Tim Thornton wrapped up his first riding title on Sunday at Hawthorne, winning two races on the closing-day card here to edge Chris Emigh, 92 wins to 89.

Thornton came into Hawthorne's final race day until March leading Emigh 90 wins to 88, and scored two victories Sunday, while Emigh was blanked until winning the meet's final race.

Thornton missed time twice this meet after sustaining relatively minor injuries in gate mishaps, and briefly lost his lead in the standings - which he had held since early in the fall - when Emigh surged last week.

ARCADIA, Calif. - Odds-on favorite Wait a While reestablished her affinity for the Santa Anita turf course Monday, outclassing four rivals in the Grade 2, 1 1/8-mile San Gorgonio Handicap for fillies and mares. Garrett Gomez rode Wait a While ($2.60) to victory by 1 1/2 lengths over Lavender Sky. It was 4 1/4 lengths back to third-place finisher Sohgol. Costume and Hucking Hot completed the order of finish.

Todd Pletcher trains Wait a While, who won for the 10th time from 20 starts. Though still early in the year, Pletcher emphasized the significance of the location.

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. - The Gulfstream Park meet may be best known for Kentucky Derby preps such as the Florida Derby and Fountain of Youth. But it's the maiden and first-level allowance races early in the meet that often produce just as many potential Derby contenders. Recent examples include soon-to-be-named Horse of the Year Curlin, who won his maiden here a year ago, and Monarchos, a maiden and first-level allowance winner at Gulfstream in the months preceding his victory in the 2001 Kentucky Derby.

OZONE PARK, N.Y. - If things had gone as planned, Stewart Elliott would have been at Oaklawn Park on Monday morning, getting on horses and scouring the backstretch for business ahead of Friday's opening-day card.

But since things have gone better than expected the last six weeks, Elliott was at his Lambertville, N.J., home Monday, taking a buddy deer hunting and basking in the good fortune he is experiencing this winter at Aqueduct.

ARCADIA, Calif. - As Santa Anita methodically works toward a solution that will allow its Cushion Track surface to drain, tests using polymers developed by the Australian company Pro-Ride have shown promising results, and dazzled a group of trainers and owners at a meeting on Sunday morning at the track.

ARCADIA, Calif. - With the added feature of suspense in the stretch, Indian Blessing, the star 2-year-old filly of 2007, won her 2008 debut in Sunday's $150,000 Santa Ynez Stakes at Santa Anita to remain unbeaten in four starts.

Making her first start since winning the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies at Monmouth Park in October, Indian Blessing turned in a record-setting comeback. She ran seven furlongs in a track-record time of 1:19.89.

Jockey Casey Lambert continued his stakes streak in New Mexico on Saturday, when he guided Smooth Bid to a 2 1/4-length victory over Rollicking Callker in the $50,000 Winsham Lad for older horses at Sunland Park.

Smooth Bid ($12) raced in fifth early in the one-mile race, as Guiding Hand set fractions of 22.80 seconds for the opening quarter, 45.73 for the half-mile mark, and 1:10.26 for six furlongs. Smooth Bid came between horses in upper stretch, and went on to cover the distance in 1:35.70.

Air Commander, long considered a stakes prospect by trainer Bob Baffert, finally lived up to that expectation in Saturday's $200,000 San Fernando Stakes at Santa Anita, but only by the slimmest margin.

OZONE PARK, N.Y. - Paint Me Red found the cooler climate and softer company of the Northeast to her liking Sunday, as she rallied from last under Ramon Dominguez to win the $80,850 Busanda Stakes by a neck over La Porta at Aqueduct.

Paint Me Red, a 3-year-old Florida-bred daughter of Red Bullet, was making her first start in New York and for trainer Gary Contessa. Steve Sigler's Winning Move Stable bought a majority interest in Paint Me Red three days before she finished third in the Three Ring Stakes at Calder on Dec. 1 when trained by Bill White.

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. - Sugar Swirl took advantage of a fast pace and wet track to earn her first graded stakes victory, a 2 1/2-length decision over Rgirldoesn'tbluff in Sunday's Grade 3, $100,000 First Lady Handicap at Gulfstream Park.