HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. - Trainer Graham Motion had originally planned on putting Alternate aboard a van headed for Kentucky on Monday morning. Instead Alternate remained behind to compete in Wednesday's $42,000 allowance feature at Gulfstream Park, which is bad news for her seven rivals in the race, to be run at a mile on the turf for older fillies and mares.

"I never imagined I'd be able to run her again here on the turf so I was planning on sending her to Keeneland for a race up there," Motion said on Monday.

OZONE PARK, N.Y. - Two days after winning Saturday's Grade 2 Distaff Breeders' Cup Handicap at Aqueduct with Carson Hollow, trainer Richard Dutrow Jr. said his long-term goal for the 4-year-old filly is the Breeders' Cup Sprint at Santa Anita Park on Oct. 25.

More immediately, Dutrow is eyeing the $200,000 Humana Distaff at Churchill Downs on the Kentucky Derby undercard on May 3 or the $150,000 Genuine Risk Handicap at Belmont Park on May 11 for her next start. The Grade 1 Humana Distaff is a seven-furlong race, and the Genuine Risk goes at six furlongs.

ARCADIA, Calif. - On Wednesday at Santa Anita, two promising colts who have yet to appear in stakes will run in a $56,000 allowance race over a mile, possibly earning trips to important races.

Touch the Wire, second to Wood Memorial hopeful During in an optional claimer March 12, is the likely favorite in a field of six that includes McCann's Mojave, who is unbeaten in two sprints. Their main competition is Seattlespectacular, a Seattle Slew colt who won a maiden race over a mile on March 15 in his fourth career start.

ARCADIA, Calif. - When Gondolieri finished third in the Tokyo City Handicap on March 8, it was only the second loss of his eight-race career, and his first start on the main track.

Sunday, trainer Ron McAnally will give Chilean import Gondolieri a chance to score his first stakes win in the United States in a race suited to his strength - the $150,000 Arcadia Handicap over 1 1/8 miles on turf.

"He's run his best races on turf," McAnally said.

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. - Christophe Clement is usually about as low-key as a trainer gets when he talks about his horses. So it was surprising to hear him so enthusiastic about the prospects of starting Dynever in the $250,000 Aventura Stakes at Gulfstream Park on Saturday.

"He worked in 49 and change on Saturday, which is very good for up here at Payson Park," said Clement. "And the way he did it was spectacular. The second quarter was faster than the first, and he did it all on his own. It was a very good move. I'm getting really excited about this horse."

The 10-week Pimlico spring meet begins Wednesday, and there are several changes since last year.

The return of the Pimlico Special after a one-year absence will help turn the day before the Preakness into the second biggest racing day of the year in Maryland.

The Grade 1, $600,000 Pimlico Special, which used to be run one week before the second leg of racing's Triple Crown, has been shifted to May 16, the day of a six-stakes program that will surpass Maryland Million Day in terms of total purse money.

SAN MATEO, Calif. - Will the switch in track surface from Golden Gate Fields to Bay Meadows affect horses when they run on the Bay Meadows track for the first time?

Trainer Armando Lage, who moved all his horses to Bay Meadows this winter because of the hardness of the Golden Gate main track, believes the change in surface does make a difference.

Fuse It stretched her dirt speed over a distance on turf at Fair Grounds, winning the $100,000 Red Camelia Handicap for Louisiana-breds by a length over Mysia Jo.

Trained by Sam Breaux and ridden by Gerard Melancon, Fuse It pressed the pace of Leslie's Love through six furlongs over a good grass course. Fuse It took command inside the eighth pole and had enough left to withstand the late rallies of Mysia Jo and third-place finisher Sarah's Script. She raced about one mile in 1:42.46 and paid $6.

ARCADIA, Calif. - Bare Necessities earned a trip to Kentucky for a $300,000 stakes with her win in the restricted $82,875 Santa Lucia Handicap at Santa Anita.

A 4-year-old filly, Bare Necessities won the Santa Lucia by 1 1/2 lengths over Alexine, finishing 1 1/16 miles in 1:42.45.

Trained by Wally Dollase, Bare Necessities was ridden by G.F. Almeida, a late replacement for Jose Valdivia, who missed the program because of travel delays from Japan.

SUNLAND PARK, N.M. - In the late afternoon of a beautiful day in which Sunland Park lived up to it's name, Pat Day guided Excessivepleasure to a neck victory in the inaugural running of the $500,000 .