INGLEWOOD, Calif. - Over the last several weeks, Laffit Pincay Jr. dropped hints to friends that he might be ready to retire. Trainer Bill Spawr, with whom Pincay has been close over the past decade, visited him earlier this month. "He said, 'Those three little [bones] are going to have to heal really, really well, or my family won't let me ride,'" Spawr said. "At the time, my gut feeling was he was going to retire."

INGLEWOOD, Calif. - Chiming and Pertuisane, entered and scratched from a Hollywood Park turf sprint Wednesday, were entered in a more appropriate spot Friday. The Bobby Frankel trainees are the principal contenders in the seventh-race feature, a one-mile allowance for nonwinners-of-two other-than fillies and mares. First post Friday is 1:40 p.m.; Hollywood resumes night racing next Friday.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Senor Swinger was bought privately by Bob and Beverly Lewis earlier this spring with the hope that he would develop into a Kentucky Derby starter.

They missed by one day. Senor Swinger is not running in the Derby, but makes his turf debut in Friday's $100,000 Crown Royal American Turf, one of five stakes on the program at Churchill Downs.

Run over 1 1/16 miles on turf, the Grade 3 Crown Royal has drawn 15 runners, but only 12 will start.

ETOBICOKE, Ontario - Heading into this sixth week of the Woodbine meeting, trainer Rita Schnitzler was not planning on being a participant in the Queen's Plate.

But that situation changed when Peef, a 3-year-old gelding who had been owned and trained by Sue Leslie, was purchased privately by Jurgen Schemmer's Arosa Farm and walked over to Schnitzler's barn.

Peef, a 3-year-old gelding by Langfuhr, won at first asking here last September and wound up his four-start campaign with a third-place finish behind Arco's Gold and Mobil in the 1 1/8-mile Coronation Futurity.

OZONE PARK, N.Y. - Last year, Owsley began her 4-year-old campaign modestly, in allowance company, and then went on to bigger and better things. This year, Owsley will make her seasonal debut against a tough group of filly and mare turf runners in Saturday's $100,000 Beaugay Handicap at Aqueduct.

SAN MATEO, Calif. - Finally, Russell Baze has a number to shoot at.

The fourth-winningest jockey in history, with 8,223 victories starting the week, Baze needs 1,308 victories to surpass Laffit Pincay Jr. as the winningest rider in history.

Pincay, who announced his retirement Tuesday, has 9,530 victories. Bill Shoemaker ranks second with 8,833 victories.

The 44-year-old Baze has recorded at least 400 victories in 10 of the past 11 years and is on pace to reach the figure again this year. At that pace, he could surpass Pincay sometime in 2006.

Louisiana Downs in Bossier City, La., is scheduled to open a 900-machine slots casino on May 21, at least a week earlier than Harrah's Entertainment officials expected when they completed the purchase of the track in December 2002.

The Louisiana Downs meet opens June 27.

The slots casino is the first phase of a long-term improvement project at the track. At the end of May 2004, the number of machines will increase to 1,500.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Bobby Frankel on Saturday will have plenty of activity to keep his mind occupied before the Kentucky Derby.

Frankel will have runners in four of the five undercard stakes races at Churchill Downs prior to saddling Empire Maker and Peace Rules in the 129th Derby. Saturday's card comprises 12 races with a first post of 11:15 a.m.

Retama Park near San Antonio will open for 24 nights of Quarter Horse racing on Friday. The meet will run on Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights through June 22.

Purses will average $60,000 a night. Highlights of the stakes program include the Grade 1 $400,000-estimated Retama Park Futurity at 350 yards on June 22, and the Grade 1, $200,000-estimated Retama Park Derby at 400 yards on June 21.

Manor Downs in Austin, Texas, will open a Thoroughbred meet on Saturday. The track, which wrapped up a mixed meet for Quarter Horses and Thoroughbreds on April 27, will race Thoroughbreds on Saturdays and Sundays through May 11.

The opening-day stakes is the $35,000 Manor Downs Thoroughbred Futurity at 4 1/2 furlongs, which has attracted a full field of 10.

Other stakes of note include the $25,000 Manor Downs Distaff at a mile May 10, and the $35,000 Tony Sanchez Memorial Mile for Texas-breds on May 11.