HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – Virginia Derby winner American Promise is scheduled to have one more work at his winter base of Oaklawn Park before shipping to Churchill Downs for the Kentucky Derby, trainer D. Wayne Lukas said Thursday.

American Promise has turned in back-to-back bullet works at Oaklawn since winning the Virginia Derby on March 15. He went five furlongs in 59.40 seconds on Wednesday.

“He had a beautiful work this week,” Lukas said. “He’ll get one more here, then we’ll move him. We’ll go to Kentucky.”

A few jockey assignments for the May 3 Kentucky Derby have been finalized, with John Velazquez getting back on Grande and Irad Ortiz Jr. taking the mount on Publisher.

Grande, the Wood Memorial runner-up, got into the Kentucky Derby field because Heart of Honor, runner-up in the UAE Derby, is no longer being considered for the Kentucky Derby, according to a racing official with the International Racing Bureau.

Jockey Abel Cedillo will be based at Oaklawn for the remainder of the meet, said Jay Fedor, who is now representing the rider.

Previously based in Southern California, Cedillo is a winner of more than 1,700 races for mount earnings in excess of $51 million. Cedillo has won a number of graded stakes in Southern California, including the Pacific Classic, the Awesome Again, and the Clement Hirsch.

Steve Asmussen is the current leading trainer at the Oaklawn meet that runs through May 3. He has won 37 races through Thursday and leads his peers in stable earnings with $3.9 million. Ron Moquett ranks second in the standings with 28 wins and Kenny McPeek is third with 24.

Asmussen also enters the new week tied for leading owner at Oaklawn with End Zone Athletics. Each stable has won 10 races. Ruis Racing is next on the list with 9.

Runnin N Gunnin, who won the Sunland Park Oaks, is scheduled to make her next start in the Grade 2, $300,000 Black-Eyed Susan at Pimlico, according to her trainer, Steve Asmussen. The 1 1/8-mile race is May 17.

Runnin N Gunnin last raced at Oaklawn on March 29, closing for third in the Grade 2 Fantasy behind winner Quietside and runner-up Simply Joking. The race serves as a stepping-stone to the Kentucky Oaks.

“She put in a solid run behind two exceptional fillies,” Asmussen said. “We’re going to wait for the Black-Eyed Susan with her.”

HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – Clever Again served notice that his future was bright late last month, when he won the $200,000 Hot Springs Stakes for 3-year-olds over Grade 1 winner Gaming at Oaklawn Park.

Clever Again was making his first start against winners and earned a Beyer Speed Figure of 101. That’s tied for the highest number put up by a 3-year-old so far this meet, alongside a debut win from Cornucopian.

Clever Again has now won both of his starts at the meet, both at two turns.

After a successful stint at Gulfstream Park, apprentice rider Melvis Gonzalez is quickly getting used to life at Parx Racing. Hustling between his home track and Aqueduct Racetrack this month, he has finished in the money in 12 of 20 starts with four wins, putting him on par with top jockeys in the region.

Since arriving in Pennsylvania in March, Gonzalez has worked hard to earn a positive reputation from local trainers. His job never stops. He is often one of the first people at the track in the morning and continues to earn more mounts on race days.

Seven-pound apprentice jockey Yan Rodriguez will make his stateside debut at Laurel Park on Friday after a promising start in Puerto Rico. The 18-year-old rider grew up around horses and now has a chance to make a mark on the industry that raised him.

As a child, Rodriguez traveled to New York with his father, who worked in trainer Chris Englehart’s barn at Finger Lakes Racetrack. Even at that young age, he began to discover the edges of a lifelong dream.