ARCADIA, Calif. - Without a guaranteed berth for the Kentucky Derby on May 6, there is no certainty Royal Mo will be sent to Churchill Downs next weekend. That has not kept trainer John Shirreffs from preparing the colt in the event a spot develops in coming days.

Shirreffs and owners Jerry and Ann Moss already have a starter with Gormley, the winner of the Santa Anita Derby on April 8. Royal Mo was third in that race, beaten a length.

ELMONT, N.Y. – Battalion Runner and Cloud Computing, the second- and third-place finishers behind Irish War Cry in the Grade 2 Wood Memorial at Aqueduct on April 8, both put in workouts Saturday over the training track at Belmont Park in preparation for different Triple Crown races.

ARCADIA, Calif. – Songbird, the two-time champion filly, is likely to have her first start of 2017 in early June, trainer Jerry Hollendorfer said on Saturday.

Songbird worked a half-mile in 48.80 seconds at Santa Anita on Saturday. Afterward, Hollendorfer said two Grade 1 races for fillies and mares are being considered – the $400,000 Beholder Mile at Santa Anita on June 3 or the $750,000 Ogden Phipps Stakes at 1 1/16 miles at Belmont Park on June 10. The Beholder Mile was previously known as the Vanity Mile.

ARCADIA, Calif. – Gormley and Battle of Midway, the first two finishers in the Grade 1 Santa Anita Derby on April 8, worked independently at Santa Anita on Saturday in advance of the Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs on May 6.

Gormley, trained by John Shirreffs, worked six furlongs in 1:15.80 in company with stablemate Oregon.

Battle of Midway, trained by Jerry Hollendorfer, also worked in company and was timed in 1:00.60 for five furlongs.

OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Looking to take advantage of growing interest in turf racing and a lack of races run at marathon distances on that surface, the New York Racing Association will increase purses for turf races at 10 furlongs or longer to $90,000 at the Belmont spring-summer meet, which begins Friday.

OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Shagaf, the winner of the 2016 Gotham Stakes, returns from a layoff of nearly one year in a third-level allowance race Sunday at Aqueduct. It will be Shagaf’s first start since he was eased while finishing last in the Kentucky Derby.

Shagaf came out of the Derby with chips in his left knee and left front ankle that were surgically removed. Shagaf rejoined trainer Chad Brown’s stable at Palm Meadows this winter and returned to the work tab in mid-January.

Bode Miller, an Olympic gold medalist in alpine skiing, is like all those who participate in that sport: a risk taker. Now, Miller is participating in another high-risk endeavor, horse racing, buying a small interest in Spiral Stakes winner Fast and Accurate ahead of the May 6 Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Four of the major contenders for the May 5 Kentucky Oaks already have settled in at Churchill Downs, with Miss Sky Warrior among those sent here in time to have a couple of serious breezes over the local surface.

Miss Sky Warrior arrived Monday from south Florida and breezed Thursday, going a half-mile in 49 seconds.

“In watching the weather, I wanted to get in a little early,” trainer Kelly Breen said Friday. “She’ll have one more work next week. I just want to get her as good as I can possibly get her.”

VANCOUVER, British Columbia – It isn’t by accident that the 52-day Hastings meet that begins Sunday has one of the track’s strongest opening-day cards in recent memory. Incentive programs put in place in recent years are beginning to pay off.

According to racing secretary Nichelle Milner, there are more than 100 additional horses stabled on the grounds than were here at this time last year.

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – Always Dreaming and Gunnevera will say goodbye to south Florida in the next few days – but not before the winners of the Grade 1 Florida Derby and Grade 2 Fountain of Youth here this winter turned in their final local workouts Friday for the Kentucky Derby.

Always Dreaming and stablemate Patch, who is also being pointed to the Derby by trainer Todd Pletcher, worked at their winter home, the Palm Beach Downs training center in Delray. Gunnevera worked at his permanent residence at Gulfstream Park West.