OCEANPORT, N.J. – It always pays to give Todd a handicapping nod in a Monmouth Park stakes.

That certainly applies to $75,000 Decathlon Stakes on Saturday, the feature event on the 12-race opening day card. First post will be 12:50 p.m. Eastern.

Todd Pletcher entered a pair in the six-furlong Decathlon: Travelin Man and Soaring Stocks.

Pletcher’s record in Monmouth stakes the past four seasons is outstanding. He captured five stakes in 2009 to share the top spot at the meet with Larry Jones and John Forbes.

ELMONT, N.Y. – While trainer Chad Brown ponders whether to run Kentucky Derby fourth-place finisher Normandy Invasion back in the Preakness next Saturday, he hopes to find out this Saturday whether or not he has a contender for the Belmont Stakes.

At Belmont Park, Brown sends out Saint Vigeur in Saturday’s Grade 2, $200,000 Peter Pan Stakes, a wide-open race that could yield a starter or two for the $1 million Belmont on June 8.

Calder Race Course and Florida’s horsemen have reached a temporary agreement that will restore the track’s signal at out-of-state simulcast sites and on account-wagering operations, officials for the track said on Thursday.

The two sides reached the short-term agreement on Thursday morning, allowing some sites and ADW operators to offer Calder’s card that afternoon. The agreement expires on June 2, giving Calder and its horsemen three weeks to work out a long-term deal.

INGLEWOOD, Calif. – Betfair Hollywood Park will close for racing and training at the end of this year, track employees were informed in a letter Thursday.

The letter, written by track president Jack Liebau, confirmed what has been widely expected after track management stated that Hollywood Park would eventually be closed and the property developed for residential and commercial uses.

The 75-year-old track will continue its current spring-summer meeting through July 14 and will conduct its final meeting in the autumn, from Nov. 7 through Dec. 22.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – If Bill Connelly isn’t careful, the 5-year-old mare Sweet Cassiopeia is going to become a very familiar name to horseplayers – whether or not they can pronounce it.

Sweet Cassiopeia has turned into a win machine, and she will be favored for a sixth straight when she faces 10 other filly-mare turf sprinters in the nominal Saturday feature at Churchill Downs, a $65,000 overnight stakes called the Unbridled Sidney.

OCEANPORT, N.J. – Like a good neighbor, Monmouth Park was there when Superstorm Sandy ravaged the Jersey Shore last fall.

After a painful winter of recovery and the rebuilding of devastated homes and businesses, the racetrack and the community are fighting back.

The best evidence of the renewal comes Saturday when Monmouth kicks off its 2013 season. The track has invited 40 local businesses to set up booths, promoting the theme that “The Shore is open for business.”

VANCOUVER, British Columbia – There was a heartwarming ceremony held in the winner’s enclosure after Frank Fuentes won the fifth race aboard Go for Guinness last Saturday. His family was there to help him celebrate his 1,500th win and there was a strong, appreciative response from the crowd.

VANCOUVER, British Columbia – I Think So and Goldstryke Glory look like standouts in the $50,000 Ross McLeod for 3-year-old fillies at Hastings. The 6 1/2-furlong sprint attracted eight horses, but the hard part is trying to separate I Think So and Goldstryke Glory.

Goldstryke Glory will be making her first start at Hastings for trainer Anita Bolton. She ran three times at Woodbine for trainer Terry Jordan last year and showed good speed in all of her races. If she can run as well on dirt as she did on Polytrack, she could be a handful.

INGLEWOOD, Calif. – Scarlet Strike ran in six stakes before she finally won one, the Grade 3 Providencia on turf at Santa Anita on April 6.

The Providencia Stakes was on the same program as the Santa Anita Derby and was overshadowed by that prestigious race. That may not have been fair to Scarlet Strike, a filly with a promising future in turf stakes in Southern California this spring and summer.

Racing fit Mark of a Warrior and The God of Reign should have a fitness edge over their four rivals in a six-furlong, $17,500 claiming race that will serve as Saturday’s feature at Northlands Park.