GRAND ISLAND, Neb. - Burning Memories will try and defend her title in the $25,000 Al Swihart Memorial Handicap at Fonner Park.
Burning Memories returned to her old form in the April 10 Runza Handicap, where she scored by 1 1/4 lengths under a confident ride by Perry Compton. She finished sixth in her seasonal debut here March 20 when failing to offer a bid.
Compton will return aboard Burning Memories for trainer Jim Cranwell in the 6 1/2-furlong Swihart, which drew a field of 10.
GROVE CITY, Ohio - Floater looks for his first victory as a 3-year-old when he starts as the 121-pound highweight in a field of seven Ohio-bred 3-year-olds in the $45,000 Wintergreen Handicap.
The Ohio juvenile of the year in 2003, Floater won four of his five starts as a 2-year-old, including two stakes, and has finished second in both of his starts this year. He made his first start in the Noonan Stakes here, closing strongly to be beaten three-quarters of a length.
Aloha Bold, a close third in the Count Fleet Sprint at Oaklawn last month, may be favored in the feature at Lone Star, a $40,000 open allowance at five furlongs on the turf. The race serves as a prep for the $100,000 Beck Auto Group Turf Sprint on May 31.
Aloha Bold, who won the Colonel Power Stakes at Fair Grounds over the winter, comes in off a pair of third-place finishes in the Pelleteri at Fair Grounds and the Count Fleet. The margin of defeat was less than two lengths in both, which suggests Aloha Bold holds a slight class advantage over the rest of the field.
Rarely does a $50,000 stakes draw a field as strong as the one for the 5 1/2-furlong Prairie Express on Saturday night at Prairie Meadows in Altoona, Iowa.
Multiple stakes winners Coach Jimi Lee, Chindi, and Sand Ridge are among the 11 horses recruited for the Express by stakes coordinator Jay Johnson. The field also includes defending Express champion Pie's Lil Brother, Abbi's Choice, who is seeking his fifth straight win, and Pelican Beach, a winner of 15 of his 30 career starts.
ETOBICOKE, Ontario - Chris's Bad Boy, Woodbine's six-furlong track record holder, will clash with millionaire Mobil at seven furlongs in Saturday's $160,800 Vigil Handicap.
Chris's Bad Boy, a $47,500 claim last spring by Alpine Stable and trainer Vito Armata, takes a five-race win streak into the Grade 3 Vigil. His roll began when he captured a $32,000 starter allowance in early September, and then he doubled up in a $100,000 optional claimer on the grass.
FORT ERIE, Ontario - A surprisingly strong program of nine five-furlong races, with 85 horses entered on the card, launches Fort Erie's 2004 season Saturday.
There was concern that the track might experience a horse shortage. Fort Erie had cut its normal schedule of about 115 racing days to just 81 for 2004, and the consensus was that some outfits could be looking to race elsewhere.
Because this one-mile track is scheduled to be rebuilt, the end of the season, planned for Nov. 22, was moved to Labor Day, Sept. 6.
CALGARY, Alberta - Sweet Drummer, from the high-percentage barn of Floyd Arthur, heads a field of 10 older runners in Saturday's fifth race, for $28,000 claimers.
A 5-year-old gelding, Sweet Drummer seeks his second straight victory after dispatching similar company in wire-to-wire fashion here April 16 under Leanne Painter, who retains the call.
Sweet Drummer was never threatened in that six-furlong sprint, contested over a muddy surface that he obviously relished, and Arthur wheels him right back at the same price and distance.
VANCOUVER, British Columbia - Could Dancewithavixen, the heavy favorite in the $40,000 Sun Handicap Saturday at Hastings, be vulnerable? The Sun goes as the eighth race and is part of the pick six, which ths Saturday will have a guaranteed pool of $50,000.
Dancewithavixen has been just about unbeatable at Hastings and certainly deserves the 124 pounds she will be carrying Saturday. And she was very impressive winning the Strawberry Morn Stakes under 122 pounds opening day.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Bruce Lunsford wanted to be governor of Kentucky so badly that he spent $8 million of his own money before pulling out of the Democratic primary last May. He may not ever be governor, but Lunsford could be king for a day if his star filly, Madcap Escapade, can remain unbeaten Friday in a spectacular 130th running of the at Churchill Downs.
"To live in this city and win a race as big as the Oaks, I could probably say I've enjoyed everything life can give," said Lunsford, a Louisville entrepreneur and businessman. "It wouldn't get any better than that."