ARCADIA, Calif. - Opinions from horsemen on the condition of Santa Anita's Cushion Track synthetic surface varied widely on Friday, from a few jockeys who said the course was too hard to praise from trainers who said the course was in ideal condition.

Friday was the second day of racing following a three-day interruption last weekend. Racing was cancelled from Jan. 5-7 after the course failed to drain because of significant rainfall.

Jockey Garrett Gomez described the track as "useable" on Friday.

PORTLAND, Ore. - Most horses thrive amid the hustle and bustle of large barns, but some need the special attention that only a small outfit can provide. Lady's Purse and Charlie's Pride, both winners last weekend at Portland Meadows, fall into the latter category.

Lady's Purse, who notched her fourth win from seven starts in an invitational handicap for 3-year-old fillies on Monday, is a volatile individual, according to trainer G.D. Khalsa.

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. - Rags to Riches spent most of her 3-year-old campaign in the limelight. But when the Belmont Stakes winner returned to training following a four-month absence earlier this week, she did so quietly in the relative anonymity of Todd Pletcher's semi-private winter headquarters at Palm Beach Downs.

CHICAGO - It was not a complete overhaul, but Arlington Park did more than merely tweak its 2008 stakes schedule, which was approved by the Illinois Racing Board this past week.

Chief among the changes is the absence from the schedule of the Washington Park Handicap, once a major Midwest handicap, and a race with a history dating to 1926. Past winners of the Washington Park include Dr. Fager, Round Table, Swaps, and Coaltown, but the race, despite a $400,000 purse, had declined in recent years.

John McKee considered spending another winter at Oaklawn Park or maybe even Gulfstream Park, but in December, the 26-year-old jockey made a U-turn - just like one of his recent mounts.

Ma's Meatballs, his mount in the third race Wednesday at Turfway Park, "did the strangest thing I've ever had happen to me" as a rider, McKee said. After coming out of post 1 in a two-turn race, the 4-year-old maiden took two tentative steps, then wheeled 180 degrees to his left and jogged straight through the narrow opening between the starting gate and the inner rail, winding up behind the gate.

OZONE PARK, N.Y. - Short rest and a sloppy track were of no consequence to Karakorum Starlet, who rolled to a two-length victory in Friday's $67,700 Ruby Rubles Stakes at Aqueduct. Afterward, trainer Jeff Odintz said his New York-bred filly would likely be pointed to the Grade 3 Barbara Fritchie Handicap at Laurel Park on Feb. 16.

ALTOONA, Iowa - Prairie Meadows's 47-day Thoroughbred meeting, which begins April 18 and concludes July 5, will offer 22 stakes highlighted by the two-day Festival of Racing.

The festival will offer six stakes June 27-28. On that Friday night, the track will run the $250,000 Iowa Derby, the Grade 3, $200,000 Iowa Oaks, and the $100,000 Saylorville for older fillies at mares.

The next night will feature the Grade 2, $300,000 Prairie Meadows Cornhusker Handicap, the $125,000 Iowa Sprint Handicap, and the $125,000 Iowa Distaff.

Ian Pearse, the synthetic-surface expert brought in from Australia by Santa Anita this week to help solve its Cushion Track riddle, on Friday described the progress being made as "encouraging," and hinted that he and scientists at the University of Southern California may be able to come up with a solution to the track's drainage problems and prevent the replacement of the main track.

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. - A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.

War Pass took his first step on a journey trainer Nick Zito hopes will lead to his third Kentucky Derby victory shortly after dawn on Thursday when he worked an easy three furlongs in 37.17 seconds at the Palm Meadows training center.

ELMONT, N.Y. - Who What Win, a multiple stakes-winning New York-bred, had to be euthanized following his fifth-place finish in the Alex M. Robb Handicap here on Dec. 30, his connections said Thursday.

According to Tonja Terranova, trainer John Terranova's wife and assistant, Who What Win pulled all the ligaments in his right foreleg while pulling up after the wire in the Robb, in which he was beaten six lengths by Naughty New Yorker. Terranova said that all but one of his suspensory ligaments were torn.