DEL MAR, Calif. - With frontrunners and closers, jockeys Laffit Pincay, Jr. and Patrick Valenzuela ended lengthy droughts in the Oceanside Stakes with victories in divisions of the opening day stakes at Del Mar on Wednesday.

Pincay's win in the first division aboard the frontrunning Rock Opera was his first in the race since 1987. Valenzuela scored his first Oceanside victory since 1989 when True Phenomenon rallied from the back of the field to win the second division.

Both winners figure to return in the $300,000 Del Mar Derby on Sept. 7.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Alex Waldrop, who for nearly three years has been president and general manager of Churchill Downs racetrack, has been moved into the newly created position of senior vice president for public affairs of Churchill Downs Inc., it was announced Thursday.

A search is on for a new track president. John Long, chief operating officer of CDI, will oversee day-to-day operations at the track, while Jim Gates will be interim general manager.

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - The more Christophe Clement thought about it, the less sense it made to run Forbidden Apple in last month's Poker Handicap. Despite Forbidden Apple's affinity for Belmont Park's turf course, Clement thought he was at a disadvantage facing the Bobby Frankel-trained Shibboleth on a hot day.

Though Shibboleth bombed as the 1-2 favorite, Clement said he has no regrets keeping Forbidden Apple out.

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - The competition for You in Saturday's $250,000 Test Stakes got a bit tougher on Wednesday when trainer Ron Taylor confirmed that Bold World would run in the Grade 1 race for 3-year-old fillies.

Taylor will wheel Bold World back just two weeks after she won the Grade 3 Azalea Breeders' Cup at Calder. It was her sixth win in seven starts this year. She is 7 for 11 overall.

Taylor said he made the decision to run after receiving good news on some bloodwork he had taken on the filly earlier in the week.

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - Open the gates, and they will come. And, they will bet.

Under ideal weather conditions, and despite an offtrack to begin the day, Saratoga posted record numbers for the Wednesday opening of its 134th season.

The ontrack crowd of 32,913 topped last year's figure of 31,254 by 5 percent and the ontrack handle of $3,723,441 beat last year's figure by 6 percent. Total handle on opening day was $14,941,864, which beat last year's figure by 4 percent.

DEL MAR, Calif. - Questions surround the form of several of the leading contenders in Friday's $125,000 California Thoroughbred Breeders Association Stakes at Del Mar.

Global Finance won the Nursery Stakes at Hollywood Park in May but was 10th as the favorite in the Cinderella Stakes on June 2. The result left her trainer dismayed.

Magic Smoke won the Cinderella but was eighth as the favorite in the Grade 3 Landaluce Stakes on July 4. "She didn't handle the dirt coming back," trainer Sandy Shulman said.

EDMONTON, Alberta - Northlands Park patrons will get their first look at the current crop of 2-year-old colts on Friday in the $40,000 Edmonton Juvenile.

The favorite for the six-furlong Juvenile is Taiaslew, a Washington-bred trained by Greg Tracy.

Taiaslew was an easy winner of his debut here June 28, taking a six-length lead into the stretch drive before widening to 10 1/2 lengths at the finish.

The impressive performance wasn't a shock to Tracy, who said Taiaslew appears to have a successful career ahead of him.

VANCOUVER, British Columbia - Crystallo could be a slight favorite over seven well-matched older horses going 1 1/16 miles in the Hastings Park feature race on Friday evening. Crystallo is dropping a notch after finishing a close fourth to former stakes winner Vernon Invader, while Happy Again and Titan Steel are both stepping up in class after sharp wins.

AUBURN, Wash. - Silver Screen Girl will head a compact field of five in Friday's top offering at Emerald Downs, a 6 1/2-furlong race for 3- and 4-year-old fillies eligible to be claimed for $25,000 to $20,000.

DEL MAR, Calif. - Ready or not, Golden Apples makes her first start in three months in Saturday's $400,000 John Mabee/Ramona Handicap.

A major stakes winner at Santa Anita in March, Golden Apples was rested through the spring after being treated for a cyst or abscess in her throat, under her epiglottis, trainer Ben Cecil said. The ailment was discovered after she finished second to Astra in the Santa Barbara Handicap at Santa Anita in April.