SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – Carloun will try to rebound from a last-place finish in the Carolina Cup Hurdle Stakes when he takes on seven rivals – three of whom beat him in that race – in Wednesday’s Grade 1, $150,000 Beverly Steinman Hurdle Handicap, the first race of the five-day Belmont Stakes Racing Festival at Saratoga.

The rain and chill of the weekend is expected to be a distant memory come Wednesday, when temperatures are expected to soar near 90 degrees under partly sunny skies.

There is no better way to sum up Sassy C W’s debut than the official Equibase chart comment – the simple statement “rocket ship.”

After running them off their feet in her debut, Sassy C W now takes her talents to New York to make her stakes debut in her second career start, the $150,000 Astoria Stakes on Thursday at Saratoga. The Astoria and its brother race, the $150,000 Tremont Stakes for open juveniles, are long-lived early-season stakes in this division.

Soontobeking tangled with both open and statebred stakes competition last summer at Saratoga. After 11 months of continued stakes seasoning, the hard-knocking colt returns to the Spa in the $200,000 Mike Lee Stakes for New York-bred 3-year-olds going seven furlongs on Wednesday’s state showcase card.

Central Banker has claimed four straight titles as New York’s leading general sire. As he eyes a fifth, his statebred champion Bank Frenzy will be one of his runners on Wednesday’s New York-bred showcase card at Saratoga – less than 20 minutes from McMahon of Saratoga Thoroughbreds, where the stallion reigns at stud.

ETOBICOKE, Ontario – Whiskey N Ice will try to prove that her dominant comeback score wasn’t a fluke when she takes her talents to the inner turf in Thursday’s fifth race at Woodbine, a $25,000 claimer for nonwinners-of-two females going five furlongs.

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – Look Forward, who made a successful turnback in distance winning the Grade 2 Eight Belles Stakes at seven furlongs at Churchill Downs on May 2, will again try to stretch out when she starts in the Grade 1, $500,000 Acorn Stakes on June 6 at Saratoga.

On Friday, Look Forward worked a half-mile in 47.21 seconds over Saratoga’s main track, going in splits of 23.96 for the opening quarter and galloping out five furlongs in 59.92 seconds, six furlongs in 1:13.07, and seven furlongs in 1:27.92.

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – After initially indicating he was going to remove blinkers from Citizen Bull for the Kentucky Derby, trainer Bob Baffert said he is going to take the blinkers off the 2-year-old champion for the Grade 1, $500,000 Woody Stephens Stakes at Saratoga.

Citizen Bull, who finished 15th in the Kentucky Derby, was confirmed Friday by Baffert as a starter for the seven-furlong Woody Stephens after Citizen Bull worked five furlongs in 1:00.40 at Santa Anita.

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – Six stakes for New York-breds, each worth $200,000, highlight the Wednesday card at Saratoga, the first day of the five-day Belmont Stakes Racing Festival.

Miguel Clement, the 33-year-old son of trainer Christophe Clement, who passed away last weekend, will start his first four horses at NYRA on that card. That includes Drake’s Passage, who will look to repeat in the $200,000 Commentator Stakes. His main competition appears to come from Bank Frenzy and Mama’s Gold.

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – Fierceness on Friday morning geared up for his cutback to one mile in the Grade 1 Metropolitan Handicap on June 7 by working a half-mile in 49.68 seconds over the Oklahoma training track.

Fierceness, starting just off of workmate Tuscan Sky, went in splits of 12.71 seconds, 24.83, and came home in 24.85, per Daily Racing Form clocker Mike Welsch, who had Fierceness galloping out five furlongs in 1:02.63 and six furlongs in 1:15.58 over a rather dull-playing surface.