NEW ORLEANS - There is only a wisp of a chance that a horse as wonderfully gifted as Mineshaft will return to the Fair Grounds barn of trainer Neil Howard. No one knows that as well as Howard and his help.
But when Mineshaft, the 2003 Horse of the Year, went off to stud this winter, somebody had to take up residence in the stall situated about 15 feet - one quick glance - away from Howard's desk.
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. - Eddington, a 3-year-old who has won a pair of two-turn races this meet, is expected to cut back to a one-turn mile for his next start, the Grade 3, $200,000 Gotham at Aqueduct on March 20.
Mark Hennig, who trains Eddington for the Willmott Stables, said the Gotham would be an educational experience for Eddington, who has raced up close to soft paces in both of his wins down here.
Tiger Hunt, one of the top 3-year-olds at Oaklawn Park, will miss the track's $200,000 Rebel Stakes on March 20 because a "flu bug" he contracted last week has interfered with his training schedule, according to Barry Irwin, president of Team Valor, which owns Tiger Hunt.
Tiger Hunt's seasonal debut could come in either the Grade 2, $500,000 Illinois Derby on April 3, or the $1 million Arkansas Derby on April 10, according to Irwin.
"We can't make the race," Irwin said of the Rebel. "We ran out of time."
Calder Race Course will open the first poker room at a Thoroughbred parimutuel facility in south Florida when its 2004 season starts on April 26.
Calder's card room will be located on the second floor of the grandstand, holding 12 tables offering various games, including Texas hold 'em and seven-card stud. It will open at noon on live racing days, and the track plans to keep it open until midnight.
A Bit O'Gold, winner of the 1 1/8-mile Coronation Futurity at Woodbine last November, heads a list of 190 nominees for this year's 145th running of the Queen's Plate on June 27 and has been named the winter-book favorite for the race.
The Queen's Plate, a 1 1/4-mile race at Woodbine for Canadian-bred 3-year-olds, offers a purse of $1 million and is the first leg of the Canadian Triple Crown.
NEW ORLEANS - With the news Wednesday that Stolen Time is coming from Florida, the prospective field for Sunday's Louisiana Derby swelled to 11, with the ship-ins beginning to trickle in Wednesday afternoon.
Stolen Time hasn't started since Nov. 15, when he finished third to the talented pair of Sir Oscar and Wynn Dot Comma in the Jack Price Juvenile at Calder. Subsequently, Stolen Time was privately purchased and turned over to trainer Bill Mott. Stolen Time has been training steadily for Mott at Payson Park.
HOT SPRINGS, Ark. - Bedanken, who ran her record to 9 for 12 with her win in the Grade 3 Bayou Breeders' Cup at Fair Grounds last Saturday, is back at her Oaklawn base, and her connections are considering their options for her next start, which could come in April.
Bedanken, who is a stakes winner on dirt and turf, looked strong winning the 1 1/8-mile Bayou on turf at Fair Grounds.
GRAND ISLAND, Neb. - The Fonner jockey colony had shrunk to a dangerously low level by last Sunday's final race. A pair of accidents on Saturday, coupled with an illness on a rainy, windy Sunday, left just nine riders in the room by the time the final race of the weekend arrived - and it was scheduled to be a 10-horse field. As a result, Goin Deep was scratched.
On Saturday morning, Dan Beck suffered a torn Achilles tendon in a training accident behind the starting gate. Later in the day, Mark Luark's mount stumbled out of the gate and the rider aggravated a shoulder injury.
Sound of Gold, who won the five-furlong Willowbrook Stakes for the second straight year last Saturday night, will stretch out around two turns next. She will point to the $40,000 Jersey Lilly at Sam Houston, trainer Paul Pearson said.
The 1 1/16-mile turf race for fillies and mares will be run April 10.
* Steven Crist, chairman and publisher of Daily Racing Form, will be at Sam Houston on Friday and Saturday to hold two handicapping seminars and sign copies of his new book, "Betting on Myself."
SUNLAND PARK, N.M. - Go Kitty Go's $50.40 maiden win in Sunday's $100,000 Borderland Derby was by far the biggest career win for the colt's owners, Vernon and Sylvia Hauschild, and made up for many of the disappointments they have had to deal with since buying their first horse.