Will Farish and trainer Neil Howard have won the Grade 3 Ben Ali Stakes at Keeneland four times in the last six years, and might have developed another candidate last Saturday night at Sam Houston Race Park when Student Council won his first stakes in the $100,000 Maxxam Gold Cup. The race is the same one that Alumni Hall, owned in partnership by Farish and trained by Howard, won in 2005 prior to winning the Ben Ali.

Horsemen who run allowance-class stock often bemoan the persistent difficulty of filling higher-class allowance races, and to try to alleviate that problem, Fair Grounds has, in its current condition book, loosened the allowance conditions at some levels. In such spots, wins in statebred-restricted races don't count against a horse's eligibility for an open allowance condition. For example, a horse might have won several Louisiana-bred stakes races, but could still retain his eligibility for, say, an open second-level allowance race.

ARCADIA, Calif. - Convincing the 3-year-old Tenfold to reserve his speed has become a chore for trainer Bob Baffert. The promising colt simply wants to do too much early in his races.

That habit could make Tenfold a vulnerable favorite in a $55,000 allowance race at a mile for 3-year-olds at Santa Anita on Friday. The race is a prep to the $300,000 Robert Lewis Stakes at 1 1/16 miles on March 3.

The Lewis Stakes is named in honor of the late Eclipse Award-winning owner. Tenfold is owned by Lewis's widow, Beverly.

ARCADIA, Calif. - Santa Anita Park could have used a synthetic racing surface on its main track on Wednesday morning.

A day after nearly a quarter-inch of rain fell in Southern California, there was limited training on the main track, with the course opening late for full training and only 28 horses recording official workouts.

By comparison, 100 horses were given workout times at Hollywood Park, which installed a synthetic surface on its main track last summer.

OZONE PARK, N.Y. - Money makes the mare go, and so only a small handful of them will contest Saturday's $65,000 Correction Handicap at Aqueduct. As of midweek, probable starters for the 67th running of the six-furlong Correction included A Bit of Pressure, Magnolia Jackson, Mint Landing, and Towering Escape. How 'bout No, Merryland Monroe, and Spenny were listed as possible.

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. - Howard Tesher did not expect to have Baron Von Tap dropped in his lap. Nor did the trainer expect to run the horse on Friday at Gulfstream Park. But through a serendipitous series of events, Tesher picked up Baron Von Tap, then was hustled by Gulfstream's racing office to run in the featured seventh race, a 1 1/8-mile grass race that drew just seven runners chasing a purse of $49,500.

HOT SPRINGS, Ark. - Rotary has stepped up his game over the past several months, and his trainer, Don Von Hemel, said the horse could make his stakes debut in the Grade 3, $100,000 Essex Handicap at Oaklawn Park on Feb. 10.

"We're looking at it," said Von Hemel, who trains Rotary for Arthur B. Hancock III and country artist Toby Keith.

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. - When a trainer gets his first Kentucky Derby horse, no manual accompanies the prospect, explaining the steps to have him at his best on the first Saturday in May. Those decisions are left up to the wisdom and expertise of the individual horseman, each of whom approaches the task in his own manner.

The aborted fetus of a mare stabled at Golden Gate Fields tested positive last week for the equine herpesvirus, an outbreak of which caused the track to be quarantined earlier this year, but the mare and five horses stabled near her tested negative for the disease, according to a release from the California Horse Racing Board.

ARCADIA, Calif. - The largest racing stable in Southern California grew bigger Tuesday when trainer Doug O'Neill picked up 28 horses owned by Tommy Town Thoroughbreds that previously were trained by Manny Marques.

Tommy Town owner Tom Stull confirmed Tuesday the farm had severed ties with Marques and that O'Neill was the farm's new trainer.

"I don't want to say anything bad about Manny; it was a business decision," Stull said.

Hired in August, Marques won 9 races from 77 starts for Tommy Town.