Before the kids take over and wreck the vacation condo, let’s give the seniors a brief turn in the spotlight. After all, there is a remote possibility that some of the 3-year-olds sucking the air out of the game during Triple Crown season might just make it to physical maturity. A cruise through Saturday’s entries across North America revealed 15 Thoroughbreds age 10, 11, or (gulp) 12, competing at a variety of levels, ranging from Soi Phet’s twilight swing at the Grade 2 Californian Stakes at Santa Anita to the 64th start of Only Be Cause, a son of Giant’s Causeway, for a $2,500 claiming tag at Sun Downs in Kennewick, Wash. Only Be Cause is 12, which in most jurisdictions is the oldest allowable age to be competing at a licensed Thoroughbred meet. Granted, it can be tough to tell the difference in horses once they reach double digits and edge into the teens. But an age limit makes sense, if only to protect the sport from its own excesses. Besides, if an owner or series of owners haven’t squeezed the most out of a racehorse by the time the clock strikes 12, maybe the backyard is the best alternative. Soi Phet is a California-bred son of Tiznow’s brother Tizbud who hit the ground during the final year of the George W. Bush administration. The Californian, at nine furlongs on the main track, will be his 57th start, and if he wins he will become a millionaire. Not bad for a $16,000 claim. A graded stakes win by a 10-year-old is highly unusual, but not unprecedented. Calidoscopio, the Argentine stayer, won the 2013 Brooklyn Handicap when he was 10 by North American standards, although a few weeks shy by official Southern Hemisphere rules. Musketier, a German beast, was 10 when he won the 2012 Singspiel Stakes at Woodbine for Hall of Famer Roger Attfield. And although the race had yet to achieve graded status, the 2008 Greenwood Cup at Parx Racing made headlines when it was won by the popular 10-year-old Evening Attire. Not surprisingly, since it is located only a couple hundred miles southwest of the Fountain of Youth, Tampa Bay Downs gets the prize for the most geriatric-friendly program Saturday. The 10-year-olds Walker’s Landing, by Theatrical, and Husband’s Folly, by Decarchy, square off at nine furlongs on grass for $10,000 tags. Chica Bonita, a rare mare still running at 10, is in for a $10,000 price, while Red Rose Cat, also 10, makes his 67th start earlier in the day for $5,000 in a seven-furlong race against 11-year-old My Charming Clyde, who hit the 100-start mark six races ago. Parx weighs in with 10-year-old Doublethestyle, a son of Suave, back in for the $16,000 level that seems to suit him best. In 59 starts, he has won seven and been second or third 20 times, which must make him popular with the players. Later on, 10-year-old Star of Sarava goes for his 13th win for a $5,000 tag. As Sarava’s second-highest earner, Star of Sarava could someday find a place by his sire at Old Friends Equine. Out in the desert, where stuff dries up and lives a long time, 10-year-old Mandated Bliss, a son of Perfect Mandate, runs for $6,250, then in the next race Zoe’s Cajun goes for his 15th win in his 71st start. Zoe’s Cajun is a son of Lucky Pulpit who was foaled before California Chrome made their sire a household name. Finger Lakes is always good for senior activities. Saturday’s sport has attracted 10-year-old Bigshotinthenews, a son of Read the Footnotes who is trying to recapture some of the upstate magic that fizzled earlier this year at Aqueduct. His record of 95-13-16-17 speaks loudly for itself. While our 12-year-old, Only Be Cause, is competing at Sun Downs, up the road at Emerald Downs the 11-year-old Trelawny runs in the day’s fourth race, for a $3,500 claiming price. A son of Three Wonders, bred in Florida, Trelawny has more than paid his way for a number of owners, with 20 wins in 78 starts and earnings of more than half a million. In this age of heightened awareness, it is usually horses like Trelawny who raise cautionary flags in the Thoroughbred rescue and retirement community, and understandably so. Squeezing another season out of an old battler can be flirting with danger. In Trelawny’s case he has a trainer, Robert Meeking, who claimed the horse back at the end of last year and is running him at a winning level from the 2017 Emerald Downs season. Also, he’s got leading man Rocco Bowen aboard, so good luck to the old man. And good luck to Gunsmoke N, an 11-year-old son of Scottish Halo, bred, owned and trained by Roger Neff, who by now must be an institution in his native Oklahoma. Gunsmoke N made his racing debut in October 2011, late in his 4-year-old season, and won a maiden special weight at Remington Park. Campaigned sparingly, he finally needed claiming company when he was 9 – no shame in that – and he has collected a few decent checks since. Chances are, when he goes postward in the first race on Saturday at Will Rogers Downs, Gunsmoke N will receive a reception every bit as sincere as the round of applause Soi Phet and all the others deserve.