Dr. Jeff Blea will take the position in July when Dr. Rick Arthur retires from the job he’s held since 2006.

Turf Writer Howard Senzell, who wrote the “Howard’s Picks” column covering the Santa Rosa meeting for the Press Democrat, died Jan. 24. He was 74.

Among seven maiden winners highlighted in this week’s Maiden Watch column are two impressive winners at Gulfstream Park.

Champion trainer John Moore is noted for his patience with horses but he is in no mood to play the waiting game now that he is domiciled in Sydney, with his agent son George helping young sire Capitalist set a new Inglis Classic Yearling Sale record.

The Texas Summer Yearling Sale will be held Aug. 30 at Lone Star Park, the Texas Thoroughbred Association and Dallas-area track announced Feb. 9. Entries are now being accepted with a deadline of June 21. 

CF Orr, San Vicente, San Marcos, Las Virgenes, Thunder Road, Withers, Sam F. Davis, Endeavor, Tampa Bay, Ladies’ Turf Sprint, Suwannee River, King Cotton, Suncoast, & Baffle.

OXO Equine’s Travel Column will attempt to begin her sophomore season the way she ended her juvenile campaign when she takes on eight other fillies in the $300,000 Rachel Alexandra Stakes Presented by Fasig-Tipton (G2) Feb. 13 at Fair Grounds.

The Feb. 8 opening session of the Fasig-Tipton Winter Mixed Sale saw overall numbers slightly up over last year’s opening session as 207 horses from 264 offered changed hands on the grounds of the Lexington, Ky., sale. 

Santa Anita and the Del Mar have teamed to create the $1 Million Wild West Bonus, which will provide $1 million in additional money to the winning connections of any horse that sweeps three of Southern California’s most prestigious grade 1 races.

While the recent cold snap may have kept a few more horsemen browsing horses on their computer screens than on the sales grounds, the buying bench at the Fasig-Tipton Winter Mixed Sale will likely not lack for competition.