SAN MATEO, Calif. - Russell Baze, on the brink of becoming the winningest jockey in history, has been plying his trade for 32 years. At age 48, he will be four years younger than Laffit Pincay Jr. was when he passed Bill Shoemaker on Dec. 19, 1999.

INGLEWOOD, Calif. – Lava Man, the leading older horse in California this year, resumed racetrack training Friday, nearly three weeks after suffering his first defeat of 2007 in the Breeders’ Cup Classic at Churchill Downs.

Lava Man jogged on Hollywood Park’s main track after nearly 10 days of tack-walking at trainer Doug O’Neill’s barn.

O’Neill said that Lava Man’s behavior in recent days forced him to change his training schedule for November.

Most years, Greg Geier would be settling into Fair Grounds for a winter in New Orleans. Geier came to Fair Grounds for years as an assistant to Gene Cilio, and kept coming after Cilio passed away and Geier took over many of his horses. But this season, Geier turned back the 18 stalls he was offered at Fair Grounds and will winter instead at Tampa Bay Downs.

NEW ORLEANS - Trainer Tom Proctor has raced horses pretty much all across the country - but never at Fair Grounds. His first starter here comes Saturday, and Proctor, with more than 20 Fair Grounds stalls for the winter, should be heard from during the meet.

Proctor typically winters at Tampa and will have horses there again this year, but he branched out to Fair Grounds to try to find winter spots for some of the higher-class horses in his stable who aren't getting a seasonal break.

ETOBICOKE, Ontario - The balloting for the Sovereign Awards, which will be conducted online, opens at 9 a.m. on Wednesday and closes at 5 p.m. on Monday, Dec. 4. That means conscientious voters will be able to factor in the results of any races run by eligible candidates here in the coming week.

Next weekend's stakes features will be the Ontario Lassie, a 1 1/16-mile race for Ontario-foaled 2-year-old fillies; the Kingarvie, a 1 1/16-mile race for Ontario-sired 2-year-olds; and the Sir Barton, a 1 1/16-mile race for Ontario-sired 3-year-olds and upward.

OZONE PARK, N.Y. - With No Reason slated to be sold at auction in January, her connections were hoping to potentially enhance her value by trying to earn some graded black type in Friday's Grade 2, $150,000 Top Flight Handicap at Aqueduct.

VANCOUVER, British Columbia - Trick of the North looks like a standout in the Jack Short Au Revoir, a 1 1/8-mile allowance race for 3-year-olds and up. The Au Revoir drew 10-horses and goes as the seventh race Sunday on the final card of the 2006 Hastings meet.

NEW ORLEANS - Fair Grounds, for those who haven't had the pleasure, is not by any means a large racetrack. It is tucked into a very residential section of New Orleans, stuck between Gentilly Boulevard, an old cemetery, and modest-housed small streets. And Thursday, open for business for the first time in 20 months, the place was absolutely jammed.

OZONE PARK, N.Y. – No one would have thought twice if Barclay Tagg had elected to run Nobiz Like Shobiz in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile. There were certainly less-accomplished horses in that field than a Champagne runner-up.

VANCOUVER, British Columbia - Rarely has a horse based at Hastings won a Sovereign Award. In the past 25 years, there have been only three: Magic Code in 1999, Avant's Gold (1991), and Travelling Victor (1983). Travelling Victor was also the Horse of the Year.

After his impressive win in the Woodbine Slots Cup last weekend, it appears True Metropolitan could join the list.