STICKNEY, Ill. - Nobody really knows yet which nationally recognized 3-year-olds might ship to Hawthorne for the April 9 Illinois Derby - the names Galloping Grocer and Sort It Out were floated this week - but the locals are getting ready for them.

Raving Rocket, winner of the Flag Officer Stakes here March 12, worked a steady five furlongs on Monday, and Win Me Over, the Flag Officer runner-up, had a five-furlong breeze Tuesday, a solid work that helped cement his status as an Illinois Derby hopeful.

COLLINSVILLE, Ill. - Fairmount Park's general manager, Brian Zander, and its racing director, Bobby Pace, are enthusiastic about a handful of improvements in the southern Illinois track's 2005 meet, which begins Friday evening with a 10-race slate of sprints.

GROVE CITY, Ohio - A 15 percent across-the-board purse increase will begin on Saturday for the final six weeks of the Beulah Park winter-spring meeting. The purse hike is the result of a 14 percent increase in total handle through the first 48 days of the meet over the corresponding period in 2004, according to general manager Mike Weiss.

Lethal Bay, third in the Grade 1 Los Alamitos Winter Derby on Feb. 25, returns in the 400-yard trials to the $152,000 El Primero Del Ano Derby for colts and geldings at Los Alamitos on Friday night.

The 10 fastest qualifiers are eligible for the April 15 finals.

Three-year-old fillies, including the streaking Louisiana Eye Opener, run in the trials to the $180,000 La Primera Del Ano Derby on Saturday night. The 10 fastest qualifiers return for the 400-yard finals April 16.

They're still buzzing about the dramatic finish of last Saturday's $100,000 Phoenix Gold Cup, when Proud Cardenal and jockey Perry Whetstone just managed to edge Flying Supercon.

For Proud Cardenal's trainer, Sal Gonzalez, everything worked out perfectly.

Testify, who has won the $50,000 Sam Houston Turf Sprint Cup both times he has started in the race, in 2001 and 2003, is being pointed toward this year's running April 9, said his trainer, Randy Morse.

The Sprint Cup is one of two stakes on the undercard of the $200,000 Connally Breeders' Cup Turf, which is the richest race of the meet at Sam Houston.

Testify has been working at Oaklawn Park in preparation for his first start since August, when he ran third in an overnight handicap at Ellis Park. Now 8, Testify has won 10 races and $540,067 in his career.

Trainer Patricia Farro successfully moved a pair of horses up the class ladder to score allowance wins recently at Philadelphia Park.

The 8-year-old mare Our Double Click ($8.60), a consistent performer in the starter allowance ranks, registered her fourth win in her last six starts, defeating two-other-than allowance foes last Saturday.

On Tuesday's card, Farro struck with Nonour ($7.80), a 5-year-old mare she claimed for $18,000 in New York last time out. Nonour got up by a nose going a mile and 70 yards in a two-other-than allowance.

All $3,500 claiming competition isn't equal. Te Jay Tejabo ($7), winless in 15 starts over the last two years, shipped from Charles Town to Penn National on March 17 and crushed $3,500 horses by 11 1/4 lengths going a mile.

It was the first horse former Penn National-based trainer Ronney Brown has started at the current meet.

* Mr. Tickety Boo ($11.80) has proven a good claim for Steve Brown. Taken for $5,000 at Charles Town in December, Mr. Tickety Boo won his second in a row for Brown in a one-other-than allowance worth $15,500 in race 7 on March 17.

The word was obviously out that Rolf's Black Gold ($4) was a good thing last Friday at Mountaineer.

After going 0 for 8 in Louisiana and showing just a pair of slow four-furlong workouts for his comeback, the 6-year-old Rolf's Black Gold defeated $5,000 maiden claimers by 14 1/2 lengths in his first start for new trainer Joe Ambrosia. He got a 61 Beyer.

The trainer and jockey races remain wide-open affairs, as Fonner Park's 38-day season reaches its midway point this weekend.

David Anderson and Marv Johnson continue their neck-and-neck battle in the trainers' race, with 15 wins each. In the jockeys' race, Curtis Kimes maintains a 35-26 lead over nine-time riding champion Perry Compton. R. D. Williams, also a nine-time riding champion here, is close behind with 23 wins.