A Bit O'Gold, Canada's Horse of the Year, champion older male, and champion turf male in 2005, will not be returning to the races.

"Due to general wear and tear, we've decided to retire him," said trainer Catherine Day Phillips, who along with her husband, Todd Phillips, is a partner in The Two Bit Racing Stable that owns A Bit O'Gold. "He's been very, very good to us for three years, and we think he deserves a dignified retirement.

"We had discussed some time ago that he would be retired to our farm."

Two of trainer Bobby Frankel's stakes-bound runners who haven't raced recently got in workouts Wednesday at Belmont Park. On a muddy main track, Latent Heat and Melhor Ainda each breezed a half-mile.

Latent Heat, third behind Brother Derek in the Santa Catalina back in March, went in 48.82 seconds.

Melhor Ainda, winner of last year's Sands Point but unraced since finishing seventh in the Flower Bowl Invitational in October, went in 47.07 seconds, the second fastest of 10 works at the distance.

CALGARY, Alberta - Smoking Bear goes for her third straight victory at the meet Friday in a $30,000 claimer for fillies and mares here at Stampede Park.

Leading trainer Greg Tracy claimed the 6-year-old Smoking Bear out of a $22,000 claimer on April 30. She won that race, coming from well back after stumbling at the break. That was probably the best of her career, and Smoking Bear enters Friday's six-furlong feature as one the favorites despite facing some foes descending from the allowance ranks.

AUBURN, Wash. - Izzacopy will attempt to make it two in a row when he takes on seven other 3-year-olds in Friday's Emerald Downs feature, a first-level allowance test at six furlongs.

SAN MATEO, Calif. - Trainer Armando Lage said it was love at first sight with the filly Proudest Moment, and she has returned his feelings by becoming a profitable claim.

has not failed to cash a check for Lage in seven races since he claimed her for $32,000 at Bay Meadows last Sept. 29. She comes off a big win on Gold Rush Day at Hollywood Park on April 30 and appears a strong contender as she runs in first-level allowance competition against eight other fillies and mares in Friday's Bay Meadows feature at six furlongs.

MIAMI - Jose Rivera II decided this winter that after riding for nearly 30 years, the last 13 without a break, it was time to take a vacation. But on Saturday, Rivera's vacation will end when he reunites with one of his favorite horses, Keep Cool, in Calder's $45,000 Big Bubble Stakes, scheduled to be run at 1 1/8 miles on the grass.

ETOBICOKE, Ontario - With an eye toward expediting the installation of a new Polytrack surface this summer, Woodbine has officially applied to the Ontario Racing Commission to drop nine days from the meet's schedule.

The replacement of the current one-mile dirt surface with Polytrack is set to begin on Tuesday, July 4.

Thursday already was dark that week, due to the July 3 Monday holiday program.

At the beginning of the meeting, Woodbine had announced its intentions of dropping the Wednesday, July 3, and Friday, July 5, programs.

ETOBICOKE, Ontario - Sprightly, fresh off a successful winter campaign in Florida, will likely be favored in Friday's Woodbine feature, a second-level allowance for 3-year-old fillies scheduled for a mile on the grass.

AUBURN, Wash. - Kissntheboysgoodby went from a possible flash in the pan to divisional leader in 1:09 on Sunday, when she won the six-furlong Hastings Park Handicap in convincing fashion.

A strong field of eight provides a handicapping challenge in the $30,000 Shaker Heights Handicap on Friday at Thistledown. The six-furlong race is restricted to 3-year-olds and upward who have started at Thistledown in 2005-06.

Ohio-bred sprint champion Ben's Reflection, a 6-year-old gelding who has a career record of 14-6-4 from 26 starts and earnings of more than $300,000, is the 123-pound highweight. While his stakes wins have come in statebred races, Ben's Reflection has beaten open company on numerous occasions.