ARCADIA, Calif. - Rain, rain, go away.

That's the sentiment at Santa Anita, where steady, persistent rain has interrupted training schedules and disrupted what track management believed would be a strong start to the meeting.

OZONE PARK, N.Y. - Galloping Grocer, the talented New York-bred gelding with designs on the Kentucky Derby, recently resumed serious training as he gears up for his 3-year-old campaign. Galloping Grocer is scheduled to make his seasonal debut in the Whirlaway Stakes here on Feb. 12.

After getting a month off following a neck loss to the undefeated Rockport Harbor in the Remsen, Galloping Grocer resumed galloping on Monday. Trainer Dominick Schettino said he plans to get three workouts into Galloping Grocer before the Whirlaway.

ARCADIA, Calif. - Resplendency had never raced before on the grass, and there was no way she was going to try it for the first time on Friday. Rather, what trainer Bob Baffert hoped was that the $113,500 would be moved to the main track because of recent wet weather.

At the least, Baffert can join the National Weather Service, because his forecast was spot on.

Dean Sarvis closed out the holiday meet at Turfway on Friday by easily winning his first riding title there. It was the second title of 2004 for the veteran jockey, who rode a record 167 winners at River Downs during the summer.

Sarvis finished the meet with 39 winners, 15 more than second-place Ramsey Zimmerman.

Sarvis is widely considered the favorite to top the winter-spring meeting at Turfway, which begins Saturday and continues until April 7.

OZONE PARK, N.Y. - Megascape and Pelham Bay were the top New York-bred juvenile fillies of 2004. Two days into their 3-year-old season, Megascape and Pelham Bay meet in an open company stakes when they head a six-horse field in Sunday's $75,000 Ruthless at Aqueduct.

Megascape beat Pelham Bay in the Joseph A. Gimma Stakes in October and Pelham Bay came back to beat Megascape in the Maid of the Mist 20 days later. Megascape had a legitimate excuse in the Maid of the Mist as she was diagnosed with a lung infection.

ARCADIA, Calif. - A steady rain was falling Friday morning as top sprinter McCann's Mojave headed to the Santa Anita racetrack, and trainer Leonard Dorfman shouted to the exercise rider, "Don't get him wet!"

Dorfman was joking, of course. A series of storms continued to soak Southern California into the weekend, and Dorfman said the condition of the racetrack will be a key factor in whether McCann's Mojave returns Sunday in the Grade 3 El Conejo Handicap at 5 1/2 furlongs.

ALBANY, Calif. - Ninetenthsofthelaw may be trainer Ronnie Wallace's greatest success.

A 6-year-old gelding, Ninetenthsofthelaw will be tough to beat when he takes on seven rivals in Sunday's Golden Gate Fields feature, a six-furlong first-level allowance race.

Wallace claimed Ninetenthsof-thelaw for $4,000 on Sept. 10, 2003. His partner asked Wallace if he would buy him out, and Wallace did. Three days later, Ninetenthsofthelaw won a $12,500 claimer.

CHICAGO - With a lock on his third Hawthorne riding title, Chris Emigh will celebrate the final day of the winter meet here, not by taking it easy, but by going hard.

A no-nonsense journeyman, Emigh used to leave the track in the evening spent from riding every mount so aggressively.

"It's a competition thing," Emigh said. "I've always tried to ride every race like it was the Derby. I used to over-ride some of them. I had to learn to calm down."

Gulfstream Park may spark a major shift in the Florida racing calendar by amending its request for 2006 dates and applying for a brief fall meet in addition to its traditional dates.

Gulfstream applied for its normal winter dates, Jan. 3 to April 24, when applications were filed Thursday with the state's Division of Parimutuel Wagering, but all tracks have until March 31 to make changes.

Scott Savin, Gulfstream's president, said Friday that a fall meet of undetermined duration is "something we've talked about," adding such a meet has garnered interest from horsemen.

Trainer Dickie Small settled for winning two of the three stakes run during the final week of 2004 at Pimlico when his colt Legal Control ($17.80) drew off in the stretch to win Friday's by 2 1/2 lengths.

Monster Chaser, stretching out beyond six furlongs for the first time, outfought Prideland, the even-money favorite, by a neck for second. Legal Control completed 1 1/16 miles on a fast track in 1:46.21.