LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Apprentice rider Kris Prather has decided to leave Turfway Park in Florence, Ky., for the 54-day meet that begins Friday at Oaklawn Park in Hot Springs, Ark.

Prather, 23, a finalist for a 2001 Eclipse Award despite having missed about eight months with injuries, said she wanted to "try somewhere different" after having been dominant at Turfway.

"I've been labeled a Turfway rider," said Prather. "I don't have anything left to prove there. Hopefully I'll be able to show that horses will run for me at Oaklawn, too."

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. - Raging Fever, who missed most of her 3-year-old season because of injury, began her 4-year-old campaign smartly on Friday, rolling to a relatively easy two-length score in the $100,000, Grade 3 The First Lady Handicap* at Gulfstream Park.

Cat Cay, the 3-2 favorite, rallied from last to be second, 4 3/4 lengths ahead of Mandy's Gold in third. Elvi Gamble, Miss Inquistive, Curious Treasures, and Vague Memory completed the order of finish.

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. - Trainer Eddie Plesa Jr. could breathe just a little easier on Friday after watching Best of the Rest work five furlongs over his home base at Calder to remain on target for

the Grade 1 Donn Handicap at Gulfstream Park on Feb. 9.

Best of the Rest bruised a foot while finishing a disappointing fourth in Calder's Fred W. Hooper Handicap on Dec. 29, then suffered some filling in his hind ankle when banging a stall wall several days later. But despite the minor setbacks Plesa never felt his star's appearance in the Donn was in jeopardy.

ARCADIA, Calif. - The $150,000 Santa Ynez Stakes for 3-year-old fillies Monday at Santa Anita typically draws sprinters chasing a big prize and fillies using the seven-furlong race as a springboard to longer and richer races in coming months.

Ayanna, a two-time stakes winner in 2001 for Triple AAA Ranch and Kory Owens, fits firmly into the sprint category. After the Santa Ynez, Owens is hoping that Ayanna deserves a chance in longer races such as the $200,000 Las Virgenes Stakes at a mile on Feb. 10.

ALBANY, Calif. - Trainer Bill McLean is walking around Golden Gate Fields without his constant companion this weekend.

It seemed as if McLean was lugging a gorilla on his back in recent weeks as his losing streak at the current meeting grew and grew, eventually reaching 0 for 54.

McLean's woes finally ended in Thursday's final race when Kissing Cobra won a $4,000 claiming sprint that wasn't as easy as the final two-length margin indicated.

SUNLAND PARK, N.M. - Sunday's $100,000-added Pepsi Cola Handicap at Sunland Park, a six-furlong race restricted to New Mexico-bred 3-year-olds, shapes up as a showdown between the multiple stakes winning Star Smasher and the upstart Urlacher.

The 11-horse field includes two couplings, one of which is a three-horse entry from the barn of trainer Cliff Lambert Sr.

ARCADIA, Calif. - The relative ease in which Siphonic has risen to the top of the California 3-year-old division has caught trainer David Hofmans by surprise.

"He does it all," Hofmans said. "He's very willing. He waits for the rider to give commands. I hope I don't get in his way with my training."

So far, Siphonic and Hofmans have received stellar marks. With three wins in four starts, and a third-place finish in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile, Siphonic is a top contender for the Kentucky Derby on May 4.

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. - Betting prep races like Saturday's $100,000 Holy Bull Stakes at Gulfstream Park can be tricky business. Especially when the two likely favorites, Harlan's Holiday and Nokoma, are using the race as a stepping-stone to bigger and better things, not only later in the meet but also hopefully on the road to the Kentucky Derby.

JAMAICA, N.Y. - It has been 11 months since Balto Star ran on the inner track and won a first-level allowance race by 12 1/4 lengths, an effort that propelled the gelding to back-to-back wins in a pair of Grade 2's, the Spiral and Arkansas Derby.

Balto Star returns to the inner track, where he is 2 for 3, in Saturday's $100,000-added Aqueduct Handicap and carries a 118 pounds as the highweight in his 4-year-old debut. Balto Star, the likely favorite, meets seven rivals in the 1 1/16-mile Aqueduct, a Grade 3.

Mr Ross has made $950,015 the hard way, but things should get easier for him Saturday night when he tries to become a millionaire in the $100,000 Maxxam Gold Cup at Sam Houston Race Park in Houston.

* will start as the odds-on favorite in the 1 1/8-mile race, which has drawn seven, including Rare Cure, a winner of two stakes in two starts at the distance; L.A. Spider Legs, who placed in four stakes last year; and Storm Cruiser, a $14,000 claimer turned restricted stakes winner last year in Canada.