ELMONT, N.Y. - Trainer Kiaran McLaughlin is going so well at Belmont that even when he skips a condition with a horse, he is running a strong contender.
Such is the case with the 4-year-old Sunray Spirit, who was hustled into Thursday's third-level allowance race at Belmont Park, but who still could be the one to beat in the 6 1/2-furlong race. McLaughlin has enjoyed a tremendously successful spring meet, having sent out 10 winners from 18 starters.
OCEANPORT, N.J. - Fillies and mares get a rare chance to use the Monmouth turf course in Thursday's feature, a $39,000 allowance race at 1 1/16 miles.
The race drew 12 entrants, including three also-eligibles.
Turf races have been scarce due to exceptionally wet weather here. Many runners stayed in the barn over the first three weeks of the meet. As a result, only two fillies in the field - Sheza Barn Burner and Secretively - have run this meet. Both scored easy wins on wet tracks.
INGLEWOOD, Calif. - Chief Planner and Bullistic represent 3-year-olds at the opposite end of the probables list for Sunday's $100,000 Affirmed Handicap at Hollywood Park. One is proven to be a top 3-year-old, and the other needs a big race on Sunday to earn a spot in that category.
Chief Planner was an accomplished 2-year-old, placing in three stakes, but was sidelined by injury last winter and did not start in the Triple Crown. Trained by Bob Baffert, Chief Planner returned to top form with a seven-length win in the $250,000 Snow Chief Stakes for California-breds on April 26.
INGLEWOOD, Calif. - A string of narrow losses can end for Solitario on Thursday in a $48,000 allowance sprint on turf at Hollywood Park.
Since winning a maiden race at Santa Anita in March 2002, the 5-year-old Solitario has finished second or third in five consecutive races. In his most recent start, he was third by three-quarters of a length in a first-condition allowance race over 5 1/2 furlongs on turf on May 10. Sent off as the favorite, Solitario rallied from third to lead briefly before being passed by Royal Robe and Flirt with Fortune.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Tom Amoss is one of those trainers who runs a large stable and consistently wins at or above 20 percent in virtually every statistical category. Those lofty percentages are a major reason for his many successes in a 15-year career - and it's also a good reason Amoss could have the winner Thursday in the $51,900 feature race at Churchill Downs.
CHICAGO - A horseman always needs a backup plan. Or two. Or three.
The trainer Steve Hobby has gotten down to Plan D with Sue's Good News, the unbeaten 3-year-old filly who through ill luck and bad timing hasn't raced since the Oaklawn meet in April.
Finally - finally! - Sue's Good News returns. Hobby entered her Monday in a third-level allowance race, Arlington's Thursday feature.
"This wasn't even in the plans," Hobby said Thursday. "I have to run her somewhere."
NORTH RANDALL, Ohio - Seven 3-year-olds, topped by Preakness runner-up Midway Road and undefeated Wild and Wicked, are expected for Saturday's Grade 2, $300,000 Ohio Derby at Thistledown.
Other contenders include Crowned King, winner of the Rebel Stakes and USA Stakes this year; Hackendiffy, a winner of five stakes for Ohio-breds; and El Ruller, who has been stakes placed at Woodbine in his last two starts.
ETOBICOKE, Ontario - Jockey Richard Dos Ramos can list victories in the Canadian International, the Molson Export Million, and the Labatt Woodbine Oaks among the highlights of his 22-year career.
But Dos Ramos, 40, will not consider his portfolio to be complete until he wins a Queen's Plate, and until late Monday afternoon it appeared he would have to wait at least another year for his next shot at it.
SAN MATEO, Calif. - The recently concluded 55-day Bay Meadows meeting had a slight decrease in handle from 2002.
A total of $135.9 million was wagered on live and imported races ontrack, in the northern California off-track network, and through advance deposit wagering, compared with $137 million in 2002.
Bay Meadows officials pointed to the rainiest April in 20 years and its effect on field size as a possible reason for the .8 percent decrease in total handle.
STOCKTON, Calif. - Jockey Ramon Guce is making his debut on the fair circuit, but he's anything but a rookie.
The 34-year-old rider was the 1999 jockey of the year in his native Philippine Islands and has twice been the leading Thoroughbred rider at Los Alamitos since arriving in the United States in 2000.
"My godfather invited me to ride here," he said of his move to this country.
"In the Philippines, we have a family of jockeys. My father and two brothers are jockeys. I have four or five uncles who ride. I grew up with a barn filled with horses."