Maryland took center stage three weeks ago, with national attention on 15 stakes races, topped by the Preakness Stakes. But as the traveling circus of the Triple Crown moves to New York, Maryland comes along seeking a bit of the spotlight. The lightly raced and unbeaten Maryland-bred Mindframe runs in the Belmont Stakes on Saturday at Saratoga; two races prior, fellow statebred Post Time, a multiple graded stakes winner, starts in the Grade 1 Metropolitan Handicap.

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – Spring showers might bring flowers, but Saratoga showers won’t necessarily help Roses for Debra bloom. The forecast creates an opportunity for those tackling the favorite in Friday’s Grade 2, $200,000 Intercontinental Stakes for fillies and mares sprinting on the Saratoga turf.

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – Trainer Chad Brown has won six of the last seven runnings of the Grade 1 Just a Game Stakes, and with five of the seven fillies and mares in Friday’s renewal, the chances are very good he will add to that enviable record.

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – So, you want to bet the New York Stakes on Friday at Saratoga. Thirteen older fillies and mares were entered in this 1 3/16-mile turf race. Step 1: Eliminating non-contenders. Good luck with that.

The New York might be the deepest race this week at Saratoga. Be Your Best can’t win, but some kind of case can be made for the other dozen. To further complexify analysis, the race could be run over a soft or yielding course.

Start with the longest morning-line prices.

ETOBICOKE, Ontario – It could be shaping up as the year of the bug at Woodbine, and three of the hottest local apprentices are well-represented on Friday’s eight-race card.

The 2023 Sovereign Award winner and Eclipse runner-up Sofia Vives leads all riders with 17 wins from 109 mounts. Fraser Aebly ranks ninth in the standings with eight scores from 61 mounts. Pietro Moran doubled up on Thursday and ranks 10th with seven wins from 31 rides, including his victory in Saturday’s Grade 3 Belle Mahone aboard Fashionably Fab.

Executive Chef appears to be the horse to beat when making his 2024 debut in Friday’s $25,000 claiming feature over 5 1/2 furlongs at Emerald Downs.

The Blaine Wright trainee is scheduled to make his first start since last September when he finished second for the same claiming price over six furlongs at Emerald. The son of Cairo Prince was a stakes winner at Emerald in 2022 when he took the Auburn Stakes as a 3-year-old.

ARCADIA, Calif. – Behind Enemy Lines is behind the eight ball Friday at Santa Anita.

A route specialist in a turf sprint, facing older for the first time, making his first start in nine months and first in California, Behind Enemy Lines is only prepping in a second-level allowance/optional-claiming race at six furlongs on turf. It is not a must-win.

“He’s trained very well, but we’re going to use this race to set him up for bigger races at Del Mar,” trainer Phil D’Amato said. “We’ll probably stretch him out after this race.”

It’s a major change on the spring schedule: The Belmont Stakes will be contested Saturday at Saratoga Race Course, at a distance of 1 1/4 miles. The massive renovation of Belmont Park necessitates the move for the next two years; the configuration of Saratoga’s 1 1/8-mile track necessitates the distance shift from the traditional 1 1/2 miles.

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – The well-traveled Manama Gold was bred in Louisiana, has raced exclusively in Dubai, was shipped to Kentucky for a possible start in the Oaks, and currently finds herself in New York where she is set to make her much anticipated U.S. debut Thursday at Saratoga in the $200,000 Jersey Girl Stakes.