An 11-year-old horse who has not started in 6 1/2 years was barred by officials at Charles Town Races in West Virginia from working at the track on Saturday, and the owner of the horse now says he has no plans to run the horse in the immediate future.

Awesome Actor, who had been stabled at the track for six weeks and recorded two official workouts in June, had been earlier ordered out of the backstretch area by the racing secretary and was not granted permission to return for the Saturday workout, according to Erich Zimny, the vice president of racing operations at Charles Town.

DEL MAR, Calif. – Summer vacation is well under way, but for Arrogate, vacation time is about to end. The world’s best racehorse has had nearly four months off since his victory in the Dubai World Cup, the world’s second-richest horse race, and now has his sights set on a repeat victory in the world’s third-richest horse race to cap a 2017 campaign that began with him winning the world’s richest horse race.

DEL MAR, Calif. – A precocious group of talented 2-year-olds already has been unveiled in Southern California this year, but the action ramps up considerably with the opening of Del Mar on Wednesday, and the meet’s first maiden race for 2-year-olds could be a preview of coming attractions, with promising fillies trained by Bob Baffert and Richard Mandella among the entrants.

Gabby Gaudet, who has spent the bulk of her time as a racing analyst working for The Stronach Group, will flip the script starting this summer and now spend the majority of her time working for the New York Racing Association.

For the second straight summer, Gaudet will work for NYRA at the Saratoga meet, which begins Friday. However, she will continue to work at NYRA though Dec. 2 – Cigar Mile Day at Aqueduct. Gaudet will work the entire Belmont Park fall meet.

In 2018, Gaudet will work at NYRA from Wood Memorial Day in early April through November.

Phil D’Amato does not expect to win the training title at the Del Mar summer meeting that begins Wednesday. Last year, D’Amato finished first with 23 wins, two more than Peter Miller, who he thinks will be too tough this year.

“I’m not looking in that direction,” D’Amato said on Sunday. “I do not have the kind of horses in all the categories like Pete does in the claiming ranks from $10,000 to $20,000.

“I think he’ll run a ton of horses. I’d put him as the favorite to win the training title.”

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - Trainer Mark Casse said Sunday morning that Classic Empire will not run in the $1 million Haskell and will be pointed instead to the Grade 1 Travers at Saratoga on Aug. 26.

DEL MAR, Calif. - Six of the 10 races on Del Mar's opening-day card Wednesday have overflow fields that include also-eligibles, including the featured Oceanside Stakes.

The Oceanside drew 14 runners plus two also-eligibles when entries were taken and posts drawn Saturday.

The Oceanside, for 3-year-olds at one mile on turf, is headed by Bowies Hero, who won the Del Mar Juvenile Turf here last summer and earlier this year won the Singletary at Santa Anita in his first start of the year. He most recently was fourth of seven in the Pennine Ridge at Belmont Park.

DEL MAR, Calif. – Del Mar's main track opened for training on Saturday morning, and a number of horsemen, already in town for the meet, had their horses on the track as the countdown began for opening day on Wednesday.

"Happy to be here," said Hall of Fame trainer Richard Mandella, who had numerous sets of runners visit the track, which he said "looks good so far."

The main track was banked in advance of this meet, and it's quite noticeable on the turns, where the heads of exercise riders peered over a fence that previously obscured them from view.

CYPRESS, Calif. - Four stakes, including two $100,000 races for 2-year-olds, will highlight the 12-day Los Angeles County Fair meeting at Los Alamitos from Sept. 7-24.

The track announced the concise stakes calendar on Friday on the final weekend of the summer meeting, which ends on Sunday.

The county fair meeting will have stakes on three Saturdays, beginning with the $75,000 Beverly Lewis Stakes for 3-year-old fillies at 6 1/2 furlongs and the $75,000 E.B. Johnston Stakes for California-bred milers on Sept. 9.

Stewards at Charles Town Races in West Virginia have agreed to allow an 11-year-old horse who has not started in 6 1/2 years to have a supervised workout that could lead to the horse being permitted to enter a race at the track, the stewards and the connections of the horse said this week.