CYPRESS, Calif. – Field sizes continue to be a concern at the Los Alamitos eight-day summer meeting, which ends Sunday.

Nine races were originally scheduled for Saturday’s program, but the track has carded eight, including the $200,000 Los Alamitos Derby.

During the meeting’s first week July 6-9, fields averaged 6.97 starters per race, compared with 7.9 starters per race at last December’s meeting. The December meeting had the highest average field size since the track was expanded in early 2014 to host afternoon Thoroughbred races.

Led by the unbeaten Arms Runner, trainer Peter Miller may have as many as four starters in Wednesday’s $100,000 Oceanside Stakes for 3-year-olds at Del Mar.

The Oceanside Stakes, at a mile on turf, is the featured race on opening day of the track’s summer meeting. Miller’s other hopefuls include Allaboutmike, Tell Me a Story, and Vending Machine.

Arms Runner has won twice, including the Desert Code Stakes for sprinters at Santa Anita in May. This will be the longest race of his career.

“It shouldn’t be a problem,” Miller said of the distance.

Ibaka, a seven-time stakes winner who won an optional $35,000 claiming race last Saturday at Lone Star in his first out since December, could return to stakes action next month, said trainer Bret Calhoun. The horse is a candidate for the $50,000 John Henry on Aug. 5 at Louisiana Downs.

“That’s kind of what we’re thinking with him,” said Calhoun, who trains Ibaka for Doug Wall. “The timing would be very good for us, and it would be a good spot for him. So, that’s what we’re looking at right now.”

The field for the $100,000 Louisiana Legends Turf on Monday at Louisiana Down is missing a notable entrant – the millionaire String King. The horse who has won three runnings of the race had been scheduled to make his first start since December in June, but a “slight” physical setback caused him to miss 30 days of training, breeder, owner, and trainer Charlie Smith said Tuesday.

ELMONT, N.Y. – With 16 wins over the last seven racing days, including a five-win day last Saturday, Jose Ortiz has erased a nine-win deficit and for the first time at this meet has moved atop the rider standings, 59-58, over his brother Irad.

The brothers figure to have an intriguing showdown as both will be at riding at Belmont on all four days of the meet’s final week. On Thursday and Friday, Jose Ortiz was named to ride 16 of the 19 races carded, while Irad has mounts in 15 races.

ELMONT, N.Y. – War Story, the winner of the Grade 2 Brooklyn Invitational on June 10 in his most recent start, will make his next start in the Grade 1, $1.2 million Whitney Stakes at Saratoga on Aug. 5, co-owner Ron Paolucci said Wednesday.

Paolucci had initially said that War Story would run in the $200,000 West Virginia Governor’s Stakes at Mountaineer on the same day.

Paolucci said in his discussions with trainer Jorge Navarro that War Story “is doing too good.”

ELMONT, N.Y. – Disco Partner, who set a North America turf record when he ran six furlongs in 1:05.67 in winning the Grade 3 Jaipur at Belmont Park on Belmont Stakes Day, will stretch out to a mile in Saturday’s $150,000 Forbidden Apple Stakes at Belmont.

Trainer Christophe Clement noted that Disco Partner won a seven-furlong allowance race at Belmont last fall and said this is a good time to see if he can go a little farther.

A field of 11 was entered Wednesday for Saturday night’s Grade 3, $500,000 Indiana Derby, and while none of the likely participants has won more than twice, what keeps the richest race of the marathon Indiana Grand meeting from being a half-million-dollar second-level allowance is the presence of Irap.

Galactica, who owns the highest Beyer Speed Figure among 2-year-olds in North America, and Patrona Margarita, a half-sister to near-millionaire Texas Chrome, are both targeting stakes races at Lone Star Park, trainer Bret Calhoun said Wednesday.

Fillies and mares will provide the majority of trainer Richard Mandella’s stakes runners at the Del Mar summer meeting. This week, Mandella has had several notable workers at Santa Anita in advance of the barn’s move to Del Mar.

Avenge, who was third in the Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Turf at Santa Anita last November, worked six furlongs on Wednesday in 1:15.20, although Mandella timed her in 1:14. She is a candidate for the Grade 2 Yellow Ribbon Stakes at 1 1/16 miles on turf Aug. 5, with the BC Filly and Mare Turf at Del Mar on Nov. 4 a long-term goal.