Lat Long, who was a maiden special weight winner over Common Defense in December at Oaklawn, is being pointed to the Grade 1 Blue Grass on Saturday at Keeneland, trainer Kenny McPeek said Sunday.

Lat Long last raced Jan. 20 and was third in the Grade 3 Lecomte at Fair Grounds. He worked a bullet half-mile in 46.40 seconds Sunday at Churchill Downs.

McPeek also trains Common Defense, who came back to win his maiden at Oaklawn one start after facing Lat Long and later in the meet ran second in the Grade 2 Rebel.

HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – Southern California-based trainer Bob Baffert could attempt a sweep of the Southwest market’s two Grade 1 races.

He accounted for the first offering Saturday when Muth won the $1.5 million Arkansas Derby. Baffert said Sunday he could send a runner for the second Grade 1 race in the region, the $1.25 million Apple Blossom Handicap on April 13.

“I was looking at maybe Adare Manor for the Apple Blossom,” he said.

Through a wet weekend and into a gorgeous Monday morning, the synthetic training track at Santa Anita was used for workouts for the first time since it was installed over the winter, with a few prominent names among the active runners.

At a cost of approximately $8 million, Santa Anita replaced its infield dirt training surface with a Tapeta Footings surface. Activity was limited to joggers when the track opened for use in early March, with gallopers allowed by the middle of the month.

Saturday was the first day for full workouts.

Facing a seven-figure overpayment, Santa Anita has reduced overnight purses by approximately 12 percent for its spring meeting, compared to the corresponding period in 2023.

The spring meetings runs from April 19 to June 16.

The reduction comes at a time when the track has been unable to reverse a downward trend in handle, leading to a severe deficit in the purse pool. Officials told the California Horse Racing Board earlier this year that the purse pool was in arrears by $4 million, with concern the figure could grow before mid-June.

Keeneland’s wagering menu for the spring meet includes a takeout reduction on the daily double from 22 percent to 15 percent.

Daily doubles are offered on all but the final race each day.

“This pricing is advantageous to our core horseplayers but also is a great opportunity for emerging bettors to try horse racing’s equivalent of a ‘two-game parlay,’ ” said Jim Goodman, Keeneland’s director of wagering development.

Blue Grass hits 100

The Keeneland grounds look different this spring. Inside, however, the same quality racing reigns, with compelling editions of the Grade 1, $600,000 Ashland Stakes and Grade 1, $1 million Blue Grass taking shape for opening weekend.