HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. - Saturday wasn't just the day for Todd Pletcher to showcase his 3-year-old talent. He has a pretty good older sprinter as well.

On a day when Pletcher won five races at Gulfstream Park - three of them stakes - the most impressive performance might have been put in by Half Ours, a 4-year-old who contested fast early fractions and was still running fast at the end to take the Grade 2, $225,000 Richter Scale Breeders' Cup Handicap by a half-length. Park Avenue Ball rallied down the center of the course to get second by a half-length over Diabolical.

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. - Trainer Todd Pletcher continued his unprecedented dominance of the Hutcheson Stakes, winning the Grade 2, $150,000 dash for the fifth consecutive year with King of the Roxy's impressive 2 1/4-length victory over Bold Start on Saturday at Gulfstream Park.

King of the Roxy joined Lion Tamer, Limehouse, Proud Accolade, and Keyed Entry as Pletcher trainees to have won the 7 1/2-furlong Hutcheson since 2003. John Velazquez had been aboard Pletcher's four previous Hutcheson winners. Edgar Prado rode King of the Roxy.

Taking the lead after five furlongs, Funny Annie battled on gamely through a long stretch duel, then just turned back the late challenge from the 4-5 favorite, Potra Clasica, to post a head upset in the Wayward Lass Stakes.

Ridden by Cecilio Penalba for trainer Michael McDonald, Funny Annie covered the 1 1/16 miles over a track labeled wet fast in 1:45.23 and returned $24.60.

Potra Clasica was more than two lengths clear of Gadolinium, who was 4 3/4 lengths ahead of fourth-place Meadow Skippin.

True Tails scooted away from the field at the start and maintained the lead throughout for a neck win over Miss Elsie in the $50,000 Spring Fever Stakes at Oaklawn Park. It was another three-quarters of a length back in third to Hot Storm.

True Tails ($6.20) went quickly to the lead, running the opening quarter in 21.94 seconds with Tax Refund and Miss Elsie giving chase about a length back. True Tails continued to lead through a half-mile in 45.61 seconds, and held off Miss Elsie late to cover the 5 1/2 furlongs over a fast track in 1:04.94.

Jeremy Rose put 7-2 second-choice Call Me Clash on the lead early and stayed there, winning the $74,600 Horatius by three lengths, while the 3-5 John Rigattieri-trained entry of Alruncojump and Saratoga Lulaby both came up flat, running last and second-last in the field of six 3-year-olds.

Casey Doon, the 8-1 longest shot on the board, prompted the pace, angled out in the stretch, and hung on for second. Heart Throbbin' closed mildly for third, another four lengths behind.

The once-top-class 9-year-old gelding Evening Attire sprung a surprise flashback performance on Saturday at Aqueduct, rallying in deep stretch as if the year were 2002 or 2003 to win the $72,605 Stymie Handicap going away.

Off at 8-1 in the field of nine, Evening Attire plugged along in seventh up the backstretch of the 1 1/8-mile race, in his usual off-the-pace style.

NEW ORLEANS - Desert Wheat made a timely move to the lead under Corey Lanerie, then held off a furious late charge by Perfect Harmony Saturday to win the $75,000 Dixie Poker Ace Stakes for older Louisiana-bred horses on the grass at Fair Grounds.

Lanerie took back on Desert Wheat behind an extremely slow pace set by Tommy's Turn, who made the lead early and crawled along through a quarter-mile in 25.21 seconds and a half in 50.80.

Catman Running turned back bids from Cobrador and favored Joe Got Even in the upper stretch before edging clear to a mild upset Saturday in the $100,000 John Battaglia Memorial Stakes at Turfway Park in Florence, Ky.

Sent away the third choice in a field of 11 3-year-olds, Catman Running returned $11.20 after capturing his stakes debut in the 1 1/16-mile Battaglia, the local prep for Turfway's showcase race, the Gradeo2 Lane's End Stakes on Marcho24. Joe Got Even, the 6-5 choice, was along for second, 1 3/4 lengths behind the winner and another length ahead of Cobrador.

By MIKE WELSCH

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. - Trainer Todd Pletcher completed what he termed a career-best afternoon, even by his lofty standards, after Scat Daddy surged past Stormello in the final strides to post a nose decision in Saturday's Grade 2, $350,000 Fountain of Youth Stakes at Gulfstream Park.

The win was the fifth on the card and third Grade 2 stakes victory for Pletcher, who earlier captured the Hutcheson with King of the Roxy and the Richter Scale Handicap with Half Ours.

Tuesday is the slowest racing day of the week across the United States, so few national fans will notice the start of the 2007 Fairmount Park racing season. But Fairmount and the group of horsemen who still call it home are happy just to be back in business for another year.

Each year, racing in the St. Louis area sees at least a slight erosion in an already tenuous racing landscape. Fairmount got some help from legislation granting tax relief last year, but Brian Zander, Fairmount's general manager, said that kind of assistant would only keep the ship afloat.