ELMONT, N.Y. – Travers winner Catholic Boy will forgo a prep race and will train up to the $6 million Breeders’ Cup Classic on Nov. 3 at Churchill Downs, trainer Jonathan Thomas said Wednesday.

Following the Travers, which Catholic Boy won by four lengths, Thomas had said that he might look to use the Hill Prince, a 1 1/8-mile turf race for 3-year-olds at Belmont on Oct. 6, as a stepping-stone to the Classic. But upon further review, Thomas and his ownership group – headed by Robert LaPenta – felt training Catholic Boy up to the Classic is the preferred way to go.

The Friday opening card of the Monmouth-at-Meadowlands all-turf meet was canceled Tuesday afternoon due to wet conditions and the anticipation of more rain on the way.

It rained in Northern New Jersey on Sunday and Monday, and more precipitation is possible Wednesday. Hurricane Florence is forecast to come ashore in the Carolinas early Friday, and that storm could send high winds and additional moisture north.

John Heims, the director of racing at Monmouth Park and for the six-day Meadowlands season, said Saturday would now serve as the meet opener.

Handle on races held at Monmouth Park in Oceanport, N.J., during the track’s 52-day summer meet slid significantly on a per-race basis, according to data released by the track on Sunday, the end of the meet.

The Rainbow 6 will have a jackpot carryover of $120,801 into Thursday’s card at Gulfstream.

The sequence for the 20-cent bet starts in the fourth race, a maiden special weight for 2-year-old fillies at five-eighths on the grass. The probable favorite is Kintra for trainer Jonathan Thomas. There is a first post of 2 p.m. Eastern.

Jockey Miguel Vasquez, who was off his mounts Sunday at Gulfstream after being thrown during a race the day before, will return to action Thursday, according to his agent, Peter Wright.

Vasquez was taken to a local hospital for X-rays Saturday after he was thrown from Surprise Wedding when she clipped heels in the Sheer Drama Stakes. He was released from the hospital Saturday night, Wright said.

Following his dominant win in last Friday’s $75,000 Mo Exception at GulfstreamPark, Deland has races at Churchill Downs and Gulfstream among his options over the next several months.

Trainer Victor Barboza Jr. said possible spots for Deland include the Grade 2, $200,000 Marathon Stakes at 1 3/4 miles on Nov. 2 at Churchill Downs and the $200,000 Sunshine Millions Classic at 1 1/8 miles at Gulfstream, probably in January. The date of the Sunshine Millions has not been set, but it was run Jan. 20 this year.

In a preemptive move so one of Laurel Park's best racing programs of the year isn’t adversely affected by Hurricane Florence, track management on Monday moved its seven De Francis Dash Day stakes back from this Saturday to Sept. 22.

Florence, which was upgraded to a Category 4 hurricane with winds of 130 miles per hour late Monday morning, is forecast to come ashore late Thursday or early Friday in the Carolinas and then worked its way inland and north, bringing poor weather to Maryland.

ETOBICOKE, Ontario – A terrific weekend of turf racing is on tap at Woodbine, with four Grade 1 races scheduled over Saturday and Sunday, headlined by Saturday’s Grade 1, $800,000 Woodbine Mile.

As of Monday morning, nine horses were likely to enter the starting gate for the Woodbine Mile, led by multiple Grade 1 winner Divisidero.

FRANKLIN, Ky. – Mike Maker will resume his assault on the record books Wednesday at Kentucky Downs when his specialties dovetail into what the trainer hopes is yet another productive afternoon.

Jockey Kendrick Carmouche underwent successful surgery Sunday night at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville after suffering a hairline fracture of his right femur in a spill that occurred Saturday in the Kentucky Downs Juvenile Turf Sprint.

Carmouche, based in New York, is expected to be sidelined at least four months, according to his agent, Kevin Bubser.