ALTOONA, Iowa - What a month it has been for trainer Judi Hicklin.

On April 9, Hicklin was married in Tampa, Fla., to Bobby Pate, an outrider at both Tampa Bay Downs and Arlington Park.

LINCOLN, Neb. - Lincoln State Fair opens its doors Friday evening for a 34-day stand that runs through July 11.

The Nebraska State Fair, which has been facing financial difficulties for several years, is in a pivotal year as the fair board awaits November's election results. Former general manager Pat Lloyd left the state fair this spring, and shortly afterward the Nebraska Legislature placed an initiative on the ballot that would earmark a portion of lottery proceeds to fund the state fair. Joseph McDermott has assumed the role of interim general manager.

MUSKEGON, Mich. - Terry Houghton made a triumphant return to Great Lakes Downs, where he is the winningest rider in the five-year history of the western Michigan oval. He rode six winners in four days to vault into a tie for fifth in the local standings. Freddie Mata leads with 18 wins through 10 days of the meet.

NORTH RANDALL, Ohio - The race for leading trainer at this Summit meeting may not be decided until the dust settles after Friday's last race. Gary Johnson has a one-winner edge, 12-11, over Jerry Hollendorfer. Rodney Faulkner and Jeff Radosevich are nipping at their heels with 10 wins each.

Johnson holds the record for most meet titles at Thistledown, with 23.

Hollendorfer's assistant, Kenneth Butch Marshall, has been very selective in regards to spotting his horses. Their 11 wins have come from just 23 starters.

BALTIMORE - Neil Howard always has thought a lot of Song Track, the 3-year-old filly he will send out Friday at Pimlico in the $200,000 Black-Eyed Susan Stakes. But Song Track has not quite developed at the rate of the fillies who sit atop her division, so Howard didn't think twice about skipping the Kentucky Oaks two weeks ago.

"She's got a lot of quality," said Howard. "We thought this race at Pimlico, coming on the heels of the Oaks, gives you a chance to step up while ducking your Ashados, your Madcap Escapades, your Victory U. S. A.'s."

Funny Cide returns to the scene of the most brilliant performance of his championship 3-year-old season Friday when he runs in the Grade 1, $500,000 Pimlico Special in Baltimore.

A year ago, romped to a 9 3/4-length victory in the Preakness, confirming his Kentucky Derby upset of two weeks earlier was no fluke. He will be trying to become the seventh Preakness winner to also win the Special. That list includes such luminaries as War Admiral, Whirlaway, and Citation. Real Quiet was the last Preakness winner to also take the Special.

Pimlico Race Course, the site of Saturday's Preakness Stakes, released rules on Tuesday that restrict jockey advertising at the track to a rider's breeches and turtlenecks and prohibit jockeys from making deals with companies in competition with the track.

During this year's Kentucky Derby, half of the riders in the field wore advertisements after a federal judge ruled that Kentucky regulators could not prohibit the practice.

ELMONT, N.Y. - There are no stakes on tap, but a dozen horses who at some point were good enough to run in graded stakes can be found on Thursday's high-quality program.

The graded stakes runners are all older males, and they are entered in races 3, 6, and 8.

The third race is a third-level allowance at 1 1/8 miles. , who was unable to carry his speed in the Fort Marcy Handicap on the turf last time out, is the one to catch in a field of five.

INGLEWOOD, Calif. - When he races 1 1/16 miles on turf in the seventh-race feature Thursday at Hollywood Park, Captain Squire will be a lot less useful to bettors than he would have been one day earlier.

A front-runner, will be strongly favored Thursday, for all the right reasons. He is racing in peak form, fits at the classified allowance level, his speed figures are suitable, and he should be loose on the lead. Captain Squire's attributes are obvious, and will be reflected by odds.

INGLEWOOD, Calif. - Lifestyle's romping allowance win Sunday at Belmont Park - a 13 1/2-length win that earned a 105 Beyer Figure - may have earned the 4-year-old colt a berth in the Grade 1 Triple Bend Handicap on July 3 at Hollywood Park.

Trainer Wesley Ward, who owns the colt with Roger King, said plans have not been finalized, but Lifestyle will be strongly considered for the seven-furlong Triple Bend.