A pair of sprinters who were multiple stakes winners in 2003, plus two other classy veterans who were stakes placed with triple-digit Beyer Speed Figures last season, form the nucleus of a good betting race in Saturday's $75,000 Hoover Stakes at Laurel Park.

Gators N Bears, narrowly beaten by six-furlong specialist Shake You Down twice since November, and Native Heir, who set a Gulfstream Park track record in last winter's Grade 3 Deputy Minister Handicap, are the logical favorites in a field of 11 older horses going six furlongs.

Owners and trainers generally prefer for their horse to face as few opponents as possible. In the case of Dubai Sheikh, a key scratch from Saturday's $50,000 Forego Stakes at Turfway Park would actually work against him.

Last month in the Holiday Cheer Stakes at Turfway, Dubai Sheikh was proven vulnerable when attempting to rally behind a slow early pace. Wild Lies set slow early fractions, and Dubai Sheikh seemed uncomfortable being rushed to stay within range of the leaders.

Simply Jolie, who has won three of five career starts, can get back in the win column in Saturday night's $30,000 Super Bowl for 3-year-old fillies at Sam Houston Race Park.

The six-furlong race is named in honor of Houston being the host site for the Super Bowl on Feb. 1.

Simply Jolie comes into the race on the heels of a third-place finish in the $40,000 Genesis at Delta Downs, beaten 5 3/4 lengths by Grade 3 winner Wacky Patty. Prior to that race, she won the $40,000 Dixie Belle, also at Delta.

ETOBICOKE, Ontario - Despite getting off to a later start this year, the 2004 Woodbine meeting will offer 101 stakes with purses totaling a record $20 million.

Woodbine has scheduled 167 days of racing, the same number as in recent years, but pushed the opening back to April 17 to accommodate an extensive barn renovation project. A five-day racing week will begin on April 28, and the meeting will wrap up Dec. 12.

The 2003 meeting began March 22, but did not go to a five-day racing week until June. The meet ended Nov. 30.

HOT SPRINGS, Ark. - The opening of Oaklawn Park is always highly anticipated in the resort town of Hot Springs. But this year, the buzz seems a bit stronger because of the major enhancements made to the track's racing program in celebration of its 100th anniversary. The party starts Friday, with the opening of a 55-day meet that will run through April 10.

HOT SPRINGS, Ark. - When John Servis, who trains Kentucky Derby hopeful Smarty Jones, was looking to take some of his Philadelphia Park-based horses south for the winter, he liked what he saw in the 3-year-old stakes program at Oaklawn Park.

"I really like the way the distances set up," he said. "I like the way the distances progress with each race. You don't have to shorten up to one turn."

HOT SPRINGS, Ark. - Racing in Hot Springs was not founded by Oaklawn Park, but it has been defined by the 100-year-old track, which has persevered through wars, weather, and political setbacks to carve out its place in history. For all those associated, it has been quite a ride.

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. - This is why horseplayers enjoy betting on Gulfstream races. Each of the 10 horses entered in the Friday feature earned a Beyer Speed Figure of 86 or better in at least one of his last two starts, and none of them appears to have a decided edge over the others.

ARCADIA, Calif. - If the Santa Anita Derby were next week, trainer Bob Hess would be in trouble. He admits that his best 3-year-old "has a lot to prove."

It hardly makes the colt, Dwango, unique. After all, it is only January. But the Derby trail starts early nowadays, and Dwango has disappointed once already. If he does it again Friday in a one-other-than allowance, perhaps he is not as good as Hess believed, though the trainer expects Dwango to "run huge."

Trainer Ronny Werner swiped a page from the playbook of Barclay Tagg, who two weekends ago snuck Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner Funny Cide into a Gulfstream Park allowance race. Among six entries for Fair Grounds's six-furlong ninth race Friday is , a 4-year-old trained by Werner who might cross paths with Funny Cide in major handicap races later this season.