LEXINGTON, Ky. -- A Kentucky circuit court judge on Monday denied the trainer Bob Baffert a stay of a 90-day suspension issued by Kentucky stewards until his appeal of the penalty can be adjudicated by the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission, ruling that the KHRC was within its rights to issue its own denial of a stay.

Shipsational, second in the Sam F. Davis and third in the Tampa Bay Derby, will try the other coast of Florida when he makes his next start in the Grade 1, $1 million Florida Derby at Gulfstream Park on April 2, trainer Eddie Barker confirmed Sunday.

Though the Florida Derby means running back in three weeks after the Tampa Bay Derby, Barker said he thought that would be easier on the horse than shipping him up to New York for the Grade 2, $750,000 Wood Memorial on April 9.

FRANKFORT, KY – A Kentucky district court judge on Thursday said he will issue a ruling on Monday on whether to grant a stay of a 90-day suspension issued to the trainer Bob Baffert by Kentucky stewards.

The judge, Thomas Wingate of the Franklin County District Court, said that the ruling on Monday would “probably” include an additional stay of Baffert’s suspension regardless of his decision, “to give the sides time to file an appeal.”

Golden Gate Fields in northern California will temporarily close its track and stable area for seven weeks in the summer while the property undergoes maintenance on its sewer system, the track said in a statement on Wednesday.

The property will be closed from June 18 through Aug. 7, a time in which there will be no training, stabling, or backstretch housing. The track’s racing season is not affected. Golden Gate closes its current winter-spring meeting on June 12. The track’s summer-fall meeting begins on the weekend of Aug. 26-28.

A leading account-wagering firm has developed technology that allows bettors to designate an alternative selection in the event of a late scratch of a primary selection in multi-race wagers such as a pick four, pick five, or pick six.

The California Horse Racing Board’s pari-mutuel committee heard testimony on Wednesday that Xpressbet has developed alternative selection software. The new feature was launched on a limited basis in mid-February, a company representative said.

When Winning Colors won the Kentucky Derby in 1988, she became the second filly to win the Derby in nine editions, following Genuine Risk in 1980. But in 33 runnings since, only five fillies have attempted to win the Derby, a scenario that came to a screeching halt in the past decade, owing to a change in rules that made entry to the race equitable for all.

Grant Forster, a trainer who splits his time between the Midwest and Louisiana, has accepted a 15-day suspension from Kentucky stewards after a horse he trained tested positive for gabapentin, a drug that is widely used to treat nerve pain and seizures in humans.

Forster will begin serving the suspension on March 28. Epicurean, a horse trained by Forster, tested positive for gabapentin, a Class B drug under Kentucky classifications, after finishing sixth in a race at Churchill Downs on Nov. 26 last year. Epicurean was claimed from the race.

The Beyer Speed Figure for the horses who ran in the Grade 3, $250,000 Withers Stakes on Feb. 5 at Aqueduct has been elevated by nine points with the winner, Early Voting, having now been assigned an 87.

The mutuel field, the 24th or “all others” option, is a lukewarm favorite in the fourth of five pools in the 2022 Kentucky Derby Future Wager, which closed Sunday evening along with the Kentucky Oaks Future Wager following the customary three-day run.

The field closed at 4-1 and was followed by Smile Happy at 6-1, the lowest price on any of the 23 individual interests. The field also was favored in the first three pools when offered Nov. 26-29, Jan. 21-23, and Feb. 11-13, respectively, closing at odds of 3-5, 9-5, and 2-1.

Fourteen American-based horses are expected to contest races on the Dubai World Cup card on March 26 at Meydan Racecourse.  

Five horses already are in Dubai and nine more, headed by Life Is Good, were scheduled to ship there from Florida on Monday.