Trainer Andrew Leggio has leading contenders in four of the eight stakes that will make up the $570,000 Louisiana Cup program at Louisiana Downs on Saturday, but all of his starters have questions to answer. Hud’s Rebellion is cross-entered in the $100,000 Turf Classic and $60,000 Sprint; Skip the Pinot will have to get 1 1/16 miles in the $75,000 Derby; Kisses for Carrots goes long for the first time in the $75,000 Oaks; and Joyce’s Rebel seeks his first stakes win in a deep Sprint.

This content is part of a free preview of DRF Plus. Click to learn more.

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – With little fanfare, Al Khali has competed at the highest level of racing for the last five years. Still lacking that signature victory, Al Khali will try again in Saturday’s Grade 1, $600,000 Sword Dancer Invitational at Saratoga.

This content is part of a free preview of DRF Plus. Click to learn more.

DEL MAR, Calif. – Del Mar officials are projecting a retroactive purse payment after the conclusion of the current meeting Sept. 4 based on strong handle figures for the first four weeks of the season.

AUBURN, Wash. – Stikine Slough, the easiest of winners in his last start, and Noosito, a full brother to an Emerald Downs legend, headline Saturday’s feature race, the $50,000 WTBOA Lads Stakes for 2-year-old colts and geldings at 6 1/2 furlongs. First post for the 10-race card is 2 p.m. Pacific.

ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, Ill. – Arlington loves all things international. Its Hanshin Cup has a sister race of the same name in Japan. The track’s scenic property is ringed by grapevines, French-style. Even the very word “International” has crept back into Arlington’s official moniker.

A year ago, Alternation and Prayer for Relief circled the Remington Park racetrack in unison in the Governor’s Cup before finishing a nose apart in a thrilling edition of the meet’s most important race for older horses. The pair is back for Saturday night’s renewal, one in which Prayer for Relief will be a strong favorite to turn the tables on Alternation.

Los Alamitos will ask the California Horse Racing Board at its meeting next Thursday for as many as three weeks of Thoroughbred racing next summer, and also plans to expand its racetrack, a track official said Wednesday.

The plan revives a project shelved in the spring by the Orange County, Calif., track, and will include a provisionally allocated two-week Thoroughbred meeting in December 2014 which follows the fall meeting at Del Mar and precedes the start of the Santa Anita winter meeting.

This content is part of a free preview of DRF Plus. Click to learn more.

DEL MAR, Calif. – Kitten’s Dumplings may not be the most composed filly in the paddock prior to Saturday’s $300,000 Del Mar Oaks.

“She’ll be washed out and her head will go up and down,” trainer Mike Maker said. “That’s just her. She’s a lot better than she was when she was younger.”

The six-furlong distance of the $100,000 Paseana Stakes for fillies and mares at Gulfstream Park on Saturday seems less than optimum for My Pal Chrisy at this stage of her career. But she is the class of the field with earnings approaching $500,000 and should start as a strong favorite against four others, including recent Calder stakes winner Capitalism At Risk.

My Pal Chrisy is a three-time stakes winner who has won 8 of 38 career starts and $471,168. Her wins have been divided equally between sprints and routes, but her last two victories have come in two-turn races at Calder.

ETOBICOKE, Ontario – The $500,000 Breeders’ Stakes, a 1 1/2-mile turf race that is the final leg of the Triple Crown for Canadian-bred 3-year-olds, often becomes an anticlimax to the series.

Such is the case this year, as Midnight Aria is on the farm following his taxing effort here in the 1 1/4-mile Queen’s Plate and Uncaptured returned to Churchill Downs with an eye toward fall stakes in Philadelphia after confirming his preference for dirt with a victory in the Prince of Wales at Fort Erie.