The forecast for weather and racing conditions favors the Del Mar summer meeting that begins Friday.

Turf racing resumes in Southern California following the closure of the Santa Anita course for renovation June 19. There are four turf races on Friday’s 10-race program.

The popular champions California Chrome and Beholder are scheduled to run in major stakes in July, building toward an expected first meeting in the $1 million Pacific Classic on Aug. 20. Those dates are circled on the calendars of their die-hard supporters.

Last winter, Trevor Denman traded Los Angeles-area traffic for a more tranquil pace on his Minnesota farm. Denman stunned Southern California racing when he announced his immediate retirement from calling the races at Santa Anita prior to the start of the track’s winter-spring meeting in December.

He did not call time on his career at Del Mar.

On Friday’s opening day of Del Mar’s summer meeting, Denman, 63, will be back in an announcer’s booth for the first time since last November. He said he will be ready to resume work and is a bit anxious following the lengthy break.

Trainer Shelbe Ruis will have a high-profile rookie season at Del Mar this summer.

Ruis, 25, has a 14-horse stable consisting primarily of 2-year-olds purchased in recent months by her father, Mick, at sales in California, Florida, and Maryland. The group includes more than $2.1 million in acquisitions, led by a Medaglia d’Oro colt bought for $600,000 in May and a Union Rags filly purchased for $375,000 in April.

The runners have been gearing toward Del Mar.

I'm a Chatterbox should rule a heavy favorite in the marquee race of the Delaware Park season on Saturday when she faces five rivals in the Grade 1 Delaware Handicap.

I'm a Chatterbox has started only twice this season, tuning up for the $750,000 Del Cap with an 8 1/2-length victory in the Obeah Stakes at Delaware Park on June 11. Trained by Larry Jones, she began her 4-year-old season by finishing second in the Grade 3 Doubledogdare at Keeneland.

"I like that we have a race over the track and nobody else will," Jones said.

A number of notable changes have been made to the stakes schedule at this fall’s Laurel Park meet.

The Maryland Jockey Club has added five stakes to the schedule, increased the purses of three races, and decreased the value of three others. The total value of this year’s stakes schedule is $3.25 million – not counting Maryland Million Day or Claiming Crown Preview Day – an increase of $150,000 from 2015.

There are seven major stakes days during the meet, which include all but two of the fall meet’s stakes. The Laurel fall meet runs Sept. 9 to Dec. 31.

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - Belmont Stakes winner Creator and Kentucky Derby third-place finisher Gun Runner both worked for the first time on Tuesday since their arrival in Saratoga last week.

Creator went a solo half-mile in 49.40, according to Daily Racing Form clocker Mike Vesce, completing his final quarter in 24.20 before galloping out five-eighths in 1:03 and pulling up six furlongs in 1:16.40.

Louisiana Downs has drawn entries for its all-turf card for Saturday. The seven races on the program are all scheduled to be run over the Franks course, with the highlight a $17,500 optional-claiming race at a mile. There were 62 horses entered for Saturday.

Louisiana Downs plans to bring in its former announcer, Travis Stone, as a special guest. Stone just called the recent meet at Churchill Downs. First post is 3:15 p.m. Central. The long-range Weather Channel forecast calls for sunny skies and a high of 98 degrees, with a 10 percent chance of precipitation.

ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, Ill. – Jockey Chris Emigh was released Monday morning from Northwest Community Hospital, where he’d been since his mount in the second race on Saturday bolted through the portable inner rail on the Arlington turf course and pitched Emigh to the ground in a scary spill.

Emigh had a concussion, a broken toe, and a broken thumb but could return to riding in about three weeks if all goes well, according to his agent, Jodie Sinclair.

ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, Ill. – Trainer Larry Rivelli unveiled his second impressive 2-year-old debut winner by Shackleford at this meet when Wellabled romped to victory in the first race Saturday.

Granted, he made the lead over a main track that was kind to early speed all last week, but Wellabled still impressed, turning back an upper-stretch challenge from Godolphin first-timer Guernsey to win by 7 1/2 lengths. He ran five furlongs in 57.68 seconds and got a 78 Beyer Speed Figure.

ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, Ill. – Three of the four winners of the Million Preview Day stakes last Saturday are likely to return to Arlington for corresponding races on Arlington Million Day, Aug. 13.

Kasaqui, the winner of the Arlington Handicap, is likely for the Million itself, a race that became a lot more appealing to horsemen after Chad Brown said that Flintshire would race at Saratoga and not Arlington in August.