Fans apparently took one look at trainer Val Testerman's 6-for-141 record and 4 percent win rate for 2005 and steered clear when Mach Speed made his first start off the claim in an optional claiming race at Laurel Park last Friday.

Although Mach Speed had gone off at 9-2 when fourth in his previous race and had won at the same one-mile distance as last Friday's race with a 93 Beyer Speed Figure four starts back, he was dismissed Friday at 22-1.

Ridden by Richard Monterrey, Mach Speed ($46.60) by 2 1/4 lengths and earned a Beyer Figure of 91.

Longshot players were rewarded with some early Christmas presents at Penn National last Saturday night.

In race 4, a $4,000 claimer for nonwinners-of-three, extreme longshots Darnedest Thing ($59.80) and Golden Drive (23-1) ran one-two to trigger a $14,771.40 trifecta and an exacta that paid $544.60.

That wasn't even the biggest exacta on the nine-race program. Two races earlier, Rachel's Holiday ($29.20) and 38-1 bomb Chilean Affair combined for an exacta worth $661.60.

Trainer Ed Lehman and jockey Nick Santagata don't hook up very often. But when they do, watch out.

Since July, Lehman and Santagata have combined to go 7 for 11, all at Philadelphia Park. That computes to a 63 percent success rate, and most importantly for bettors, an exceptional $7.47 return on investment.

Rocky Gulch may not have been victorious in Sunday's $125,000 Johnie L. Jamison at Sunland Park, but he still managed to make history.

As the even-money favorite and 127-pound highweight, Rocky Gulch set the pace under pressure and got into a stretch-long duel with 16-1 Ninety Nine Jack. Ninety Nine Jack eventually got the best of that duel, winning by a neck. Rocky Gulch's second-place check of $26,250, however, pushed his career earnings to over $798,000, making him the richest New Mexico-bred of all time, passing Ciento and his $776,000 bankroll.

ALBANY, Calif. - There are plenty of reasons to bet against Datzig in Friday's Golden Gate feature, a $32,000 claimer at 1 1/16 miles on the turf.

He's a 3-year-old who not only is meeting older but also spotting them weight. Three of his five rivals have higher last-race Beyers than he does. The probable favorite, Denied, has more wins on the turf alone - four - than Datzig has in his career, two.

Approval Tuesday by the Maryland Racing Commission of Laurel Park's request for 75 days of live racing in the first four months of 2006 was part of a larger compromise on racing dates for next year that has yet to be fully worked out.

INGLEWOOD, Calif. - has always been in a hurry. He cost $1.3 million as a yearling, then won first time out. That's precocious. At Del Mar this summer, however, that eagerness became overheated. Since then, his connections have managed A.P. Warrior, both on and off the track, with their sights set on the far horizon. It's paying off.

OZONE PARK, N.Y. - has developed into one fast filly since being claimed by trainer Mark Shuman, but she must overcome the outside post as the probable favorite for Thursday's $65,000 Ride Sally Stakes at Aqueduct.

To be run at a mile and 70 yards, the Ride Sally is restricted to 3-year-old fillies who have not won an open stakes. Ms Louisa Quatorse drew the outside in a field of seven.

The trainer Pat Mouton won at a 15 percent rate last week at the Fair Grounds meet at Louisiana Downs. That is, Mouton won 15 percent of all 40 races run between Thursday and Sunday.

"That was a pretty good week," Mouton said.

INGLEWOOD, Calif. - Andrew Beyer likes to say that wild, raucous cheering is allowed by a bettor only if you are going for a payoff that exceeds 10 percent of your annual income. Trainer Nick Hines violates that rule every time he wins a race, with over-the-top outbursts punctuated by yelling, military-style salutes, and bear hugs that overwhelm his employees and threaten to crush the jockey who rode his winner.