It was 20 years ago Brazilian native Paulo Lobo began training in North America. He’s gotten two horses – Farda Amiga in the 2002 Distaff and Ivar in the 2020 Mile – into the Breeders’ Cup, but Nov. 6 at Del Mar, Lobo will have two live chances in a single Breeders’ Cup race.

Ivar, fourth in the Mile last year, will be at Del Mar for a second shot at the race, and Lobo also saddles In Love, who earned guaranteed fees-paid entry into the Mile when he upset the Grade 1, $700,000 Keeneland Turf Mile on Saturday.

The Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Sprint was run last year at Keeneland with a field of eight. The Nov. 6 renewal at Del Mar might not even get that many.

With numerous would-be prospects dropping out in recent days, including Sconsin, the prospective lineup for the $1 million BC Filly and Mare Sprint has distilled into no more than five horses with realistic chances. It’s topped by Gamine, the 2020 winner, who once again figures as a heavy favorite for the seven-furlong race, with her confirmed challengers being Bella Sofia, Ce Ce, Edgeway, and possibly Bell’s the One.

In this season of predictable prep races, it was fitting that the final prep for the Breeders’ Cup Distaff unfolded exactly as expected – heavily favored Letruska leading wire to wire in the Grade 1 Spinster Stakes on Sunday at Keeneland.

Letruska, who has won seven graded stakes at seven tracks over the past year, faces one more challenge Nov. 6 when she races at Del Mar for the first time.

The New York Racing Association has asked a judge to dismiss four of the five counts alleged in a lawsuit filed by Bob Baffert seeking to nullify the association’s ban of the trainer.

Venetian Harbor, a three-time Grade 2 winner, has been retired after sustaining an injury to a foreleg in a recent workout, trainer Richard Baltas said on Monday.

“She can’t race anymore,” Baltas said. “She’ll be sound to be bred and be a mother, but her racing career is over unfortunately.

“She gave us a good journey. Everybody was a little sad when we found out. She’s done a lot.”

A hearing to consider a ban of trainer Bob Baffert at the tracks operated by the New York Racing Association will begin Jan. 24, NYRA officials and Baffert’s attorney said Monday. 

The start date was decided on Monday during a meeting between attorneys for the New York Racing Association and Baffert presided over by O. Peter Sherwood, a retired New York State Supreme Court justice who is serving as the NYRA-appointed hearing officer. According to officials, the timing of the start will give attorneys ample time to prepare their cases.

Fans will be unable to attend races at Aqueduct, where the first floor continues as a COVID-19 mass vaccination site, so the Belmont Park fall racing meet will be extended by three dates - Nov. 5 through 7 - to allow fans ontrack to watch and wager on the Breeders’ Cup, the New York Racing Association announced Saturday.

The Breeders' Cup will be held at Del Mar on Nov. 6-7. A limited number of owners, trainers and staff will be allowed onsite at Aqueduct.

When the 2-year-old Jack Christopher won the Champagne Stakes at Belmont Park, running one mile in 1:37.31, he stamped himself as one of the top colts of his age group. The effort earned him a Beyer Speed Figure of 93.

However, this first impression may have been incorrect, because crucial information about the race may have been wrong. The posted final time of the Champagne was evidently an error. After exhaustive efforts to clock the video of the race, the Beyer Speed Figure team credits Jack Christopher with a final time of 1:36.48, which translates into a figure of 102.

The New York Racing Association has informed five trainers who were recently sanctioned by the parent company of Gulfstream Park in Florida for clenbuterol positives that they should not attempt to enter their horses at the association’s tracks while the sanctions are in effect.

It appears the 3-year-olds are the dominant members of the sprint division, with Jackie’s Warrior sitting atop the list of contenders for the Breeders’ Cup Sprint and Dr. Schivel and Baby Yoda among the other leading candidates for the race. The final two major preps for the Breeders’ Cup Sprint are Friday’s Grade 2 Phoenix at Keeneland and Saturday’s Grade 2 Vosburgh at Belmont Park, both Win and You’re in races.