HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. - Under normal circumstances Yvonne Azeff would be leading Booklet into the paddock for Saturday's $1 million Florida Derby and perhaps posing with him in the winner's circle. That's what she did after Booklet captured the Holy Bull Stakes earlier this winter and after Monarchos's victories last year in both the Florida and Kentucky derbies.

JAMAICA, N.Y. - Shug McGaughey acknowledges he is getting a later-than-planned start down the Kentucky Derby trail with his top 3-year-old Saarland, who will make his seasonal debut in Sunday's $200,000 Gotham at Aqueduct.

But, as McGaughey has watched the Kentucky Derby prep season unfold, he doesn't feel has a lot of catching up to do in order to become a legitimate Derby contender.

NEW ORLEANS - Hallowed Dreams was not entered Thursday in Saturday's Victoria Lass Handicap, a race in which she was expected to start as a heavy favorite.

Hallowed Dreams was considered a likely starter in the Victoria Lass as late as Wednesday, but trainer and co-owner Lloyd Romero told Fair Grounds officials Thursday morning that Hallowed Dreams had come up with a touch of colic. Romero, who could not be reached for comment Thursday, said Hallowed Dreams will recover, but will not race this weekend.

ALBANY, Calif. - There are four reasons why trainer Nick Canani decided to run Devine Wind in Saturday's Grade 3, $200,000 Golden Gate Breeders' Cup Handicap.

With only four other horses entered in the 1 1/8-mile turf race at Golden Gate Fields, Canani decided it was worth a shot.

"The size of the field led to it," he said of the decision to run. "My horse is really doing well right now. He's training well and bounced out of his last race good. Whenever you get a chance to run for that kind of money, you look at it closely."

Hattiesburg, one of the top 3-year-old filly sprinters in the Midwest last year, will be a strong favorite to build on her success in Saturday's $100,000 Cicero Handicap for fillies and mares at Sportsman's Park.

Hattiesburg, the highweight in the six-furlong stakes at 118 pounds, is the only graded stakes winner in the eight-horse field. Last July 14, Hattiesburg rallied from 10th to win Calder's Grade 3 Azalea at six furlongs by a half-length. Before her win in the Azalea, Hattiesburg won stakes at Prairie Meadows, Lone Star, and Arlington.

HOT SPRINGS, Ark. - Trainer Donnie Von Hemel, who will send out millionaire Mr Ross in the Grade 3, $100,000 Razorback Handicap at Oaklawn Park on Saturday, has insight into the family of the race's probable favorite, Crafty Shaw.

Von Hemel trained Crafty Shaw's half-sister Her She Kisses until she was sold as a 4-year-old. A multiple stakes winner, Her She Kisses has earned $270,595.

HOT SPRINGS, Ark. - Crafty Shaw will be favored when he attempts to win his fifth straight race Saturday in the Grade 3, $100,000 Razorback Handicap at Oaklawn Park. But don't expect trainer Pete Vestal to feel pressure because of the winning streak. He's been here before.

In 1994-95 Vestal won seven races in a row with Ide, including the Southwest and Rebel stakes here at Oaklawn. Vestal won last year's Rebel with Crafty Shaw.

In addition to Rebel victories, Ide and Crafty Shaw also share "a strong determination to win," said Vestal.

NEW ORLEANS - The fillies that finished one-two in the Pan Zareta Handicap - My Brent's Diamond and Hallowed Dreams - are out of Saturday's Victoria Lass Handicap. The door leading to a $125,000 purse stands wide open.

With My Brent's Diamond retired and Hallowed Dreams temporarily on the sidelines, the six-furlong Victoria Lass could reasonably be won by any one of the seven fillies and mares entered. The weights say as much - all seven are separated by only a three-pound spread, from 112 to 115 pounds.

Faxamillion bids to extend trainer Steve Asmussen's stakes streak at Sam Houston Race Park when he starts as the probable favorite in Saturday night's $30,000 Texas Heritage. The race, at one-mile for 3-year-olds, in the past has produced prospects for the $500,000 Lone Star Derby.

Saturday's $50,000 Tejano Run Stakes has one of Turfway Park's best stakes fields since last fall. Aided by improving local weather and by Fair Grounds and Gulfstream Park nearing the end of their meets, the race drew a full field of 12.

Three of the entries - Tahkodha Hills, Frazee's Folly, and Two Point Two Mill - come to Kentucky after wintering in the South. After racing against challenging company at Fair Grounds and Gulfstream, all three figure prominently in the 1 1/8-mile Tejano Run.