ALBANY, Calif. - Kevin Krigger returned to Golden Gate Fields on Wednesday. He rode here last winter when he was a talented apprentice before heading south upon being slapped with a series of suspensions that left both him and then-agent Boone McCanna frustrated and mystified by the rulings.

Turfway Park normally means a winter of content for veteran jockey Tony D'Amico. Having ridden there regularly since the mid-1980's, D'Amico ranks among Turfway's all-time leaders in virtually every riding category, a reflection of his success and consistency through time.

NEW ORLEANS - There are few places better than Fair Grounds to have a hot sprinter, and few sprinters will ever run faster than Mountain General did when winning the Thanksgiving Day Handicap here on opening day. Mountain General, an improving 4-year-old gelding, crushed six rivals in the Thanksgiving Day, and his six-furlong time of 1:08.03 shattered the track record previously held by Hallowed Dreams.

MIAMI - Frank Alexander was in New York this weekend to saddle Windsor Castle in the Grade 1 Cigar Mile. But the big mare in his stable, Babae, is already in south Florida, preparing for Saturday's Grade 3 My Charmer Handicap.

Babae has had another big year for Alexander and her owner Joseph Platt, winning four of seven starts, all stakes, including the Grade 3 Violet and Athenia handicaps in her last two starts. A 6-year-old Argentine-bred, Babae has earned nearly $750,000 in her career.

INGLEWOOD, Calif. - A decision on which race Continental Red will try in the Great States Challenge at Sam Houston Race Park in Houston on Saturday is contingent on the weather, trainer Ian Jory said on Friday.

One of the year's top California-breds, Continental Red is pre-entered for both the Turf and the Classic, which are run over 1 1/8 miles. But the threat of rain in Houston could force Jory and owners Sharon and Wes Fitzpatrick to try Continental Red in the Classic.

OZONE PARK, N.Y. - The morning after Crafty C.T. finished a fast-closing third in the Breeders' Cup Sprint, trainer Howard Zucker was already excited about running him back in the $350,000 Cigar Mile at Aqueduct.

As the race drew closer, Zucker's enthusiasm waned somewhat as he began to learn who was going to run. The field of 10 entered for Saturday's Cigar Mile - the last Grade 1 of the year in New York - features four Grade 1 winners - Congaree, Red Bullet, Bonapaw, and Harlan's Holiday.

OZONE PARK, N.Y. - Like everyone else, trainer John Scanlan has heard all the talk about Empire Maker, the regally bred 2-year-old who had some bettors flocking to the Kentucky Derby future books before he even ran.

While Scanlan has a healthy respect for Empire Maker and his trainer, Bobby Frankel, he brings Champagne and Laurel Futurity winner Toccet into Saturday's $200,000 Remsen Stakes with little fear. The Grade 2 Remsen, run at nine furlongs, has produced Kentucky Derby winners Go for Gin and Thunder Gulch as well as Grade 1 winners Skip Away and Coronado's Quest.

MIAMI - If Super Frolic can handle the turf as well as he does the dirt, his 11 rivals may be running for second money in Saturday's $100,000 Mecke Stakes. But, if Super Frolic doesn't find the surface change to his liking, the Mecke becomes as wide open as a stakes race can get.

The Mecke will serve as the co-feature on Saturday's 12-race card along with its filly counterpart, the $100,000 Hollywood Wildcat Stakes. Both 2-year-old races will be run at 1 1/16 miles.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - For all they had accomplished as horse owners, the members of the Klein family never had won a stakes race at either of the two big racetracks in Kentucky.

"We've probably won over 30 stakes races," said Richard Klein, who owns dozens of horses in partnership with his parents, Bert and Elaine. "But never one at Churchill Downs or Keeneland."

OZONE PARK, N.Y. - When trainer Carlos Morales learned that horses in the Fall Highweight Handicap carry about 17 more pounds than usual, he was leery about running True Direction in the Grade 3 race. In the end, he needed a push from owner Moreton Binn to enter.

It turned out that Binn knew best as True Direction, the highweight at 134 pounds, rallied to run down pacesetting Crossing Point and take the $111,600 Fall Highweight by a half-length before a crowd of 5,345 at Aqueduct.