During the racing week spanning Nov. 15-19 Chuchill moved all its grass races to dirt and has not run a grass race since the River City Stakes on Nov. 11. Churchill, however, has continued carding grass races, and Darren Rogers, senior director of media at Churchill, said in an email on Sunday that the status of the turf course remains “day to day” for the final week of the race meeting. Jockeys expressed concern over the course’s safety earlier this month.

DEL MAR, Calif. – While the frequency of pick six carryovers is expected to remain limited in California due to field size and the low $1 minimum, carryovers thankfully are not extinct.

The first carryover since Del Mar and Santa Anita restored traditional pick six formats this fall is up for grabs Thursday at Del Mar, where the Thanksgiving sequence begins with a $94,601 carryover that is expected to attract more than four times that amount in new money.

Specific race plans aren’t set for Hot and Sultry and she probably won’t race again until early next year, but the 4-year-old filly gave her connections plenty to look forward to, acing a comeback start Saturday in the Chilukki Stakes.

Racing for the first time since May, Hot and Sultry shot to the lead and never looked back in the Chilukki, winning by eight lengths over the good filly Nostalgic. Hot and Sultry ran the one-turn mile over a somewhat dull strip in 1:35.93, earning a 94 Beyer Speed Figure that might underrate the strength of her performance.

Carmelina is the 3-1 morning-line favorite in a competitive edition of Penn National’s $100,000 Shamrock Rose for 2-year-old Pennsylvania-bred fillies at six furlongs.

The Shamrock Rose is one of three stakes on the Wednesday evening program along with two $50,000 events at one mile, the Susquehanna Valley for fillies and mares and the Chocolate Town for 3-year-olds and up. The Susquehanna Valley and Chocolate Town are restricted to horses who have started at Penn National in 2023 and haven’t won a stakes race this year.

At age 36, after eight years of riding in North America, the jockey Declan Cannon came into this year decently established on the Kentucky circuit. Before the global COVID-19 pandemic laid low most of the racing world, Cannon, a native of Ireland, had made steady year-to-year progress, hitting a peak in 2019 with 66 winners and $2.6 million purse earnings. In 2022, Cannon rode 24 winners, with his 290 mounts earning purses just short of $1.5 million. No one could have foreseen what 2023 would bring.

Analyzing the Grade 3, $300,000 Cardinal Stakes, the Thanksgiving Day co-feature at Churchill Downs, is a tale of two races – or rather, of two courses.

If the race for fillies and mares remains at 1 1/8 miles on the turf, as scheduled, it is a relatively evenly matched affair. Juncture, appearing on the upswing off a solid graded stakes placing, meets graded winner Walkathon, graded-placed Joyful Applause, and the consistent Lovely Princess, with the European import Star Fortress an intriguing newcomer.

DEL MAR, Calif. – The phrase “roll out the red carpet” often accompanies an arrival, but the Red Carpet Stakes on Thursday at Del Mar might celebrate departure.

Neige Blanche and Sister Otoole, durable 6-year-old mares whose successful careers are winding down, race 1 3/8 miles on turf Thursday in the Grade 3 Red Carpet. Who do you like? The correct answer is both.

OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Horse racing has been slow to embrace technology and Joe Appelbaum believes that’s a problem.

So, in deciding not to run for another term as president of the New York Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association [NYTHA], Appelbaum, a football coach in his younger days, is going to try and tackle the issue of bringing more technology into the sport.

ETOBICOKE, Ontario – Sandrone has a similar profile as another recent Saratoga shipper to Woodbine, Slipstream, and it will be interesting to see if he fares better than that runner in Thursday’s featured sixth race.

A field of seven was drawn for the nonwinners-of-two sprint combining Ontario-sired allowance types with $40,000 claimers, and Sandrone goes from post 6 under Patrick Husbands.

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – A. P.’s Secret, who never quite lived up to all the hype at 2 and 3, will start a new chapter in his career when returning from yet another lengthy hiatus in Sunday’s $52,000 co-feature at Gulfstream Park.

The seven-furlong dash will be decided over the main track while sharing top billing on the card with a similarly conditioned 5 1/2-furlong test for older fillies and mares on the Tapeta.