The first of three future wagering pools for the Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (G1) and the Kentucky Oaks (G1) will be held on February 8-11.
The four-day pools for the Kentucky Derby and Oaks wagers will run concurrently. They will also be held on March 8-11 and April 12-15.

The loss of star racehorses in training and the negative effect it has on the sport was a hot topic during a panel discussion Dec. 5 at the 33rd Symposium on Racing & Gaming in Tucson, Ariz.
A panel that included Eclipse Award-winning trainer Todd Pletcher and track executives Martin Panza of Hollywood Park and Georgeanne Hale of the Maryland Jockey Club fielded questions on a variety of topics from moderator Randy Moss, as well as those from a crowd of about 100 gathered for the session at the Westin-La Paloma Resort.

It's an airy, cosmopolitan whirl of pretty women and fast horses. Yes, you guessed correctly. It's the Kentucky Oaks (pretty women) and Kentucky Derby (fast horses) as represented in recently unveiled 2007 posters by the latest official Derby artist, Misha Lenn.

Lenn, a native of St. Petersburg, Russia, lives in Boston. His clients include the Westminster Dog Show, Calvin Klein, DKNY and Godiva Chocolatier.

He has created a limited-edition print that combines the pretty women of the Kentucky Oaks poster with the fast horses of the Kentucky Derby poster for $295. Derby posters and Oaks posters are each $40.

Swale Stakes (gr. II) winner Sharp Humor has been retired from racing after re-aggravating a knee injury and will enter stud for $12,500 in 2007 at WinStar Farm near Lexington as a Taylor Made/WinStar Venture stallion.
A New York-bred son of WinStar stallion Distorted Humor, Sharp Humor won four of

A colt from the first crop of Wood Memorial (gr. I) winner Tapit was purchased by Wolf Bloodstock for $95,000 to top the final session of the Fasig-Tipton Midlantic December mixed sale. The weanling, bred in Pennsylvania by Howard C. Schaeffer, Jr., was consigned by Litz Bloodstock Services, agent. The colt was produced from the Chief's Crown mare Femma's Crown, a daughter of grade III winner Femma.

Oaklawn Park reopened its track and stable area to horsemen on December 1 in anticipation of its 2007 meeting, which is expected to offer record daily purses.

Racing Secretary Pat Pope anticipates purses for the meet, which runs from January 19 through April 14, will total $290,000-$300,000 per day, compared to the $275,000 level of 2006. Maiden special weight races will carry a $32,000 purse, and the lowest claiming races will have a minimum purse of $11,000.