Trainers Al Stall and Dallas Stewart both grew up in the New Orleans area. They winter at Fair Grounds, send their stables to Kentucky in the spring, and run a string at Saratoga over the summer. The common thread of their racing existence spun through this past weekend, too, as Stewart worked Seeking the Soul on Saturday and Stall on Sunday put Tom’s d’Etat through a half-mile drill.

The two horses will share a flight on Jan. 22 from New Orleans to South Florida before lining up together in the Gulfstream Park starting gate Jan. 26 in the Grade 1 Pegasus World Cup.

ARCADIA, Calif. – Gunmetal Gray, winner of the Grade 3 Sham Stakes on Saturday at Santa Anita, was reported in good condition on Sunday morning by his trainer and co-owner, Jerry Hollendorfer, who said he had yet to map out a next start for the 3-year-old colt, but it looks most likely he’ll remain on the local circuit at least for one more start.

Before committing, though, Hollendorfer said he needed to confer with one of his other partners on the colt, West Point Thoroughbreds.

Dale Romans scarcely could have imagined he would accomplish as much in racing as he has when he began his training career by going 0 for 52 in 1986. So, when Caroline Lois gave him his 2,000th career victory Saturday by winning the fourth race at Gulfstream Park, the memories came flooding back.

ARCADIA, Calif. – Accelerate and City of Light, likely the top two choices in the Pegasus World Cup on Jan. 26 at Gulfstream Park, both turned in sharp workouts at Santa Anita on Saturday morning that were the fastest for their respective distances.

They were part of an extremely frenetic morning that saw 301 horses record workouts. There was a storm forecast for Saturday night, and the possibility of workouts being canceled on Sunday made many go a day earlier than planned.

ARCADIA, Calif. – It has been a long road back for jockey Victor Espinoza, but he took another significant step toward a return to action when he worked a horse at Santa Anita on Saturday for the first time since suffering serious injuries in an accident at Del Mar on July 22.

Espinoza worked the old stakes-class horse St. Joe Bay five furlongs for trainer John Sadler, after which Espinoza said he hoped he would continue to progress enough to ride in races “by the end of the month.”

“When I’m 100 percent, I’ll be ready,” Espinoza said.

OZONE PARK, N.Y. – For most riders, their biggest decision is whether to go inside or outside. For apprentice jockey Reylu Gutierrez, his biggest decision may be which career path to choose.

For now, this jockey gig is working out nicely for Gutierrez, whose 109 victories in 2018 have made him a finalist for an Eclipse Award as North America’s champion apprentice jockey. If, however, success proves fleeting, Gutierrez has a backup plan: to become a physical therapist.

ARCADIA, Calif. – Moonshine Memories, the winner of two Grade 1 races in 2017, was recently retired and will be bred to Justify, the winner of the 2018 Triple Crown.

ARCADIA, Calif. – Jockey Victor Espinoza is nearing a comeback this month from an injury sustained in a training accident at Del Mar last summer.

Espinoza was scheduled to resume working horses at Santa Anita on Saturday and intends to resume riding as early as Jan. 17, his agent, Brian Beach, said Friday. There is a five-day racing week at Santa Anita from Jan. 17-21. Beach said Espinoza’s comeback could occur during that span.

Jockey David Cohen plans to return to Oaklawn for the 2019 meet, which opens Jan. 25, his agent, Bill Castle, said on Friday. Cohen will be riding at Aqueduct through Jan. 12.

Castle said Cohen is scheduled to start working horses at Oaklawn on either Monday or Tuesday. He will then fly back to ride in New York. Castle also will represent Orlando Mojica, who is returning to Oaklawn for the first time since 2010. He started working horses at the track Friday.

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – Gulfstream officials reported this week that all-sources handle on live racing during 2018 was more than $1.75 billion, an increase of 7 percent over 2017 and another annual record for the track, which began shifting toward year-round racing in 2013.

Racing at Gulfstream West in October and November is included in the handle figure.