SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – To hear Luis Saez tell it, he was supposed to be on the lead when he rode Mage in the Grade 1 Florida Derby five months ago.

Instead, Mage broke slow and was last going into the first turn. That he ran so well – finishing second, beaten just one length by Forte – may have been the best thing to happen to Mage.

Five weeks later, Mage, with Javier Castellano aboard, rallied from 15th place to win the Kentucky Derby.

The fabulous 3-year-old Paddington will have but three rivals when he tries for his eighth straight win Wednesday in the Group 1 International Stakes at York Racecourse.

An injury to star-crossed 2022 Derby winner Desert Crown this past weekend and the withdrawal Monday of several other early entrants for the about 1 5/16-mile fixture left only Mostahdaf, the filly Nashwa, and longshot The Foxes to face Paddington.

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – Pioneering Spirit, who has won his last four starts in one-sided fashion since returning to the turf earlier this year, will get tested for class when stepping up into stakes company for the first time in Wednesday’s $135,000 John’s Call Stakes.

The John’s Call, a 1 5/8-mile turf fixture during the Saratoga meet each summer, is restricted to horses who have not won either a Grade 1 or Grade 2 stakes on turf in 2023.

A pair of 3-year-olds, the filly Corningstone and the colt King Ice, have a good chance to defeat their elders in a pair of $100,000 Indiana-bred turf-route stakes Wednesday at Horseshoe Indianapolis.

Corningstone is part of an overflow field in the Peony, which is carded at 1 1/16 miles and has a sex restriction, while King Ice is part of an overflow field in the Bucchero, also at 1 1/16 miles but open to all Indiana-breds aged 3 or older.

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – A bruised foot kept Forte out of the Kentucky Derby and subsequently the Preakness. While he made it to the Belmont Stakes, it was asking a lot to win that 1 1/2-mile classic off a 10-week layoff.

That Forte was able to finish second only served to further validate him as an extremely talented horse.

DEL MAR, Calif. – Astronomer is set for his graded stakes debut next month after winning for the first time in more than 21 months in a tough allowance race at a mile on turf at Del Mar on Saturday.

Astronomer ($45) raced close to a fast pace and won by a head over Goliad, finishing in 1:32.32. Ridden by Antonio Fresu, Astronomer earned a career-best Beyer Speed Figure of 92.

The allowance race win was Astronomer’s second start of the year, preceded by a 10th-place finish in an allowance race at 1 1/8 miles on turf July 21.

Practical Move, unraced since a win in the Grade 1 Santa Anita Derby in April, has resumed workouts for a return to racing later this year.

On Saturday at Del Mar, Practical Move worked a half-mile in 47.40 seconds. On Aug. 13, Practical Move had his first work of the summer, drilling three furlongs in 36.60 seconds.

Trained by Tim Yakteen for Pierre and Leslie Amestoy and Roger Beasley, Practical Move was a leading contender for the Kentucky Derby May 6 before he was withdrawn two days before the race because of illness.

Del Mar sustained approximately 2.5 inches of rain on Sunday and early Monday from the remnants of Hurricane Hilary, a storm that caused the cancellation of racing on Sunday and forced significant work in the stable area to prevent extensive flooding.

Racing will resume on Thursday, but it was unclear on Monday whether the turf course will be used that day, according to racing secretary David Jerkens.

“It’s too early to tell,” Jerkens said. “We’re getting out of the storm now and we’ll see.”

It was already a celebratory day in the Virginia Thoroughbred community. The Grade 1 Arlington Million and its undercard stakes were contested for the first time at Colonial Downs on Aug. 12, creating the state’s biggest day of racing. In a nice twist, that meant the Grade 2 Secretariat Stakes would be run for the first time on Colonial’s Secretariat Turf Course, as the racing industry celebrates the 50th anniversary of Virginia-bred Secretariat’s Triple Crown triumph.