The preliminaries are all but over for the Breeders’ Cup Mile, and in a typical year of the current era, the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes, part of British Champions Day at Ascot, would only possess marginal meaning vis-à-vis the BC Mile.

Apparently, this is not a typical year.

The QE II, over a straight mile, will be run Saturday, and perhaps seven horses that start in it might have Breeders’ Cup designs. Those animals are Recoletos, Roaring Lion, Lord Glitters, Lightning Spear, Expert Eye, Laurens, and Gustav Klimt.

Most of the leading candidates for the inaugural Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint are heading into the race off victories in their final prep races, including the Win and You’re In qualifiers. But one of the strongest candidates for the race may have turned in his most impressive performance in defeat recently.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Workouts the next two Saturdays at Santa Anita will determine Skye Diamonds’s status for the $1 million Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Sprint as a sizable field for the Nov. 3 race continues to come into focus.

With four wins in 11 renewals of the race, trainer Aidan O’Brien knows what it takes to win the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf. That doesn’t mean he yet knows whom he’s taking to the race this year.

“We really don’t know about the mile turf for boys just yet,” O’Brien said Tuesday in a phone conversation, referring to the Juvenile Turf, contested over one mile on the relatively tight Churchill Downs grass course Nov. 2.

New York’s top juvenile fillies already accomplished more than merely winning Grade 1 races. Don’t believe it? Before wagering on the Breeders’ Cup, the Frizette at Belmont Park and the Spinaway at Saratoga merit review.

Neither race unfolded according to plan for Jaywalk and Sippican Harbor. One filly was going too fast, the other too slow.

Jaywalk entered the one-mile Frizette following an off-the-pace victory in a minor stakes at Delaware Park. In a phone interview this week, trainer John Servis said he expected similar tactics under new rider Joel Rosario.

ETOBICOKE, Ontario – My Gal Betty is on target for the Nov. 2 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf at Churchill after working to trainer Roger Attfield’s satisfaction last Sunday. In company with Final Copy, she breezed five-eighths in 1:00.40 over the turf training course at Woodbine.

“She’s doing great,” Attfield said. “She had a beautiful little easy breeze [Sunday] morning. She’ll have a stiffer work next weekend.”

The field for the $1 million Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint continues to grow, and in the last week picked up two Kentucky-based mares and a listed stakes winner in France. When pre-entries are taken Monday, the Breeders’ Cup selection committee will face some difficult decisions on who gets into the body of the 14-horse field and which horses are relegated to the also-eligible list.

The first seven entrants in the 5 1/2-furlong race are Breeders’ Cup Win and You’re In horses and the leaders based on a graded stakes point system. The remaining seven slots are filled by the committee.

Delta Downs in Vinton, La., will ring in its new meet Wednesday night with elevated purses, full fields, and some notable new faces in the entries. The season will run for 84 dates through March 9.

The track has long been the home of the Grade 3, $1 million Delta Downs Jackpot, but that race has been canceled for the second year in a row – due to Hurricane Harvey in 2017 and on the recommendation of the Louisiana Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association in 2018.

The wind blowing from the Chicago racing circuit has been chill for years now, but somehow Arlington flew in the face of it to post considerable handle gains during a 71-day 2018 meet that ended Sept. 22.

Gross handle compared to 2017 (during which Arlington also ran a 71-day meet) increased $15.9 million, up 11.3 percent, to $157,036,147. Average daily handle was $2,211,777 this year, while handle per race rose 7.7 percent to $254,929 and handle per starter was up 4.3 percent to $34,161.

LEXINGTON, Ky. – Two weeks of frustration came pouring out of Corey Lanerie as he gave an enthusiastic wave of his whip after crossing under the wire a winner in the seventh race at Keeneland on Sunday.

“Acting crazy,” Lanerie said early Monday with a laugh.