ARCADIA, Calif. - Trainer Jim Cassidy and jockey Mark Johnston are bucking the odds Saturday with Santa Anita Derby longshot Iron Lad, yet the European import will influence the 1 1/8-mile race in at least one regard - he adds integrity to a murky pace scenario. Nine starters are expected, and as Cassidy said, "I don't know if any of them really wants to go to the lead. I expect [Indian Express] to be sent, and [Iron Lad] to be not far behind."

STICKNEY, Ill. - The purse is $500,000, and a deep field of about 11 is expected to start. Saturday's Grade 2 Illinois Derby could be a fine race, but can it hold a candle to last year's soap opera?

LEXINGTON, Ky. - Crucial prep races for the Kentucky Derby and Oaks, and perhaps the deepest jockey colony in track history are just some of the treats awaiting racing fans at Keeneland Race Course, where a 15-day meet opens Friday.

Opening weekend will be highlighted by the $500,000 Ashland Stakes on Saturday, and the meet's showcase, the $750,000 Toyota Blue Grass Stakes, will follow a week later. The Grade 1 Ashland has developed into a top prep for the Kentucky Oaks, while the Grade 1 Blue Grass long has been a key prep for the Kentucky Derby.

EAST BOSTON, Mass. - Suffolk Downs has placed its signature event, the Grade 2 Massachusetts Handicap, on a one-year hiatus.

The Mass Cap's $500,000 purse was deemed too expensive by Suffolk management now that it expects to cover daily purses for a racing season likely to be extended through the summer after Rockingham Park opted to run a harness meet this summer.

In addition, a state-funded purse supplements were below expectations, and the track had nearly a dozen weather-caused cancellations this winter.

With the inaugural Great State Challenge giving Sam Houston Race Park its highest-ever day's handle, the track closed out its 80-day meet Sunday with solid business figures.

The average daily handle on the track's races rose about 3 percent to $2,185,639 this meet, while attendance was constant, with an average of 3,135, compared with 3,131 a year ago. Daily purses rose 4 percent to $116,686.

Sam Houston, open since 1994, handled $5,083,692 on the Great State Challenge, six stakes for statebreds from around the nation.

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. - Imitation would have been the starting highweight and heavy favorite to win last Sunday's Caltech Handicap. But a soft turf course forced trainer Christophe Clement to scratch him out of the race.

The Gulfstream Park turf course figures to be firmer and the competition far easier for Imitation's return to action on Thursday, when he will be an even bigger favorite to win a $38,000 first-level allowance race at 1 1/16 miles.

GRAND PRAIRIE, Texas - For the second consecutive year, fans attending Lone Star's opening day program will be in the presence of greatness - in the saddle that is.

Last year Hall of Fame jockey Jerry Bailey thrilled the opening day crowd, winning two races, including the featured Premiere Stakes. This year, the spotlight will be on another Hall of Fame jockey, Pat Day, who rides Agrivating General in the Premiere, the traditional first race of the Lone Star meet.

ARCADIA, Calif. - Native Desert's 10-year-old legs are as cold as his barn, which presents a handicapping dilemma in the feature race Thursday at Santa Anita.

The 6 1/2-furlong turf sprint attracted a field of 12, none more accomplished than California-bred comebacker Native Desert. A gelding, he has won 21 races and more than $1.7 million from 66 starts, most of it for skilled trainer Juan Garcia and owner Miguel Rubio. This winter, however, has been unusually quiet for Garcia, who entered the week having won just one race from 58 starters.

Taken alone, the losses at Fair Grounds during the season that ended Monday were not devastating, but you wouldn't know it from the mood at the racetrack.

After years of growth, Fair Grounds is now mired in decline. Purses are down, field sizes have shrunk, and horsemen are disgruntled. Hit hard by skyrocketing purses at Delta Downs, once an inconsequential rival in western Louisiana, Fair Grounds also felt the effects of an improved purse structure at Oaklawn Park and a rebound at Gulfstream Park's winter meet.

HOT SPRINGS, Ark. - Kudos is peaking at the right time. Set to defend his title Saturday in the $500,000 Oaklawn Handicap against a field that includes Medaglia d'Oro, Kudos could not be doing better, said his trainer, Richard Mandella.

"I expect him to run his best race," said Mandella.

The Grade 2 Oaklawn, which shares a card with the Grade 1, $500,000 Apple Blossom Handicap, will be Kudos's third start back from an almost 10-month layoff.