FRANKFORT, KY. - A pair of races for jumpers will be added to the Sept. 5 opening day card at Kentucky Downs, following unanimous approval Monday from the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission.

The $40,000 Sport of Kings Maiden Hurdle for 4-year-old and up steeplechase maidens will be held over 2 1/4 miles on the Kentucky Downs undulating turf course. It will be contested as a non-parimutuel event under the rules of the National Steeplechase Association, and the purse for the race will come from the Kentucky Downs operating account.

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – Kirk Ziadie, Gulfstream Park’s leading trainer during the 2015 spring meet, may not be able to continue training his horses when the summer session begins Wednesday because of licensing issues with the state of Florida.

With the fiscal year in Florida and the spring meet ending Tuesday, all parimutuel employees must reapply for a new license beginning Wednesday. Ziadie reapplied for his 2015 license in May, but as of Monday the Florida Division of Pari-Mutuel Wagering had yet to act on his renewal.

Keeneland’s usually power-packed fall stakes schedule takes on even more importance this year when the track presents 23 stakes in anticipation of the first Breeders’ Cup held at the Lexington track on Oct. 30 and 31.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Departing earned an 89 Beyer Speed Figure by winning for the first time in more than a year and for the first time on turf in the closing-night feature, the Grade 2 Firecracker on Saturday at Churchill Downs.

Trainer Al Stall Jr. said Sunday the breakthrough for the 5-year-old gelding on turf means he’ll have more options in considering future starts. “We had a good time watching on the iPad,” said Stall, who was attending the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame induction ceremonies for retired trainer Frankie Brothers.

ETOBICOKE, Ontario – Plate Trial winner Danish Dynaformer and Grade 3 Marine Stakes winner Shaman Ghost were among the top contenders who worked here last weekend for Sunday’s 156th running of the $1 million Queen’s Plate at Woodbine.

The post position draw will take place in Woodbine’s walking ring Thursday morning, and as of Monday morning a field of 16 was expected for the 1 1/4-mile race for Canadian-bred 3-year-olds.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The Churchill Downs spring meet ended in dramatic fashion Saturday night when jockey Corey Lanerie rallied aboard Love Your Humor to win the final race of the 38-day meet Saturday, allowing him to edge out Julien Leparoux for the riding title.

It was another highly eventful spring at Churchill, highlighted by a victory in the May 2 Kentucky Derby by American Pharoah, who would proceed to become the first Triple Crown winner in 37 years while stabling here during most of the meet.

ARCADIA, Calif. – Santa Anita ended its 39-day spring-summer meeting Sunday with gains in ontrack attendance and all-sources handle, and a decline in ontrack handle, according to a track official.

Average ontrack handle fell 1 percent, but all-sources handle, including from simulcasting and account wagering, rose 2.3 percent over the corresponding meeting in 2014, according to marketing director Nate Newby.

Ontrack attendance rose 12 percent over last year, the first year Santa Anita ran a spring-summer meeting following the closing of Hollywood Park at the end of 2013.

ARCADIA, Calif. - Fanticola, Masochistic, and Prize Exhibit won the biggest races of their careers at Santa Anita on Saturday.

Fanticola won the $201,000 Royal Heroine Stakes, a Grade 2 for fillies and mares at a mile on turf. Masochistic won his Grade 1 debut in the $300,500 Triple Bend Stakes at seven furlongs. Prize Exhibit won the $101,000 Senorita Stakes, a Grade 3 for 3-year-old fillies at a mile on turf.

Each is likely to run in races of equal or greater value at Del Mar later this summer.

ARCADIA, Calif. – Last winter, owners Kosta and Pete Hronis and trainer John Sadler were looking for a prospect for the leading races for older horses in California through the year. When they reached a deal to acquire Hard Aces, they bought much more.

They bought a horse bound for the Breeders’ Cup Classic at Keeneland on Oct. 31.

Hard Aces won his first graded stakes in Saturday’s $501,500 Gold Cup at Santa Anita. The race is part of the Breeders’ Cup Win and You’re In program, offering a fees-paid berth to the BC Classic.

Hard Aces has a clear autumn goal.

ARCADIA, Calif. - American Pharoah did not race at Santa Anita on Saturday, but he was the star of a 10-race program that included four graded stakes.

Between the seventh and eighth races, American Pharoah was paraded in the walking ring and onto the racetrack before an enthusiastic crowd that track officials estimated at 20,000. In some places on the path from the walking ring to the racetrack, racing fans of all ages were lined up six to eight deep to get a close-up look at the 2015 Triple Crown winner.