NEW ORLEANS - The connections whose 3-year-olds entered the race might feel otherwise, but perhaps the thing to do is lose the $100,000 Lecomte Stakes.

Fifty Stars did last year, and Mighty did two years ago - and both colts won the Grade 2 Louisiana Derby six weeks later.

Thoughts of the Louisiana Derby, and what lies beyond, tease the imagination of anyone with a 3-year-old promising enough to make Saturday's Lecomte. Eleven horses were entered in the one-mile race that starts and finishes at the sixteenth pole.

ARCADIA, Calif. - After a whirlwind tour of many of the nation's top racetracks in the second half of 2001, the familiarity of Santa Anita may help Snow Ridge win his second consecutive stakes in Sunday's $150,000 Palos Verdes Handicap.

From late August, when he won an allowance race at Saratoga, to an upset win at 18-1 in the Grade 3 El Conejo Handicap at Santa Anita on Jan. 1, Snow Ridge never ran at the same track twice. He ran at seven separate venues, winning four times and finishing fifth in the other three starts.

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. - Dream Run, Bowman's Band, and Windsor Castle were on the verge of stardom last season as 3-year-olds. And after finishing one-two-three respectively in Thursday's allowance feature at Gulfstream Park, they seem poised for bigger and better things at 4.

ALBANY, Calif. - While the stakes race Saturday at Golden Gate Fields failed to fill, the feature race could present an interesting challenge for handicappers. A field of nine older allowance runners will compete at one mile.

The field will be headed by a Jerry Hollendorfer-trained entry of Smokeville and How Bout Jose, both of whom come off good efforts. Smokeville led briefly in the lane before losing by a neck against similar in the mud. How Bout Jose ran third in a turf allowance after setting a pressured pace in his first start around two turns.

JAMAICA, N.Y. - Peeping Tom gets another crack at Here's Zealous in Saturday's $75,000-added Paumonok Handicap at Aqueduct after finishing a well-beaten second to Here's Zealous in the Gravesend last month.

A year ago, Peeping Tom was at the top of his game, but he has been on a cold streak since winning the Grade 1 Carter last May. Here's Zealous, on the other hand, is white-hot after winning his last two starts, including a four-length romp in the Grade 3 Gravesend, which resulted in a 108 Beyer Speed Figure.

HOT SPRINGS, Ark. - A full field of 12 3-year-olds, many of whom will be asked to stretch out in distance later in the meet, has been entered for Saturday's $50,000 Mountain Valley Stakes at Oaklawn Park.

The six-furlong race has drawn a well-matched group of colts and geldings, including the Cole Norman-trained entry of Explosive Truth and Tricky Storm. In a testament to the field's depth, seven of the horses entered have won at least one stakes.

HOT SPRINGS, Ark. - Although Lloyd Romero has yet to name the rider who will replace Sylvester Carmouche aboard Hallowed Dreams in her next start, Marlon St. Julien appears to be one of the leading contenders.

St. Julien worked Hallowed Dreams last Saturday at Evangeline Downs, when she breezed five furlongs in a bullet 1:00. "I'll make the final decision on a rider when I enter," said Romero, who co-owns and trains Hallowed Dreams, a winner of 25 of 28 career starts and $714,143.

EAST BOSTON, Mass. - Goodbar, New England's champion sprinter of 2001, will make his first start of the year in Saturday's $30,000 Private Terms Stakes at Suffolk Downs. The six-furlong Private Terms drew a field of nine older horses.

Goodbar, who is owned by Robert Gonsalves, will break from the post 4 under 119 pounds, including Josiah Hampshire Jr.. He seeks to avenge a second-place finish behind First Shot in his final start of last year.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - For Louisville residents Billy Hays and Joe Woodard, a passion for racing has blossomed into major involvement in the sport.

Hays, a 43-year-old automobile dealer, has been a horse owner for about 15 years. Woodard, 33, was always enamored with the sport, even attending Churchill Downs on several occasions when he was young with the principal of his grade school. About 12 years ago, Woodard started tinkering with cheap horses before ultimately turning to full-time training in the mid-1990's.

NEW ORLEANS - Lord Ofthe Thunder, a New York-bred gem in the rough, may travel to Fair Grounds this weekend for a shot at this track's major 3-year-old stakes races.