ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, Ill. – Horsemen playing the claiming game constantly keep in mind a guiding principle: Run a horse for more than he’s worth and he will lose, but run a horse for what he’s worth and you might lose the horse. Shelters exist – safe havens.

One is age. An 8- or 9-year-old can repeatedly win at the same claiming level and not get claimed. “This can’t last,” rival horsemen assume. Another is price. Claims for $80,000 or $100,000 are rare. Even if a horse seems worth the money, he might not be by the time he has managed to earn it back.

One Quick Eagle can lay claim to being the fastest 2-year-old Quarter Horse stabled at Ruidoso Downs in New Mexico – at least until the Grade 1, $750,000 Ruidoso Downs Futurity is run on Sunday. She emerged as the fastest qualifier for the 350-yard race following a slate of 25 trials last month, and for the finale figures to be a slight favorite as she attempts to run her record to 2 for 2.

AUBURN, Wash. – E Z Kitty and Exclusive Diva, who stand head and shoulders above the rest of the filly and mare division at Emerald Downs, will renew their budding rivalry Sunday in the $50,000 Washington State Legislators Handicap at 6 1/2 furlongs. Only four others were entered to face the likely favorites, with Castinette Dancer, down from Hastings in Vancouver, British Columbia, offering the best chance for an upset.

INGLEWOOD, Calif. - Marketing Mix, the winner of the Grade 1 Gamely Stakes on May 27, will remain in California for her next start, trainer Tom Proctor said.

Proctor is considering running her in the $150,000 Royal Heroine Stakes over a mile on turf for fillies and mares on July 6 or the $100,000 Sunset Handicap against males over 1 1/2 miles on turf on July 14, the closing day of the spring-summer meeting.

The long-term goal is the $750,000 Beverly D. Stakes at Arlington Park on Aug. 17.

“I don’t want to take her back there for six or seven weeks,” Proctor said.

INGLEWOOD, Calif. – Game On Dude, California’s top handicap horse, is back on course for the $500,000 Hollywood Gold Cup at Betfair Hollywood Park on July 6 after a brief illness scare last week.

Thursday at Santa Anita, Game On Dude worked five furlongs in 1:00.40, his first workout since May 27. On May 31, Baffert expressed concern about Game On Dude’s well-being after the 6-year-old gelding did not finish his feed and showed an elevated temperature. Baffert said that Game On Dude’s appetite returned last weekend and that the temperature subsided.

INGLEWOOD, Calif. - Sahara Sky, the winner of the Grade 1 Metropolitan Handicap at Belmont Park on May 27, is likely to make his next start in Southern California.

Trainer Jerry Hollendorfer said on Friday that Sahara Sky will be considered for two Grade 1 sprint stakes – the $250,000 Triple Bend Handicap over seven furlongs here on June 29 or the $300,000 Bing Crosby Stakes over six furlongs at Del Mar on July 28.

Hollendorfer said a trip to Saratoga for the $500,000 Forego Stakes over seven furlongs on Aug. 31 remains a possibility.

OCEANPORT, N.J. – Trainer Shug McGaughey has big plans for Boisterous this season and they start with the Grade 2, $200,000 Monmouth Stakes on Sunday.

The race is the local prep for Monmouth Park’s premier turf stakes, the Grade 1 United Nations on July 6.

The Monmouth Stakes at 1 1/8 miles drew a solid field that also includes Wrote, winner of the 2011 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf; the consistent Big Blue Kitten; and Tune Me In, a two-time graded stakes winner here last summer.

VANCOUVER, British Columbia – Hastings has scheduled four $50,000 stakes this Sunday – dubbed the Spring Showcase – and the stars all came out. Herbie D figures to be a handful in the 1 1/16-mile Sir Winston Churchill for 3-year-olds and up, and Evelyn’s Dancer is the obvious choice in the Vancouver Sun, which drew nine fillies and mares going 1 1/16 miles.

The Emerald Downs for 3-year-old fillies goes as the second race, followed by the River Rock Casino for 3-year-olds. Both will be contested over 6 1/2 furlongs.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Granted, it’s very early. Nonetheless, the fastest Beyer Speed Figure for a 2-year-old so far this year in North America was recorded Thursday at Churchill Downs by Bahnah, a filly making her first career start.

Trained by Bret Calhoun for Wayne Sanders and Larry Hirsch, Bahnah earned a 91 Beyer with a six-length triumph under Corey Lanerie in a 4 1/2-furlong race. She was the 9-5 favorite in a field of eight and finished in 51.17 seconds over a fast track.

“It’s great when they run the way they’re supposed to,” Calhoun said Friday.

ETOBICOKE, Ontario – Trainer Malcolm Pierce will be a busy man here Sunday, with six entrants on the 10-race program. The majority of Pierce’s participants will not be of the garden variety, as he will send out both Smartyfly and Dance Again in the $500,000 Woodbine Oaks, His Race to Win in the $150,000 Plate Trial Stakes, and Overheard in the $125,000 Alywow Stakes.

“I hope I’ll be getting my picture taken lots of times,” said Pierce, who runs a 40-horse stable here with his wife and assistant, Sally.