| Oaklawn Park's 56-day live season opens on Friday, | | | | A wire to wire winner in the Riley Allison Futurity at |
| January 19 with a nine race card featuring the | | | | Sunland Park in New Mexico, Sir Five Star is owned |
| five-and-a-half furlong Dixieland Stakes for | | | | by Gus King and trained by Steve Asmussen, who |
| three-year-olds.Among the most notable entries are | | | | recently completed a six-month suspension for |
| Officer Rocket, Irish Dreamer, Sir Five Star, and Go | | | | medication violations at Sunland Park and Evangeline |
| Poppa Fooze. | | | | Downs. |
| Officer Rocket won Arlington Park's Spectacular Bid | | | | Six times the leading trainer at Oaklawn Park, Cole |
| Stakes in August and the Arlington-Washington | | | | Norman finds himself saddling a serious Dixieland |
| Breeders' Cup Futurity in September but finished fifth in | | | | contender in Go Poppa Fooze, but both trainer and |
| the Iroquois Stakes on October 29 at Churchill Downs | | | | horse enter the race under a cloud of suspicion. |
| and sixth in the 1 1/16 mile Delta Jackpot at Delta | | | | Norman was fined $1,000 and suspended for six |
| Downs on December 1. Owned by Frank Fletcher | | | | months after two of his horses failed pre-race testing |
| Racing Operations Inc. and trained by Bob Holthus, | | | | before the running of the $150,000 Jean Lafitte Stakes |
| whose success at Oaklawn Park is legendary, Officer | | | | on November 3 at Delta Downs. Go Poppa Fooze, |
| Rocket has won three of six starts overall and needs | | | | who won the race by nine lengths, and fourth-place |
| a solid performance in the Dixieland to keep pace with | | | | finisher Bayou de Storm both showed excessive |
| rival Hard Spun, winner of the Grade III Lecomte | | | | levels of total carbon dioxide (TCO2), said Larry |
| Stakes at Fair Grounds earlier this month. | | | | Munster, assistant executive director of the Louisiana |
| A solid performance in the Dixieland Stakes would | | | | Racing Commission. It is believed that horses with high |
| leave trainer Chris Richard in a position to enter Irish | | | | TCO2 counts gain an unfair advantage in their ability to |
| Dreamer in either the 1 mile Southwest Stakes on | | | | run through muscle fatigue. |
| February 19 or the 6 furlong Mountain Valley Stakes | | | | Norman is appealing the ruling, and will continue to |
| on February 24, but first Irish Dreamer must clear his | | | | saddle horses pending that outcome. A hearing is |
| final hurdle of 2006 on December 26 at Hawthorne. | | | | expected to be conducted on January 26, 2007. |
| The loser of four since an impressive debut win at | | | | The remainder of the field for the Dixieland includes |
| Arlington, Irish Dreamer will need to run back to his | | | | entry Hadacure and Proud Leader; Westwon; Tricky's |
| earlier form to be a serious Derby contender. | | | | Tick Tock; Tortuga Straits; Harrow Land ; First Regent; |
| Sir Five Star enters the Dixieland with a career record | | | | Speedway; and Chawnado. |
| of four wins from 10 starts and earnings of $169,870. | | | | |