OZONE PARK, N.Y. - Since he was claimed for $20,000 last June, Crossing Point has been on quite a tear, winning three races and placing in two others, including the Grade 3 Fall Highweight.

The time is right for the Maryland-based Crossing Point to win his first stakes in the $75,000-added Paumonok at Aqueduct on Saturday.

Multiple Choice, who would have been the favorite, was not entered because of a recurring quarter crack. Crossing Point, the 116-pound co-highweight with Say Florida Sandy, faces five in the ungraded Paumonok.

ARCADIA, Calif. - The smallest thing will set off Ivanavinalot, according to her trainer, Kathleen O'Connell. So O'Connell was relieved to see the 3-year-old filly on her best behavior Thursday morning, after a routine gallop at Santa Anita in preparation for Saturday's $250,000 Sunshine Millions Oaks. If all goes well, it is when the gates open Saturday afternoon that everybody better watch out.

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. - Any way you size it up, Team Florida figures to win the $350,000 Sunshine Millions Filly and Mare Turf.

From a quantity standpoint, eight of the 12 starters in the 1 1/8-mile race are Florida-breds. And quality-wise, the two best horses in the field appear to be Cellars Shiraz and Stay Forever, both Florida-breds, whose running styles complement each other perfectly. One of them should land in the other in the winner's circle no matter how the race sets up.

OZONE PARK, N.Y. - It was business as usual for riders at Aqueduct on Thursday, even though temperatures hovered in the mid-teens, a persistent wind was blowing, and the wind chill factor was in the single digits.

To limit the amount of time that the jockeys had to spend in the frigid temperatures on the coldest day of the season so far, post parades were shortened to three minutes.

Brutally cold weather can be extremely uncomfortable for riders because they can't pile on extra layers of clothing like the rest of us. Every extra pound counts when you are a jockey.

To Kent Stirling, the executive director of the horsemen's group in Florida, diverting $600,000 from the purse account at Gulfstream Park toward Saturday's Sunshine Millions card was a no-brainer.

"The way it was structured, it was just way too good to pass up," Stirling said.

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. - For trainer Howie Zucker, a trip to south Florida is more than just business. The Southern California-based horsemen has numerous friends in the area and looks forward to one of his infrequent trips there.

Zucker is in town this weekend to run Madame Pietra in Saturday's $250,000 Sunshine Millions Sprint. A 6-year-old, Madame Pietra comes into the race on top of her game, having won stakes against open company in her last two starts. And she will be heavily favored to win the first of the four Sunshine Million Stakes on Gulfstream's program.

Which Ultimate Warrior will show up? That is the question handicappers must answer when he enters the gate as the likely favorite in Saturday's $50,000 Forego Stakes at Turfway Park, a 6 1/2-furlong sprint for older horses.

Ultimate Warrior is a tough horse to figure out. On his best day, he's as fast as any sprinter in Kentucky. He is prone, however, to letting chalk players down and fans have been witness to both the good and bad Ultimate Warrior just in the last six weeks.

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. - Trainer Ron Spatz has been non-committal about whether Chispiski will gun to the lead Saturday in the leadoff race of the Sunshine Millions series, the $250,000 Filly and Mare Sprint at Gulfstream Park.

"She's the kind of horse you can do anything with," said Spatz, "but I'm not one to call one back that has a lot of speed. So let it be."

ARCADIA, Calif. - The best sprinters do not all end up on the West Coast. It only seems that way. All 11 entrants in Saturday's $250,000 Sunshine Millions Sprint, the fourth race at Santa Anita, are based in Southern California, including the only two Florida-breds in the lineup - Captain Squire and F J's Pace.

EAST BOSTON, Mass. - If the cold snap that caused two days to be canceled this week finally breaks a bit Saturday, 10 3-year-olds will run in the $35,000 Collegian Stakes at Suffolk Downs.

In what is becoming a familiar pattern in Suffolk stakes, the entries for the six-furlong Collegian include a reigning New England champion and a shipper running in what his connections hope is an easy spot.