Sam Houston Race Park closed out its 82-night Thoroughbred meet Saturday with small gains in average daily handle, attendance, and purses.

Handle on the track's live races averaged $2,131,700 a night, up 2 percent over last year, while attendance averaged 3,131 a card, up 3 percent. Purses at the meet averaged $111,614, a 10 percent increase over the same period a year ago.

Jockey John Jacinto won four races on closing night to capture the riding title over Glen Murphy, 67 wins to 64. The title was a career first for Jacinto, whose mounts this meet earned $554,088.

JAMAICA, N.Y. - Tugger likely will find the competition in Thursday's sixth race at Aqueduct softer than what she has been encountering.

Tugger, a stakes winner for trainer Todd Pletcher and Anstu Stables, is one of five older fillies and mares entered in the one-mile money allowance. The race, which carries a $54,000 purse, could yield a starter or two for the $150,000 Bed o' Roses Breeders' Cup on April 20.

Tugger's chief rival is Border Fire, a winner of four her last six starts.

GRAND PRAIRIE, Texas - Thursday's opening night card at Lone Star Park should appeal to everyone, with the possible exception of those who struggle to be punctual. There are no warm-ups, no lesser undercard races to begin the night. Here they start big and start fast.

As in past meets, the featured $50,000 Premiere Stakes begins the meet as the evening's first race. But this year, the focus will not be entirely on the horses, but also on the riders, or perhaps more accurately - the rider.

ARCADIA, Calif. - The last time Tiger Trap and Whoopddoo raced, they weren't "right." There is reason to believe they will be on Thursday, when they return in the two best races on the Santa Anita card.

Tiger Trap was considered Epsom Derby material last spring, but those plans were scrapped when he was foiled in a two-other-than allowance. Tiger Trap returned for a fall campaign that also did not pan out, and trainer Neil Drysdale gave Tiger Trap a winter break. It ends Thursday at Santa Anita.

GRAND PRAIRIE, Texas - This story seems like many in the racing industry, at least at first.

A teenage boy, desperately hoping to become a jockey, can't seem to get the opportunity. Jockey agents question his desire and how long he will stick in the game. So the young man has little choice but to be represented at one point by his father - a dentist - who helps his son get started and pursue his dream.

Twenty-eight years and five Eclipse Awards later, Hall of Fame jockey Jerry Bailey and his father, Dr. James Bailey, can look back at those times and laugh.

GRAND PRAIRIE, Texas - In time, Magna Entertainment Corp. will leave its mark on Lone Star Park, which it agreed to purchase pending regulatory approvals early last month.

In the meantime, the track appears unchanged as it prepares for its sixth year of racing, beginning Thursday night. The barns are rapidly becoming full. The simulcast handle is improving, and management is optimistic its aggressive marketing plans will lead to another banner year for the developing track.

SAN MATEO, Calif. - Trainer Greg Gilchrist does not like to continuously bang his head against a wall.

It may look as if he is doing that with Dienekes, who will meet four rivals in Thursday's feature race at Bay Meadows.

The six-furlong $40,000 optional claimer for 3-year-olds is the rerun of a Feb. 21 race at Golden Gate Fields. All five of Thursday's runners were in the Feb. 21 race, which was won by Vito Corleone.

Dienekes finished fifth that day behind Vito Corleone, Ultimate Hitman, and Golden Peace but ahead of Neversaynevermind.

HOT SPRINGS, Ark. - Miss Linda will be making her first start in two months in Saturday's Grade 1, $500,000 Apple Blossom Handicap at Oaklawn Park, but the timing of the race could not be better, said trainer John Kimmel.

JAMAICA, N.Y. - Saarland, preparing for the $750,000 Wood Memorial on April 13, was one of the first workers on Belmont Park's main track, which opened for the season on Tuesday.

, under his regular exercise rider, Adolph "Juice" Krajewski, worked six furlongs in 1:13.23, breezing, over a track that was labeled fast. He covered his first three furlongs in 37.25 seconds and five furlongs in 1:00.82. Saarland galloped out seven furlongs in 1:26.50.

Saarland's trainer, Shug McGaughey, said the work was right on the money.

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. - Two years ago, Jostle was among the elite of her division and widely considered one of the premier fillies and mares in the country. Friday, Jostle takes the first step toward what trainer Elliott Walden hopes will be a return to those glory days when she launches her comeback in the $75,000 Banshee Breeze Handicap at Gulfstream Park.