INGLEWOOD, Calif. - Battle-tested in two rich stakes at Sunland Park in March, Excessivepleasure returns to the comfort of home, and the company of fellow California-breds, in Saturday's $250,000 Snow Chief Stakes at Hollywood Park.

Trainer Doug O'Neill had considered passing the Snow Chief Stakes until he watched Excessivepleasure work six furlongs in 1:14 on Saturday. The finish of the workout convinced O'Neill that Excessivepleasure had emerged from his victory in the $500,000 WinStar Derby at Sunland Park on March 30 ready for another race.

INGLEWOOD, Calif. - Hollywood Park will continue its trend of grouping major stakes races into one-day festivals on weekends and holidays in an effort to build interest in the 65-day spring-summer meet, which begins Wednesday.

While the plan leaves some weekend programs with only modest feature races, track president Rick Baedeker is hoping the multi-stakes approach will appeal to a national audience of bettors.

INGLEWOOD, Calif. - About the only sure thing Wednesday at Hollywood Park is that the 65-day spring-summer racing season begins with a 1:20 p.m. first post.

As the Southern California circuit relocates from Santa Anita to Hollywood Park, familiar uncertainties re-emerge. The Hollywood racing office will strain to fill races; horsemen will choose between stabling at Hollywood or training horses at Santa Anita and shipping crosstown to race; and horseplayers face such blurry variables as track surface and a fresh crop of unraced 2-year-olds. There are plenty of questions.

LEXINGTON, Ky. - Some horses like Kentucky, and, well, some horses love it. Rochester seems to fit the second category, having won two of the richest races of his career last fall in the Bluegrass State.

Rochester won the $300,000 Kentucky Cup Turf at Kentucky Downs in September, then wheeled back in just two weeks to win the $100,000 Sycamore Stakes at Keeneland. For the first time since that nifty double, Rochester, a turf-marathon specialist, is back to run in Kentucky, this time as one of the likely favorites in Wednesday's $100,000 Elkhorn Stakes at Keeneland.

SAN MATEO, Calif. - The most interesting race on Wednesday's card is a $32,000 claimer at six furlongs, which goes as the second race.

Fog City Willy, who has won all three starts this year after going 7 for 10 last year, will meet his toughest competition since he ran fourth in a $40,000 optional claimer 11 months ago.

ARCADIA, Calif. - Santa Anita suffered sharp declines in ontrack business during the winter-spring meeting which ended Sunday.

According to figures released Monday by track officials, average ontrack attendance fell 11 percent to 8,842, the lowest in track history.

Average ontrack handle dropped 7 percent to $2,314,748. Handle from all sources, including Internet and telephone betting, fell 2 percent, to an average of $11,785,178. Internet and telephone betting averaged $492,347.

INGLEWOOD, Calif. - Medaglia d'Oro, the winner of the Strub Stakes and Oaklawn Handicap in his only starts this year, will miss the Pimlico Special on May 16 after being injured in his stall at Hollywood Park, trainer Bobby Frankel said.

Frankel said the injury occurred last Friday and is not a major concern. He said the 4-year-old Medaglia d'Oro will be pointed for the Stephen Foster Handicap at Churchill Downs on June 14.

SAN MATEO, Calif. - Saturday's $200,000 San Francisco Breeders' Cup Mile, northern California's only Grade 2 race, might come up with a short field because of a prediction for rain.

Ninebanks, who beat three rivals to win the Grade 3 Golden Gate Breeders' Cup Handicap, may not have many more rivals than that in Bay Meadows's premier stakes race.

Ladies Din, the 120-pound highweight of the 16 nominated to the one-mile turf race, has had his status downgraded from probable to possible.

LEXINGTON, Ky. - Three years ago, Shane Sellers said, "I might have been throwing water buckets all over the place," if his win percentage had been as low as it has been throughout the Keeneland spring meet. Into the final three-day stretch of the meet, which ends Friday, Sellers had ridden three winners from 50 mounts - and those totals are padded by a two-win day Saturday.

OZONE PARK, N.Y. - Trainer Richard Dutrow isn't crazy about the idea of running Cyber Secret four times in 10 weeks. But he said he wouldd have to be crazier still not to point Cyber Secret to the $200,000, Grade 2 Nassau County Breeders' Cup Handicap at Belmont Park on May 10.