ALBANY, Calif. - Golden Gate Fields is preparing for a golden weekend with the Grade 3 El Camino Real Derby on Saturday and Grade 3 Golden Gate Breeders' Cup Handicap on Sunday.

SUNLAND PARK, N.M. - Bang turned in the top performance of this meet in last Saturday's $50,000 Bill Thomas Memorial Handicap, winning by seven lengths, shattering the track record for 6 1/2 furlongs, and earning a 103 Beyer Speed Figure. Not bad for a horse who started this season off in a $25,000 claiming race.

Bang has won four straight races here at Sunland and has established himself as the top sprinter in the region. His success can be attributed to the patience his trainer, Eric Kruljac, showed last season when Bang was 3.

GRAND ISLAND, Neb. - The scene around Joe Moss's barn hasn't changed much, yet.

The durable 13-year-old Leaping Plum still resides in his usual stall. But while the other horses in the Moss barn go to the track in the mornings to train, "The Plum" stays put.

A rare weekday stakes race is scheduled at Turfway Park on Friday, the result of racing being canceled last weekend because of unsafe track conditions. The rescheduled $50,000 Wintergreen Stakes highlights the 12-race card, featuring a field of 11 fillies and mares, including three Southern shippers.

Playa Maya, who based in New Orleans this winter, is one such shipper. A winner of 2 of 4 starts, she comes off a fast 4 1/2-length allowance triumph at Fair Grounds Jan. 23. Although that victory came on grass, trainer David Carroll anticipates her running as well on dirt.

PORTLAND, Ore. - Boardroom Banter had the kind of form only an owner could bet on in the first leg of Friday's pick four, and owner Ron Sutton must have been about the only person who did. When he won at 35-1 under longshot artist Melissa Peery, he keyed a record pick four payoff of $3,359 that Sutton shared with three partners.

The Manitoba Derby, which lost its Grade 3 status and had its purse reduced by 25 percent, still holds bragging rights as the richest race at Winnipeg's Assiniboia Downs this year.

The $75,000 Manitoba Derby, a 1 1/8-mile race for 3-year-olds on Aug. 2, tops a list of 31 stakes worth a total of $2.63 million at the 75-day meeting. The Graduation Stakes for 2-year-old colts and geldings was eliminated from the schedule this year.

Foxtrot Oscar, a South Carolina-bred colt who won the Texas Heritage Stakes at Sam Houston Race Park last Saturday night, is scheduled to make his next start in the Grade 2, $1 million Arkansas Derby on April 10, said his trainer, William Welch Jr.

Foxtrot Oscar rallied from 11th to beat favorite Sling Shot by a neck in the Texas Heritage, a one-mile race for 3-year-olds. Foxtrot Oscar covered the distance in 1:38.72. The win was his third from five starts.

Trainer Steve Asmussen does not have any immediate next-race plans for Spritely Walker, who is arguably the best Louisiana-bred in training. Spritely Walker won his fourth straight race Friday night, when he took the $50,000 Bayou State for statebreds at Delta Downs.

"We're very proud of him," said Asmussen. "He's a lot of fun to run."

More than 100 horses from the Estate of John Franks will be auctioned during the Evangeline Downs 2-year-olds in training and paddock sale at the track Sunday. The total catalog is 158 horses, and the sale will begin at 10 a.m. An under-tack show will be begin at noon Saturday.

Franks, a racing giant who lived in Louisiana, died Dec. 31. Among the horses making up the Franks consignment is Kiss a Native, a Grade 2 winner of more than $1 million.

Willie Nelson and the Beach Boys will perform separate concerts during the opening weekend of the spring meet at Lone Star Park. Nelson, who has played Lone Star the past two years, will perform after the races on April 16. The Beach Boys will perform after the races on April 17.

Lone Star will open its stable area March 29 and plans to keep it open for seven consecutive months. Following the spring meet that runs April 15 to July 11, Lone Star will remain open for training through the conclusion of its fall season, which runs Oct. 1-31.