ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, Ill. – Solitary Ranger went for farm rest and recuperation this spring still a maiden, but when trainer Wayne Catalano began readying the colt for a second-half campaign, Catalano pointed for the Arlington-Washington Futurity rather than a race for nonwinners. And why not: Catalano won the 2010 Futurity with the maiden Major Gain, and he won it again Saturday when Solitary Ranger beat off a moderate challenge from Whyruawesome to win the Grade 3, $150,000 Futurity by 5 1/2 lengths.

FRANKLIN, Ky. – Longtime Southern California rider David Flores shifted his tack to Kentucky this fall, in large part because of the lucrative purses at Kentucky Downs.

On Saturday, opening day at Kentucky Downs, it immediately paid off, with the veteran jockey winning two of the first seven races at the all-turf track, including the $130,937 Kentucky Downs Ladies Sprint on To My Valentine.

To My Valentine, a 3-year-old filly by Dyhim Diamond who raced in France as a juvenile last year, used her speed to prove victorious in the Ladies Sprint.

ELMONT, N.Y. - Different venue, same results for Ken and Sarah Ramsey and Javier Castellano.

After the Ramseys set a single-meet record for wins (22) by an owner at a Saratoga meet, their red and white colors were in the Belmont Park winner’s circle on Saturday’s opening-day program as Hyper held off Finnegans Wake in the stretch to win the Grade 2, $250,000 Bowling Green Handicap by a half-length. It was two lengths back to Boisterous, the 3-5 favorite, in third.

BOSSIER CITY, La. – Grandma’s Rules pulled clear for a 2 1/2-length win over Queenie Vic in the $100,000 River Cities Stakes on Saturday at Louisiana Downs. It was another length back to Miss Addison in third.

Grandma’s Rules ($9.20) tracked Queenie Vic through six furlongs in 1:11.78 in the 1 1/16-mile turf race for fillies and mares. In the stretch, she worked to get past the leader through a mile in 1:35.67. Grandma’s Rules then shuttled clear late while covering the distance in 1:42.06.

A change of tactics by new rider Rajiv Maragh helped Are You Kidding Me win for the first time in more than a year Saturday at Delaware Park.

Unlike two of his last three starts, in which Are You Kidding Me was placed far back, Maragh sent the 3-year-old Woodbine-based colt to the front through slow early fractions of 25.20 and 48.69 seconds in the Grade 3, $200,000 Kent Stakes. Going slow early left Are You Kidding Me ($4.80) with plenty of energy for the stretch drive and he drew clear to win easily by four lengths while just missing the turf course record for 1 1/8 miles.

ETOBICOKE, Ontario - Longshot Professor’s Ride held off favored Strut the Course to notch her first stakes victory Saturday at Woodbine in the $125,000 La Prevoyante.

Professor’s Ride ($32.70) stalked the leader Silent Love in the one-mile turf route for Ontario-sired 3-year-old fillies. Professor’s Ride hit the front early in the stretch and got home on by top a neck in 1:39.36 over the yielding turf. Primordia wound up third in a field reduced to eight with the scratch of Silent Star.

BOSSIER CITY, La. – Got Shades put himself under consideration for either the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf or the BC Juvenile by winning his second straight stakes race in the $100,000 Sunday Silence at Louisiana Downs on Saturday.

The Sunday Silence, for 2-year-olds at a mile on turf, was the first of six stakes on a card featuring the Grade 2, $500,000 Super Derby.

Norman Asbjornson, facing Pennsylvania-breds for the first time since he was a 2-year-old in the fall of 2010, rallied in deep stretch to score by a length over 2-1 second choice Winchill in the $86,750 Roanoke Stakes at Parx Racing.

It was one of five stakes on an 11-race program Saturday devoted exclusively to Pennsylvania-breds.

Cost of Freedom, a 10-year-old Cee’s Tizzy gelding who won the Grade 1 Ancient Title at Santa Anita in 2008, became a millionaire Friday at Golden Gate Fields.

And he reached the milestone in style with a 3 1/4-length win in a 5 1/2-furlong race for $10,000 claimers. He only needed to finish fourth to become a millionaire.

Cost of Freedom grabbed the lead immediately and was never headed, winning in 1:03.70 over even-money favorite Worldly Lad.

The six Illinois-bred stakes races carded for Tuesday at Fairmount Park carry purses of $50,000 each, barely half the money a straight maiden race offered at the recently concluded Saratoga meeting. But this is downstate Illinois, not upstate New York, and the highest-quality racing day of the Fairmount meet does feature a clash of ownership titans.