Not long after winning the Clark Stakes on Nov. 30, Magnitude shipped south and settled comfortably into his winter home in the Steve Asmussen barn at Fair Grounds. His next race comes far from home: the $20 million Saudi Cup on Feb. 14 at King Abdulaziz Racecourse in Riyadh.

“Magnitude will be in New Orleans until he gets on a plane and goes to Saudi Arabia,” said David Fiske, racing manager for Ron Winchell’s Winchell Thoroughbreds, Magnitude’s owner. “He’s doing great. I get videos of him every morning.”

Trainer Andy Simoff sent Jumping the Gun back home for a well-deserved winter layoff on Tuesday, a break that will likely last six to seven weeks. The Delaware Park-based juvenile filly capped her 2025 campaign with a runner-up finish in the Grade 2 Demoiselle on Saturday at Aqueduct.

Despite finishing 8 1/2 lengths behind the Todd Pletcher-trained filly Zany, Simoff said he was happy with Jumping the Gun’s effort in graded stakes company. In five career starts, including two stakes wins at Delaware, she has never finished worse than second.

Quint’s Brew, runner-up in the Grade 2 Carter and Grade 3 Westchester earlier this year, could make his long-awaited return later this month after a successful training stint at Delaware Park. Trainer Ned Allard remains cautious, but nominating him for the $100,000 Bender Memorial on Dec. 20 at Laurel Park could be a strong hint.

“There’s a couple spots, but I don’t even want to mention them,” Allard said. “I might take advantage of an allowance race just to get started back, but it’s going to be hard to resist the Maryland-bred race on the 20th.”

HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – Oaklawn Park might be more than 120 years old, but its team has managed to give each passing meet a fresh feel. That will again be the case Friday when the Arkansas track launches a 64-date season that continues through May 2.

The changes start with a new racing format. Oaklawn will put on a holiday meet through Jan. 4. Then, after a three-week break, the track will return with a classic meet from Jan. 30 to May 2.

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – Nobody was looking forward to the $125,000 Tropical Park Oaks here Saturday more than the Tampa Bay Downs-based trainer Gerald Bennett, whose Crafty Collector figured to be among the favorites in the final Florida stakes this season in which 3-year-old fillies get to race against their own age group.

OZONE PARK, N.Y. – As is the case every year, trainers Todd Pletcher and Chad Brown are watching several accomplished horses leave their barn for the breeding shed. As is the case, almost every year, there appear to be suitable replacements to fill the void.

Pletcher bid adieu to older males Fierceness, Locked, and Mindframe, who in 2025 alone combined to win four Grade 1 stakes.

The former claimer Bartholdy will be entered in the Grade 2 Laffit Pincay Jr. Stakes at Santa Anita on Dec. 26 after recording an upset win in a tough 6 1/2-furlong allowance at Del Mar on Nov. 30. The $200,000 Pincay Stakes is run at 1 1 1/16 miles.

Bartholdy, claimed for $50,000 in August 2024, disputed the pace throughout the Nov. 30 race and won by 1 1/4 lengths. He earned a career-best Beyer Speed Figure of 98.

The performance convinced trainer and co-owner Steve Knapp to consider the Pincay Stakes.