Some racing fans and bettors bemoan the modern practice of limiting Thoroughbreds’ starts, training and training with one race in mind and restricting a horse to a minimal number of races per year.

These folks have no beef with Mark Casse.

Casse believes in running his horses, not sitting on them, and the six starts Enforceable made as a 2-year-old laid the foundation for his 3-year-old debut Saturday at Fair Grounds, where he won the Lecomte Stakes by 1 1/2 lengths to push onto the Triple Crown trail.

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – Apprentice Romero Maragh returned to the saddle Sunday for the first time since fracturing a pair of vertebrae in his spine in a spill here nearly a year ago. Maragh finished eighth aboard Rayo My King in Sunday’s eighth race.

Maragh underwent a six-hour procedure to fuse four thoracic vertebrae to repair injuries suffered in the frightening spill last Jan. 31.

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – There is no shortage of quality turf horses in trainer Mike Maker’s barn these days, and a good many of them will be participating in the two most important grass races on Saturday’s card, the $1 million Pegasus Turf Invitational and the Grade 3, $200,000 W.L. McKnight.

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – Short-priced horses have dominated the Pegasus World Cup in its brief history, with Arrogate ($3.80), Gun Runner ($4.20), and City of Light ($5.80) winning the first three runnings.

Omaha Beach might well become the fourth when the $3 million Pegasus is renewed Saturday at Gulfstream Park, but trainer Danny Gargan is hoping it’s time for a change. Gargan will send out Tax as a potential upsetter in an expected field of 12 in the 1 1/8-mile race.

Independence Hall, a leading Kentucky Derby contender off his victories in the Nashua and Jerome at Aqueduct, breezed a half-mile in 49.60 seconds Sunday at Tampa in his second local work since arriving shortly after the Jan. 1 Jerome.

“That was enough for today,” trainer Mike Trombetta said. “He just ran 19 days ago. It’s where I want him to be. He did just enough, and next week I’ll ask him for a bit more.”

A couple of notable riding feats last weekend at Tampa Bay Downs coincided with the return of stakes action to the Oldsmar, Fla., track, for the first time since Dec. 18.

Edgard Zayas, in from Gulfstream Park for the first time at the 2019-20 meet, not only swept both 3-year-old stakes Saturday, the Pasco and Gasparilla, but he also won with his other two mounts on the day.

“I’ve won four in a day before,” Zayas said upon returning Sunday to Gulfstream, “but I’ve never gone 4 for 4 before. It was pretty amazing.”

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla.  – Omaha Beach, the solid favorite for the Pegasus World Cup on Saturday, had his final breeze toward the $3 million race when going five furlongs in 1:00.72 Sunday morning over a fast Gulfstream track.

Fernando De La Cruz, an exercise rider for Mark Hennig (and not the Midwest-based jockey), was aboard Omaha Beach, who went in splits of 24.77 and 36.75, with a six-furlong “out” time of 1:14.01, according to Daily Racing Form clocker Mike Welsch.

ARCADIA, Calif. – Tikkun Olam, the winner of a maiden claimer on turf in January 2019, was euthanized on Sunday as a result of an injury sustained in a collision with another horse before dawn on the infield training track at Santa Anita.

Trainer Eric Kruljac said Tikkun Olam was galloping at the time of the incident and sustained a shoulder injury.

“It’s really sad,” he said.

ARCADIA, Calif. – Storm the Court, the winner of the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile in November, worked five furlongs in 1:00.20 at Santa Anita on Sunday in preparation for his 2020 debut next month.

Trainer Peter Eurton plans to start Storm the Court in the Grade 2 San Vicente Stakes at seven furlongs on Feb. 9. Sunday, Eurton timed Storm the Court galloping out six furlongs in 1:13.40 and said the colt “got a little tired.”

Storm the Court has had five workouts in the last month.

ARCADIA, Calif. – The winning streak has reached five races, and the admiration is at an all-time high.

Fashionably Fast was the determined winner of the $150,000 California Cup Sprint for statebreds at Santa Anita on Saturday, a win that left trainer Dean Pederson impressed as well as hopeful the 5-year-old gelding can show more ability later this year in longer races and maybe a graded stakes.

Fashionably Fast, ridden by Tiago Pereira, disputed the pace throughout the California Cup Sprint, much to the delight of owners John Harris, Per Antonsen, and John Nicoletti.