ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, Ill. – Mister Marti Gras is a throwback, an iron horse whose 41st career start comes Saturday in the Grade 3, $150,000 Washington Park Handicap. A 7-year-old gelding, Mister Marti Gras makes his fourth start in the Washington Park, a race he won as a 4-year-old in 2011, but Saturday is no mere old-timers’ exhibition: Mister Marti Gras is the 121-pound starting highweight and 8-5 morning-line favorite. The Washington Park, at 1 1/8 miles on Polytrack, came up light this year, with just five others entered, none near Mister Marti Gras’s level of accomplishment. Trained by Chris Block, Mister Marti Gras hasn’t raced since he finished fifth July 12 in the Arlington Handicap going 1 1/4 miles on turf. Mister Marti Gras is versatile, effective from eight to 10 furlongs on turf, dirt, and synthetic, but the Arlington Handicap, a false-paced race with a rapid finish, didn’t play to his strengths. In this race last year, he finishing a surprisingly tame fourth but was a sharp second behind the good gelding Nikki’s Sandcastle in his most recent Polytrack start, the one-mile Hanshin Cup on May 24. Hattash and the stakes-debuting Only in America – who races with blinkers added – might be overmatched, but the other three have a chance. Fordubai was ninth in the Hanshin but previously won twice over Arlington’s Polytrack, while Avanzare, a close fourth in the Arlington Handicap, makes his synthetic debut. Gimmeadrink, claimed for just $6,250 on Feb. 1 by Savoy Stable and trainer Dale Bennett, has won eight of his last nine starts and is 3 for 3 on Polytrack. He cruised to victory last out in a second-level allowance race here and will be on the lead Saturday while getting eight pounds from Mister Marti Gras. Washington Park Handicap, race 8 KEY CONTENDERS Mister Marti Gras (Last 3 Beyers: 88-93-93) DRF FORMULATOR FACT: Trainer Block is 5 for 25 with a $5.58 return on investment and 14 for 25 in the money with graded stakes runners at Arlington over the last three years. ◗ Mister Marti Gras has raced competitively, but his last graded stakes win came in November 2011. Gimmeadrink (Last 3 Beyers: 91-90-90) DRF FORMULATOR FACT: Trainer Bennett is 8 for 30 with a $2.19 ROI and 15 for 30 in the money over the last five years with last-out winners running a mile or farther on synthetic. ◗ Gimmeadrink is up in class but has turned in two dominant performances in his brief Polytrack history. Bennett, who ranks Gimmeadrink among his best claims, said his major worry is the nine-furlong distance. “That’s my biggest concern, but in his two good races here, he wasn’t faltering at all.” Avanzare (Last 3 Beyers: 90-91-85) DRF FORMULATOR FACT: Trainer Tom Proctor is just 1 for 13 ($0.52 ROI) and 4 for 13 in the money over the last five years in graded synthetic stakes at one mile or longer.