DEL MAR, Calif. - Del Mar had to refund $527,606 in wagers on Sunday after Papa Papa Papa was declared a non-starter in race 9. The stewards ruled his break from the gate had been compromised because the gate opened simultaneous to an assistant starter grabbing his head to keep him straightened.

It was an unfortunate, split-second incident, but Papa Papa Papa got off well behind the field, rushed up, then tired and was eased. Stewards ruled he had not been afforded a fair chance, and ordered refunds.

FRANKLIN, Ky. – Da Big Hoss, an earner of nearly $1.1 million since being claimed last fall, has been training right along since winning the American St. Leger Stakes at Arlington on Aug. 13, with his latest move being a five-furlong breeze Saturday in 1:01.80 at the Trackside training center in Louisville, Ky.

Mo Tom is a go for the Grade 3, $400,000 Super Derby at Louisiana Downs on Saturday.

Mo Tom breezed Monday at Churchill Downs and was scheduled to fly to Shreveport, La., on Tuesday, according to trainer Tom Amoss. Mo Tom, the winner of the Ohio Derby, worked a half-mile in 49.80 seconds.

“We’re definitely coming,” Amoss said after training hours Monday. “He got his last breeze in. We’ll get him there and look forward to running on Saturday.”

FRANKLIN, Ky. – All-sources handle for the opening-day card last Saturday at Kentucky Downs was $4,603,240, a record for a 10-race card at the turf-only track.

The Kentucky Downs record of $5,071,415 was set last Sept. 19 on a 13-race program, and track officials are hoping that mark will fall this Saturday without competition from Saratoga and Del Mar. It’s the premier card of a five-day meet that runs through Sept. 15, with the Grade 3 Kentucky Turf Cup highlighting a program that includes four stakes.

DEL MAR, Calif. - There were no rowdy celebrations Saturday evening after Union Strike won the $300,690 Del Mar Debutante to give trainer Shelbe Ruis her first Grade 1 victory.

Instead, it was straight home in advance of an early start Sunday. Even Sunday, as Ruis handled business for her 21-horse stable, the magnitude of the Debutante victory proved elusive.

“It’s still sinking in,” she said. “I can’t believe it. I knew she was a good horse.”

Magic Mark is approaching Saturday’s $75,000 E.B. Johnston Stakes at Los Alamitos in peak form.

On Sunday at Del Mar, Magic Mark worked a half-mile in 47.20 seconds, the fastest of 50 recorded works at the distance. The Johnston Stakes, run at a mile for California-breds, will be Magic Mark’s third start following a year-long layoff.

Magic Mark was fourth in the Thor’s Echo Stakes for California-bred sprinters at Santa Anita on July 4 and won a division of the Harry Brubaker Stakes against open company at a mile at Del Mar on Aug. 24, his second stakes win.

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – Tom’s Ready, the winner of the Grade 2 Woody Stephens who finished ninth in the Grade 1 King’s Bishop, could make his next start in the Grade 2 Kelso at Belmont on Oct. 8, trainer Dallas Stewart said. The Kelso is a one-turn mile and could be a stepping-stone to the Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile.

Stewart said the King’s Bishop was a throw-out race in his mind.

“Scrap it,” Stewart said. “Pace was so slow, he was way, way wide, and he got caught up [in traffic] at the eighth pole. It was one thing after another.”

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – Comfort, the runner-up to Frosted in the Grade 1 Whitney on Aug. 6, will prep for the $1 million Jockey Club Gold Cup by running in next Saturday’s $100,000 Seattle Slew Stakes at Belmont Park, trainer Todd Pletcher said.

Pletcher opted to skip Saturday’s Grade 1 Woodward and point to the Jockey Club Gold Cup but thought the Seattle Slew, run at 1 1/16 miles, would be a good bridge to the Gold Cup on Oct. 8.

“He likes Belmont,” Pletcher said. “It might be easier to get a race over the track rather than train all the  way up to the Gold Cup.”

DEL MAR, Calif. – Kentucky Derby winner Nyquist worked one mile in 1:41.80 on Saturday at San Luis Rey Downs, his second drill since moving to that training facility one month ago. Exercise rider Jonny Garcia was up.

“He looks fantastic. His weight is great,” said trainer Doug O’Neill. “He got a good blow over the track. It’s got a great cushion. I’m very happy with how he’s done here. We’re headed the right way.”

DEL MAR, Calif. – The champions California Chrome and Stellar Wind are not scheduled to race in September. They probably could be ready to run on a moment’s notice judging from the enthusiasm of their trainers on Saturday.

California Chrome and Stellar Wind are set to run in Grade 1 races worth $300,000 at Santa Anita on Oct. 1 – California Chrome in the Awesome Again Stakes at 1 1/8 miles and Stellar Wind in the Zenyatta Stakes at
1 1/16 miles.