ALBANY, Calif. - Jockeys Kevin Radke and Gary Baze are giving Golden Gate Fields fans a preview of the Emerald Downs jockey race this summer up in Washington.

Baze has been riding at Golden Gate for two-plus weeks and has seven winners from his first 35 mounts. Last weekend, he finished third on Surprise Halo in the Tanforan Handicap and third on Clover Situation in the Golden State Mile.

Baze, who suffered a badly broken left ankle last summer, began riding at Portland Meadows in December before coming to Golden Gate Fields.

HOT SPRINGS, Ark. - Hear This, a standout maiden winner last year at Oaklawn Park, will try to become trainer Cole Norman's latest layoff winner at the meet when she makes her first start since May in an entry-level allowance for fillies and mares Friday.

The six-furlong race has drawn nine others, and is worth $31,000.

Norman has had a strong run with horses returning from layoffs this season at Oaklawn, where he leads the trainer standings with 11 wins from 42 starters heading into the races Wednesday.

Grand Island, Neb. - Fonner Park began its 50th season of racing on Saturday afternoon with a crowd of nearly 5,000 on hand. The fans saw 50-year-old jockey Perry Compton ride four winners on the card, a feat he has accomplished many times at this oval.

SUNLAND PARK, N.M. - Racing Secretary Norm Amundson wrote an overnight handicap for 3-year-olds Sunday designed to serve as a stepping-stone to Sunland Park's marquee race, the $500,000 WinStar Derby on March 31, and trainer Steve Asmussen took full advantage of it.

Asmussen, who already had stakes picked out for two of his runners here last weekend, loaded Mr. Decatur on the van as well.

BOYNTON BEACH, Fla. - At first, trainer Todd Pletcher intended to run Indy Dancer in Sunday's Risen Star Stakes at the Fair Grounds. But when another of his top 3-year-olds, Bham, was knocked out of Saturday's Fountain of Youth Stakes at Gulfstream Park because of a fever, Pletcher thought seriously about moving Indy Dancer to the Fountain of Youth.

DELRAY, Fla. - About 45 minutes northwest of Gulfstream Park, and only 10 minutes from the Palm Meadows training center, sits tranquil Palm Beach Downs, a training center with a mere six barns and a couple hundred horses, including the best undefeated 2-year-old colt of 2002 not named Vindication.

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. - Not all allowance races are created equal and knowing the subtle differences could help point out the winner of Thursday's $42,000 feature at Gulfstream Park, an optional claimer at about 1 1/8 miles on the turf.

Both Wertz and Monkey Puzzle ran against money conditioned allowance company in their previous starts. The two veteran grass performers are taking a significant drop in class into four-other-than optional claiming company on Thursday.

Churchill Downs Inc. is seeking a buyer for Ellis Park in Henderson, Ky., according to Tom Meeker, the president of Churchill, who acknowledged on Tuesday that the track has been a "drag on our earnings for several years."

Meeker said Churchill did not have a timetable for selling the track, which the company bought for $22 million in 1998 along with a training facility near Lexington, Ky. Meeker said Churchill will seek a deal that will allow it to retain the rights to Ellis's simulcast signal, a structure that is uncommon, if not unique, in the U.S. racing industry.

Handle through Philadelphia Park's Oregon-based international betting hub skyrocketed $8.9 million in the fourth quarter of 2002 to $42.9 million, while handle through Television Games Network's service for the quarter fell by $2.3 million, to $46.9 million, from the third quarter.

Philadelphia Park's hub, oneclickbetting.com, takes wagers in the United Kingdom on American races and commingles the bets into U.S. pools, according to Bill Hogwood, the head of the service.

NEW ORLEANS - After watching Saintly Look work a strong five furlongs early Sunday morning, trainer Dallas Stewart said he was "leaning toward running in the Risen Star" this Sunday at Fair Grounds.