Keeneland occupies a unique position in the Thoroughbred industry, as it is both a racetrack – which has hosted the Breeders’ Cup three times – and one of the nation’s major sale companies. Keeneland is leaning into that dual identity with its newest venture. Adding to a starry fall landscape, it has announced plans to debut the Keeneland Championship Sale at Del Mar the week of the Breeders’ Cup, focusing on racehorses participating in that event and their close relations.

The best horse running Sunday at Del Mar could be a slam dunk at a short price, but Grade 1 winner Exaulted will be cooled out hours before either $100,000 turf stakes is run.

The Osunitas Stakes for fillies and mares is race 7 on Sunday; the Wickerr Stakes is race 9. Both restricted miles offer greater wagering value than the race 1 allowance with Exaulted, but the opener ultimately will be more significant if the best horse improves off his comeback misfire.

Already this year, Asscher has won the richest race of the season for 3-year-old Quarter Horse fillies in the $404,000 Los Alamitos Oaks in March.

To retain that distinction, Asscher will need another top-class effort in Sunday’s $483,394 Rainbow Oaks for fillies at Ruidoso Downs.

There will be a mandatory payout in the Rainbow 6 on Sunday at Gulfstream Park with the pool expected to exceed $2 million, assuming there are no winning tickets Friday or Saturday. The sequence begins with race 5, which is scheduled for 3:07 p.m.

Race 5 is an $8,000 claimer for nonwinners of two on Tapeta. While starting a sequence like this with a single can be a little dicey, using a non-favorite can be very rewarding, and it allows for spreads in later races.

Two-time defending winner Slew’s Tiz Whiz heads the $50,000 Governor’s Stakes over 6 1/2 furlongs on Sunday at Emerald Downs. The Tom Wenzel trainee, now 6, has won his last three attempts at Sunday’s distance and accounted for the 2022 Longacres Mile as well.

Papa’s Golden Boy, winner of the 2021 Governor’s Stakes, recently returned to racing after an extended vacation and seems to be something close to his old self. Papa’s Golden Boy finished second to Slew’s Tiz Whiz in both the 2022 Longacres Mile and the 2022 Governor’s Stakes.

ETOBICOKE, Ontario – Stretch-runner Verdejo could prevail if she gets some speed to close behind in Sunday’s Woodbine headliner, a conditioned allowance/optional claimer with eight fillies and mares scheduled for six furlongs on the main turf.

Verdejo was claimed for $32,000 by trainer Abraham Katryan for owner Carlo D’Amato on Dec. 16, when she ran an uncharacteristically dull race. After getting the winter off, the daughter of Fed Biz has posted four solid efforts this spring.

Kentucky-based trainer Billy Stinson, operating a small stable since 2007, has won two stakes races during his career. Both came in 2023, both with the gelding Here Mi Song, one of them the Jeff Hall Memorial Stakes at Ellis Park. Sunday, Here Mi Song tries for two Halls in a row, breaking from the rail while facing six foes in this $125,000 dirt race over 6 1/2 furlongs.

OCEANPORT, N.J. – Still without an explanation for the Godolphin homebred 4-year-old First Mission’s flat fourth-place finish as the odds-on favorite in the Stephen Foster Stakes last month, trainer Brad Cox hopes the Godolphin homebred 4-year-old Highland Falls’s performance requires no post-race forensics after the Monmouth Cup.

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – Vive Veuve has improved with each successive start since coming to the United States and joining trainer Jack Sisterson’s barn last fall. Another forward move may be all it takes to give the 3-year-old filly her first graded stakes victory when she faces nine well-matched rivals, including likely favorites Oversubscribed and Sweet Rebecca, in Saturday’s Grade 3 Lake George at Saratoga.

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – Kentucky Oaks and Acorn winner Thorpedo Anna will be going for her third consecutive Grade 1 victory when she runs in Saturday’s Grade 1, $500,000 Coaching Club American Oaks at Saratoga. If she gets it – or maybe more precisely how she gets it – could determine if she steps out of her gender group and attempts the Grade 1, $1.25 million Travers against males here Aug. 24.