Steven Crist

2:10 pm: Didn't last long in the Saturday night poker tournament at Saratoga and even though there were no entry fees or real money involved, I managed to get hustled out of $100.

1:55 pm: Sunny and clear at Saratoga, where for some reason only the last race of the day (the 11th) has been taken off the grass, while races 1,5,6,8 and 9 remain on the turf. The change in the finale is an especially key one for those playing the $500k guaranteed late pick-4 or the pick-6 with a $40k carryover from Friday.

2:00 pm: It will be interesting to see if a $100,000 guaranteed pool will move the needle much on today's Pick-6 handle at Saratoga. A non-carryover Thursday card, even a pretty strong one like today's, rates to handle a little less.

12:45 pm: Sunny and 77 at Saratoga, sunnier and 83 outside the home OTB on Long Island where I'm playing day 5. Main track listed as fast, and racing's back on the turf, being called "good" as the day begins.