Thursday Night Odds and Ends

- It's been a long day and after a late dinner I thought I'd get a little racing action in, knowing that Evangeline and Lone Star are in action. But when I turned on TVG, there was that poker again! What's up with that? So it's off to HRTV, the 7th at Lone Star coming up.

- Kentucky is serious about cracking down on drugs. The original plan has been modified. But they still include lengthy suspensions for the most serious offenses, license revocation, and horse suspensions. [Bloodhorse]

- The music on HRTV is particularly hideous so it's back to TVG for Evangeline, the poker is over and they have talking heads tonight.

- Interest continues to increase for the Preakness. It's partly the Giacomo effect. "You got to be in it to win it, Giacomo proved that." [Daily Racing Form] That was Galloping Grocer's owner, but I imagine we'll be hearing that again; in fact it's something that will probably be referred to for years to come. Jay Privman is reporting that Zito now may enter three horses - Noble Causeway, High Fly, and Sun King. The maximum is 14 for this race, and there's a complicated formula in case of an oversubscription:

The top seven are determined by earnings in graded stakes races. The next four are determined by overall earnings, minus what was earned in a restricted race, such as races for statebreds. After those 11 spots are doled out, the final three spots go to horses with the most earnings overall.[Daily Racing Form]

Any ties are broken by graded earnings in races over a mile on weekends and holidays minus earnings from races conducted on the turf or at Prarie Meadows.