Fort Erie Race Track’s 2016 meet is set to come to a close Tuesday, but the track will apply for a 40-day meet once again in 2017. If approved, the 2017 meet, which would be the 120th season of live racing at the track, would run from May 30 through Oct. 17.

The track has run on Sundays and Tuesdays over the past couple of seasons, but the application for next year also includes dates on Saturday. Fort Erie’s application is to run on Sundays and Tuesdays in June and July before changing the schedule to Saturdays and Tuesdays in August, September, and October.

Trainer Donnie Von Hemel won his 1,000th race at Remington Park on Thursday night, when Sweet Posse captured the fourth by a nose. Von Hemel is the all-time winningest trainer at the Oklahoma City track.

The 11-time stakes winner Alsono is getting some downtime, but there’s a chance he could be retired and enter stud next year in New Mexico. Trainer Justin Evans said conversations with Alsono’s ownership are ongoing to determine the next step for the 5-year-old Alsono, who is coming off an allowance score Sept. 11 at Zia.

“He’s won his last five in a row,” Evans said. “He kind of got banged around last time. They bumped him really hard going into the turn, put him into the inside rail, cut his shoulder up.”

Alsono has been turned out, said Evans.

Toews On Ice will be making his New Mexico debut in the Tuesday feature at Zia Park. He will be going for new connections in an optional $35,000 claiming sprint and figures to start as a strong favorite off a track-record performance at Los Alamitos.

ELMONT, N.Y. – Governor Malibu, a 7 1/2-length allowance winner against New York-breds last time out, worked five furlongs in 1:01.60 on Friday over the Belmont Park main track in preparation for next Saturday’s $300,000 Empire Classic.

“He worked very well, just purely a maintenance five-eighths,” trainer Christophe Clement said. “Looked well, looked sound, looked willing. All good.”

ELMONT, N.Y. – Paola Queen, the upset winner of the Grade 1 Test at Saratoga, worked a half-mile in 48.71 seconds Friday over the Belmont Park main track, a move that could lead to a start in the Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Sprint.

Paola Queen, with Javier Castellano up for trainer Gustavo Delgado, worked outside of Linda Mimi. They went the first quarter in 24.57 and the second quarter in 24.14. Paola Queen galloped out five furlongs in 1:01.01, six furlongs in 1:14.21, and seven furlongs in 1:28.49.

ELMONT, N.Y. – The featured race on Sunday’s Belmont Park card technically is the fourth, the Grade 3, $200,000 Matron Stakes for 2-year-old fillies. But another juvenile filly will garner plenty of attention later on the card.

Heavenly Grace, the first foal out of the champion mare Havre de Grace, makes her career debut in race 7, a six-furlong race that drew a field of 11.

ARCADIA, Calif. – Trainer Jack Carava was reunited with an old friend last week when he claimed the popular 9-year-old gelding Royal F J, who debuted in August 2009 and has made 79 of his 89 career starts for Carava.

Royal F J was surprisingly claimed away from Carava in March for $20,000 and finished out of the money in his next eight races while being placed in much tougher spots. He was put in an $8,000 claimer here on Oct. 6, and Carava took him back. Royal F J finished fifth, his ninth straight finish out of the money.

ARCADIA, Calif. – Trainer Bob Baffert this week said Dortmund would run in the Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile, but another major decision regarding that horse is pending. Baffert said Rafael Bejarano would not ride Dortmund in the Breeders’ Cup, but he had yet to decide who would replace him.

Bejarano rode Dortmund in his last two races, a third in the Grade 1 Pacific Classic at Del Mar and a second in the Grade 1 Awesome Again at Santa Anita. Both races were won by California Chrome.

ARCADIA, Calif. – The fleet 2-year-old Straight Fire, third in the FrontRunner Stakes in his most recent start after finishing second in the Del Mar Futurity, has been given the rest of the year off, trainer Keith Desormeaux said Friday.

“He’s been sent to Kentucky to WinStar Farm for a little break,” Desormeaux said. “We’ll get him back around Dec. 1 and concentrate on a sprint campaign for him next year.”