participant in the Louisiana Derby throughout the 21st century, finishing second in the 2000 edition with More Than Ready, third with Pollard's Vision in 2004, and second with Vicarage in 2005. Pletcher is back this year on Louisiana Derby Day - but not for the derby itself. Instead, he will start last year's Louisiana Derby winner, Circular Quay, in the $500,000 New Orleans Handicap. Pletcher also entered Magna Graduate in the New Orleans Handicap, and has horses for three other stakes races among the six on Saturday.

STICKNEY, Ill. - The story involving Lyndie Wade probably was no more than a couple inches away from ending in tragedy, but for now, the tale has taken a happy turn.

Wade, an apprentice jockey, came to Chicago from Louisiana last fall, and was having a strong Hawthorne meet when in the near-darkness on Nov. 30 his mount broke down at the top of the Hawthorne stretch, sending Wade careening to the cold, hard ground. Wade, who was only 16 at the time, lost consciousness, and remained in an induced coma for three days.

Jockey Seth Martinez continues his torrid streak. During the last five racing days (last Friday through Tuesday) Martinez won with 12 of his 31 mounts here, a winning average of 38 percent. He won 4 of the 9 races on the Feb. 29 card and then won three races on two subsequent cards and two races on the other two programs.

The hot streak puts Martinez in second place in the rider standings through Tuesday with 82 victories, just four behind Chris Landeros.

Fearless Anthony, a one-time $8,000 claimer and now a bona-fide allowance horse who may go on to even bigger and better things, posted a second straight track record here Tuesday, covering five furlongs in 55.86 seconds while defeating allowance company. The effort shaved .01 of a second off the previous mark, set by Absolutely True in the Budweiser Handicap here Feb. 9.

Fearless Anthony, trained by Chris Hartman, was coming off a track-record performance, as the 7-year-old sizzled 5 1/2 furlongs here in 1:01.62 on Feb. 12. He was ridden by Casey Lambert in both races.

Awards were handed out to the state's leading horses and breeders of 2007 last Saturday when the Nebraska Thoroughbred Breeders Association held its annual banquet at the Midtown Holiday Inn in Grand Island, Neb.

Bevys Dazzler and C.R. Charmer were honored as older horse and older female of the year, respectively.

This year's John Franks Memorial 2-year-olds in training sale at Evangeline Downs will offer 191 youngsters on March 30 beginning at 10 a.m. Central. There will be a preview gallop show on March 29 at noon.

Increased purses at Louisiana's four tracks because of slot machine revenue has helped increase not only the number of horses offered in the sale but also the quality.

Miss Atlantic City, who won her first start since December 2006 in the $50,000 Golden Triangle last month at Delta Downs, could return to the Vinton, La., track for her next start, said her trainer, Keith Desormeaux. He said she is being considered for the $100,000 Goddess for fillies and mares at 1 1/16 miles on March 21.

"Nothing's really set in stone," Desormeaux said of plans for Miss Atlantic City. "But she sure has shown an affinity for Delta, and there's good money waiting. Why not give it a shot? It seems like the most practical thing to do."

Real Appeal could develop into a new player on the 3-year-old map. He will likely return to graded stakes competition for his next start after he won his season debut last Saturday night in the $50,000 Texas Heritage Stakes at Sam Houston Race Park.

The race was Real Appeal's first start since finishing fourth by 1 3/4 lengths in the Grade 2 Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes at Churchill Downs in November. He closed well for a 2 1/2-length win in the one-mile race, and earned a career-best Beyer Speed Figure of 87.

OPELOUSAS, La. - Evangeline Downs will offer 25 stakes worth a record $2.01 million at its 85-day spring-summer meeting that begins April 9. The stakes purses represent a 12 percent increase from 2007.

Three new races appear on the schedule. The $75,000 Opelousas for 2-year-old fillies will be run Aug. 30. The $60,000 Salute for Louisiana-bred 3-year-old fillies will run June 13, and the $60,000 Acclaim for statebred 3-year-old colts and geldings will be contested on June 14.

NEW ORLEANS - When Blackberry Road starts in Saturday's Grade 2 Louisiana Derby, he will be the only member of the field to have raced in all three legs of Fair Grounds's series of stakes for 3-year-olds. He finished second to Z Fortune in the Lecomte and a troubled fifth, beaten 3 1/2 lengths, to Pyro in the Risen Star.