LEXINGTON, Ky. – The dualities of continuity and change mark the major storylines for this renewal of the Grade 2, $250,000 Phoenix Stakes on Friday’s opening-day card at Keeneland, which awards its winner an automatic berth in the Breeders’ Cup Sprint.

Preakness Stakes winner War of Will is under consideration for the Grade 1, $1 million Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile on Nov. 2 at Santa Anita, trainer Mark Casse said Monday.

“We’re going to look at the Dirt Mile and also the Breeders’ Cup Classic,” he said. “We’re going to point toward both, just kind of see how things go.”

McKinzie will have a new rider in the $6 million Breeders' Cup Classic on Nov. 2 at Santa Anita.

Trainer Bob Baffert on Tuesday said that he has decided to make a switch from Mike Smith, who has ridden McKinzie in all 13 of his career starts. This follows a second-place finish as the odds-on favorite in the Awesome Again Stakes on Saturday at Santa Anita, the colt's fourth second-place finish this year in six starts.

Totally Boss punched his ticket to the Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint by winning the Grade 3 Runhappy Turf Sprint on Sept. 7 at Kentucky Downs, a Win and You’re In event.

The gelding had previously won the Kentucky Downs Preview Turf Sprint Stakes on Aug. 4 at Ellis Park, putting himself in line for a $1 million bonus if he could add wins in the Grade 2 Woodford Stakes on Oct. 4 at Keeneland and the Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint on Nov. 2 at Santa Anita.

The most important cluster of preps toward the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint will come within a span of just a few hours this Sunday. The Futurity at Belmont, the Indian Summer at Keeneland, and the Speakeasy at Santa Anita figure to significantly impact the composition of the field.

A pair of key preps for the $1 million Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Sprint will be run Saturday and will go a long way in determining just who the top challengers will be to the likely favorites Covfefe and Come Dancing.

Trainer Peter Miller ended all speculation when telling Daily Racing Form on Monday that Roy H will not be back to defend the Breeders' Cup Sprint title he won in 2017 and 2018 in November at Santa Anita.  

Roy H has been fighting foot issues since he was scratched from the Dubai Golden Shaheen earlier this spring. The 7-year-old son of More Than Ready had his first work back on September 21, going three furlongs in 38.40 at San Luis Rey Downs, at which time Miller said all would have to go perfectly from that point on for Roy H to make it back to the Breeders' Cup.

Owendale may have put himself in the Breeders’ Cup.

The winner of the Grade 3, $400,000 Oklahoma Derby on Sunday night at Remington Park, Owendale could make his next start in one of two Breeders’ Cup races, trainer Brad Cox said Monday. The horse is under consideration for either the $6 million Classic or the $1 million Dirt Mile, both Nov. 2 at Santa Anita.

Owendale was scheduled to fly home to his Churchill Downs base Tuesday.

“First and foremost, we want to see how he comes out of the race,” said Cox, who trains Owendale for Rupp Racing.

The first four finishers from the Awesome Again Stakes on Saturday at Santa Anita all could run back in the Breeders’ Cup Classic on Nov. 2.

Mongolian Groom won the race in a 25-1 upset, and though the race is a Win and You’re In for the Classic, Mongolian Groom isn’t technically in just yet since, unlike the five horses he beat on Saturday, he is not nominated to the Breeders’ Cup. His connections would have to put up $200,000 by pre-entry day Oct. 21 to nominate him to the Breeders’ Cup.

ARCADIA, Calif. – Donna Veloce, the easy winner of a maiden special weight race for 2-year-old fillies on Saturday, may start in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies at Santa Anita on Nov. 1.

By Uncle Mo, Donna Veloce led throughout the maiden race and pulled clear in the stretch under jockey Flavien Prat to win by 9 1/4 lengths as a heavy favorite. She ran 6 1/2 furlongs in 1:16.22 and earned a Beyer Speed Figure of 91.

“I was very confident,” trainer Simon Callaghan said on Sunday. “We’ll see how she comes out of it, but we’ll look at the Breeders’ Cup.”