There are certain stories that command thoughtful attention over a prolonged period of time and then come to an end, resolved and neatly packaged, finally arriving at a place to be treated as accomplished historical fact.

DEL MAR, Calif. – Don’t bother looking for any patterns to the moves made by the managers of the major summer race meetings during this year of lowered expectations.

For those concerned with Monmouth Park, the hope has been that considerably less will turn out to be significantly more. So far, the figures indicate that might have happened. At Saratoga, which opens Friday, fingers are crossed that more in terms of racing days will mean just that – more, across the board.

NEW YORK - Saratoga opens Friday for a 40-day meeting, the longest at the beloved upstate track since 1882. The meet has grown from 24 to 30 to 36 and now 40 days over the last two decades, each time for the same reason and raising the same questions about geese and golden eggs.

Now that David Hofmans has proved he can win Breeders’ Cup races of all shapes and sizes with horses such as Alphabet Soup, Adoration, and Desert Code, dash the Triple Crown hopes of a hungry nation in the Belmont Stakes with Touch Gold, and develop any number of fast young fillies and colts into major stakes winners, let’s see if he can finally plug a hole in his r é sum é and win a decent race on the grass with an older horse over a distance of ground.

Now that David Hofmans has proved he can win Breeders' Cup races of all shapes and sizes with horses such as Alphabet Soup, Adoration, and Desert Code, dash the Triple Crown hopes of a hungry nation in the Belmont Stakes with Touch Gold, and develop any number of fast young fillies and colts into major stakes winners, let's see if he can finally plug a hole in his resume and win a decent race on the grass with an older horse over a distance of ground.

Now that David Hofmans has proved he can win Breeders' Cup races of all shapes and sizes with horses such as Alphabet Soup, Adoration, and Desert Code, dash the Triple Crown hopes of a hungry nation in the Belmont Stakes with Touch Gold, and develop any number of fast young fillies and colts into major stakes winners, let's see if he can finally plug a hole in his r sum and win a decent race on the grass with an older horse over a distance of ground.

NEW YORK - Saratoga opens Friday for a 40-day meeting, the longest at the beloved upstate track since 1882. The meet has grown from 24 to 30 to 36 and now 40 days over the last two decades, each time for the same reason and raising the same questions about geese and golden eggs.

INGLEWOOD, Calif. – On Saturday, at the California State Fairgrounds in Sacramento, the Jerry Hollendorfer stable will be represented by the 4-year-old filly Broadway Hennessey in the $75,000 California State Fair Sprint Handicap on the main track, which is just as well, since there is only a main track.

No one should get ahead of the story. There is no reason yet to breath easy. The good news is that there still could be a happy ending. The bad news . . . well, in racing there is always a chance for bad news.

Wednesday Column by Mike Watchmaker

NEW YORK – It may seem hard to believe, but when Sunday’s racing was over, 2010’s “great experiment” at Monmouth Park was almost at the half way point. Sunday was card number 24 at the “Elite Race Meet” at Monmouth, where a drastic reduction in racing dates to a three-day-a-week schedule this year enabled the track to offer a daily purse distribution that blows every other U.S. track out of the water.