AT THE POST

DAY 34 of 57

SATURDAY’S ESTIMATED ATTENDANCE 17,000

SATURDAY’S TOTAL HANDLE $4,145,999 SATURDAY’S ON-TRACK HANDLE $948,521 SATURDAY’S OFF-TRACK HANDLE $3,197,478

TODAY’S SIMULCAST SCHEDULE Gulfstream Park, 11 a.m.; Tampa Bay, 11:35 a.m.; Laurel Park, 12:10 p.m.; Aqueduct, 12:20 p.m.; Fair Grounds, 1 p.m.; Santa Anita, 1:30 p.m.; Golden Gate, 2:15 p.m.

SATURDAY’S STARS

Ricardo Santana, who leads the jockey standings with 35 victories in 173 starts, won twice to extend his lead by 10 victories over David Cabrera. Santana won the Hot Springs Stakes with Whitmore ($4.80) and the seventh race, guiding

Tap Master ($6.40) to a 1/2-length victory over Nottoway. Tap Master’s winning time in the 6-furlong race was 1:10.56.

Trainer Brad Cox, who is in third place in the trainer standings with 19 victories in 64 starts, won the first race with Sevier ($11), covering 6 furlongs in 1:10.21. He also won the fifth race with Husky

Clipper ($81.80), covering 1 3/16 miles in 1:57.48 in a 1/2-length victory over Paganol. Steve Asmussen, who leads the trainer standings with 21 victories in 116 starts, won the seventh race with Tap Master.

MARTINI GLASS READY FOR AZERI The rags-to-riches story of multiple stakes winner Martini Glass is scheduled to continue in the $350,000 Azeri Stakes for older fillies and mares Saturday at Oaklawn, co-owner/trainer Keith Nations said Thursday afternoon.

Martini Glass had been under consideration for the $225,000 Hillsborough Stakes a 11/8-mile grass race Saturday at Tampa Bay Downs, before Nations opted for the 1 1/16-mile Azeri, the final major local prep for the $700,000 Apple Blossom Handicap on April 13.

“The dirt versus turf obviously mattered,” Nations said. “The Hillsborough came up really tough. There’s just not one or two horses. There’s four or five horses that can really run in there. Not that there won’t be in the Azeri, but it is a surface that I think she’s a little better on.”

Claimed out of a career debut victory for $16,000 in February 2016 at Tampa Bay Downs, Martini Glass has a 9-5-2 record from 22 starts and earnings of $653,675. She finished second to champion Songbird in last year’s $750,000 Delaware Handicap at Delaware Park and second in the $500,000 Spinster Stake last year at Keeneland.

Martini Glass is coming off a dirt victory in her last start, the $200,000 Royal Delta Stakes on Feb. 19 at Gulfstream Park, under Paco Lopez, who will have the mount for the Azeri, Nations said.

Martini Glass worked a half-mile in :47.20 Friday at Tampa Bay Downs.

Also scheduled to run in the Azeri are defending champion Streamline, multiple Oaklawn stakes winner Terra Promessa, Sandy’s Surprise and Tiger Moth, winner of the $400,000 Houston Ladies Classic on Jan. 28 at Sam Houston in her last start. Martini Glass finished third in the race.

Sandy’s Surprise, fourth in the Houston Ladies Classic, worked 5 furlongs in :59.40 before the renovation break Saturday morning for trainer Doug O’Neill, who said in a text that the 4-year-old daughter of Drosselmeyer was headed for the Azeri.

Nominations to the Azeri closed Friday, with post positions to be drawn Wednesday.

Nations’ only Oaklawn starter, Morning Fire, finished fourth in the $150,000 Bachelor Stakes for 3-year-old sprinters in 2016.

In addition to the Azeri, the March 17 card will feature the $900,000 Rebel Stakes for 3-year-olds and the $300,000 Essex Handicap for older horses.

Information for this report was contributed by the Oaklawn media department.