Delta Downs will put the spotlight on Louisiana-breds during its meet, which opens Oct. 17 and runs for 84 dates through March 9. The track has announced plans to run 28 stakes worth a cumulative $2.2 million, with 18 of those races restricted to horses bred in Louisiana.

The Feb. 9 Louisiana Premier Night program of 10 stakes for Louisiana-breds – four of them starter stakes – will serve as the meet’s richest card. Purses that day will total $895,000. The card will be topped by the meet’s two richest races, the $150,000 Championship and the $125,000 Distaff.

Trainer Brian Koriner plans to start Steph Being Steph in Saturday’s $75,000 Beverly Lewis Stakes, a six-furlong race for 3-year-old fillies at Los Alamitos. As of Wednesday morning, hours before entries were finalized, Koriner was debating whether to also start Spiced Perfection.

“There is nowhere else to run,” he said. “I might have to run.”

Spiced Perfection, owned by Dare to Dream Stable, has won two stakes against statebreds. She won an optional claimer at six furlongs at Del Mar on Aug. 24. The 15-day turnaround to the Beverly Lewis is a concern for Koriner.

Lone Sailor closed for second as the favorite in the Grade 3, $300,000 Super Derby on Sunday at Louisiana Downs, and he emerged from the race in good order, trainer Tom Amoss said Wednesday.

“He’s fine, back at Churchill Downs,” Amoss said. “He ran his race. The race kind of got away from us. We weren’t able to catch up at the end. But, no excuses. We ran our race.”

The next stop could be the Grade 3, $400,000 Oklahoma Derby on Sept. 30 at Remington Park.

“We’re going to regroup, but certainly the Oklahoma Derby is something we’re thinking about,” Amoss said.

Vasilika is expected to have her Grade 1 debut in the $300,000 Rodeo Drive Stakes for fillies and mares at Santa Anita on Sept. 29 after winning her sixth consecutive race in the Grade 2 John Mabee Stakes at Del Mar last Saturday.

The Rodeo Drive Stakes is run at 1 1/4 miles on turf and is a key prep for the Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Turf at Churchill Downs on Nov. 3. Trainer Jerry Hollendorfer stopped short of calling the BC Filly and Mare Turf a goal for Vasilika, but the $2 million race is in his thoughts.

DEL MAR, Calif. – Del Mar will run a 16-day fall meeting in November and early December, including a first-ever Monday program at that time of year.

The season begins on Friday, Nov. 9, and continues through Dec. 2. Racing will be held on a Friday-through-Monday basis during the first week to include a Veterans Day program on Monday, Nov. 12, track officials said.

ETOBICOKE, Ontario – Vito Armata knows the chestnut Vanish will be a longshot when he runs him in next Saturday’s $800,000 Woodbine Mile, but the affable trainer is no stranger to pulling off a massive upset in a stakes.

In 2002, Armata saddled 82-1 outsider T J’s Lucky Moon to win the $1 million Queen’s Plate. He was the longest-priced winner in the modern history of the storied event.

Following a 19-day break to allow for the state fair meet at Timonium, Laurel Park springs back to life Friday for the three-day-a-week fall season, which runs through the end of the year.

The down time at Laurel allowed for maintenance of the main track and turf course. In and around the grandstand, several capital improvement projects are under way.

Laurel will serve as the wagering hub for the new Stronach 5, which begins Sept. 28. Two new offtrack-betting locations are expected to open in the coming weeks.

DEL MAR, Calif. – Bob Baffert had conflicting emotions Tuesday morning at Del Mar over the result of the Del Mar Futurity on Monday, for while he was gratified that Game Winner prevailed while being wheeled back on short rest, he admitted he was “really disappointed” over the way favored Roadster performed.

Game Winner won the Grade 1 Futurity just 16 days after a maiden win, his victory was the 14th for Baffert in the Futurity in the last 23 runnings. Game Winner got a Beyer Speed Figure of 93, a 16-point improvement from his maiden victory.

Limation won the richest race at Louisiana Downs on Sunday when he captured the Grade 3, $300,000 Super Derby.

Now, he’s being pointed for the marquee race at Remington Park.

“I expect the Oklahoma Derby to be next for him,” trainer Steve Asmussen said Tuesday.

The Grade 3, $400,000 Oklahoma Derby will be run Sept. 30. Asmussen and Mike Langford – who owns Limation – teamed to win the race last year with Untrapped.

DEL MAR, Calif. – Del Mar had another strong increase in handle and a small decline in on-track attendance following a summer season that ended on Monday that featured robust field size and, in contrast to issues that plagued the track several years ago, extremely safe racing.

Del Mar reported all sources handle averaging $13.44 million per day, a gain of 6.8 percent from last year, and that followed a 5.1 percent gain from 2016 to 2017.

The betting numbers likely were due in part to another year-over-year increase in field size, this time to 8.7 runners per race.