Thomas Conway, a horse owner and former Kentucky Horse Racing Commission member, died on Saturday at Baptist Health Hospital on Sept. 18 of complications arising from a recent fall, according to family members. Conway, who was the father of former Kentucky Attorney General Jack Conway, was 83.

ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, Ill. – Stately Victor rubbed shoulders with some of the big names in the sport last year. Winners of his last five starts include Wise Dan, St. Nicholas Abbey, and Acclamation, and excepting a dud in the Clark Handicap, Stately Victor did not embarrass himself against the high-end competition.

What he did not do, however, is win. Stately Victor’s last victory came in September 2010, and though he looks competitive in the featured fifth race Friday at Arlington, there are good reasons to wonder whether Stately Victor’s losing skein will drag on.

Keeneland ends its 15-day meet Friday in Lexington with not only a terrific renewal of the Elkhorn Stakes, but also three allowance races that drew some recognizable names, most notably Stately Victor, winner of the 2010 Blue Grass Stakes. Remarkably, even with earnings of more than $900,000, Stately Victor is still eligible for the third-level restriction that governs the sixth race and is listed as the 8-5 favorite to go through that allowance condition when facing five other older horses for a $62,000 purse in the 1 1/8-mile Polytrack race.

ETOBICOKE, Ontario – Don Cavallo and Stately Victor, who both competed in the Grade 1 Pacific Classic, head a tiny five-horse field in Sunday’s Grade 3, $150,000 Durham Cup Stakes at Woodbine.

Don Cavallo ran the race of his life here two starts ago in the Grade 3 Dominion Day Stakes. He pressed the early pace in the 1 1/4-mile fixture, and then opened up a big lead on the far turn before coasting home on top by nearly four lengths, earning a Beyer Speed Figure of 98.

Stately Victor and Southern Anthem appear primed to put on a show through the stretch run of Saturday night’s Grade 3, $200,000 Connally Cup Turf at Sam Houston Race Park. Both horses registered their biggest career wins at the handicap’s 1 1/8-mile distance, and each is thriving heading into what is the richest race of the meet.

It has been quite a year for the 3-year-old Stately Victor. A handful of disappointing races were intermingled with a couple of eye-poppers, most notably his 40-1 upset in the Grade 1 Blue Grass Stakes in April.

The latest appearance by Stately Victor resulted in a dismal 10th-place finish in the Grade 1 Clark Handicap, but trainer Mike Maker is hoping a return to Polytrack and a sizable dip in class will help the colt end the year on a positive note as the likely favorite Saturday in the $50,000 Prairie Bayou Stakes at Turfway Park in Florence, Ky.

LEXINGTON, Ky. – As Keeneland concludes its fifth fall meet with Polytrack as the main racing surface, the general consensus is that horses with established synthetic form tend to have an edge, although grass horses also fare well on Poly. These handicapping tenets will be mixed and matched to their limits Saturday when the $150,000 Fayette Stakes helps to close the 17-day fall meet.