LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Dark Cove was spotting his opponents four to eight pounds Saturday in the Grade 3, $111,800 Louisville Handicap at Churchill Downs. So, as the 6-year-old horse clung grimly to the lead in deep stretch of the 1 1/2-mile turf race, Mike Maker admitted to having hard feelings about the weight assignments.

ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, Ill. – Wayne Catalano stayed fairly quiet over the winter in Florida and Louisiana, and his spring in Kentucky (with a touch of Hawthorne) passed similarly. But this is Arlington – Wayne’s World – and Catalano is back in business now.

Catalano’s 10^th winner from his last 23 runners at the meet came Saturday in the Grade 3, $150,000 Arlington Matron, where Imposing Grace outstayed a couple determined rivals to post a half-length victory over Sisterhood.

ELMONT, N.Y. – Benefitting from a race under her belt, the soft turf she relishes, and a ground-saving ride from Luis Saez, Tannery pulled off a 10-1 upset in Saturday’s Grade 2, $200,000 Sheepshead Bay Stakes at Belmont Park.

Tannery, content to lay seventh under Saez, defeated a slow-breaking Anjaz by one length. It was 1 1/4 lengths farther back to the pacesetting Minakshi in third.

Julie’s Love finished fourth and was followed by Mystical Star, Hessonite, the 9-5 favorite, Strathnaver, and Starformer.

INGLEWOOD, Calif. - Left alone on the lead, Obviously proved impossible to catch in Saturday’s $150,250 American Handicap at Betfair Hollywood Park.

Third in the Breeders’ Cup Mile at Santa Anita last fall, Obviously won in such fashion on Saturday that jockey Joe Talamo and trainer Mike Mitchell were dreaming of getting back to the same race this fall.

Obviously ($2.80) led by 1 1/2 lengths on the backstretch, through early fractions of 23.26 and 46.09 seconds, and pulled away in early stretch, winning by 2 1/2 lengths.

ETOBICOKE, Ontario – Solid Appeal ($18.60) outran the favored Irish Mission in the final furlong to notch her first stakes win Saturday at Woodbine in the Grade 2, $213,200 Nassau.

The Maryland invader Dancing to Town set quick fractions over the firm ground in the one-mile route before tiring in midstretch. Solid Appeal came wide in the stretch from a stalking position on the turn to score by 1 1/2 lengths over Irish Mission, who had closed along the rail under Alex Solis. Northern Passion rallied wide from last to end up third in the seven-horse field.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Bob Pincins still had his halter in hand. Pincins had just submitted a $50,000 claim, to no avail, for the 6-5 favorite in the fifth race Friday at Churchill Downs, a 4-year-old gelding named Fire Alarm.

Pincins referred to his program and copied “May 22” onto his claim slip. One problem: Churchill had printed the wrong date down the side of the program. Friday was May 24.

“I just put May 22 on there assuming it was right,” said Pincins. “The stewards voided my claim.”

LOUISVILLE, KY. - Fort Larned, the 2012 Breeders’ Cup Classic winner, had his third workout since his disappointing run in the Oaklawn Handicap, breezing five furlongs Friday at Churchill Downs in 59.80 seconds.

Fort Larned is pointing to the June 15 Stephen Foster Handicap at Churchill and ultimately a return to the BC Classic at Santa Anita in early November.

“This is like a restart for the year for us,” said trainer Ian Wilkes. “We had a couple hiccups earlier this year and now we are looking to restart our year and point everything to the Breeders’ Cup.”

Three early scratches left Winning Image as the lone speed in a three-horse field and she proceeded to capitalize on that advantage to capture the $75,000 My Juliet Stakes at Parx Racing for the second straight year on Saturday.

ETOBICOKE, Ontario – I’m a Kittyhawk won her stakes debut at Woodbine on Saturday, taking the $125,000 Lady Angela as the second-longest shot on the board with a fine ride from David Moran.

Moran rated I’m a Kittyhawk in midpack during the seven-furlong sprint for Ontario-sired 3-year-old fillies. She split horses at the quarter pole and then wore down the leading Rootham Triple E’s in deep stretch for a half-length score in 1:23.82.

Pipers Future finished four lengths behind the winner in third, 1 1/2 lengths clear of the 3-5 favorite, Strut the Course.

ELMONT, N.Y. – As impressive as Midnight Lucky had trained leading up to the Kentucky Oaks, it simply might have been too much to ask for her to win a race like that in her third career start.

Having seemingly emerged from her fifth-place finish in the Oaks in good order, Midnight Lucky will get another Grade 1 opportunity in Monday’s $300,000 Acorn Stakes at Belmont Park.

Midnight Lucky, one of six 3-year-old fillies entered in the one-turn, one-mile Acorn, will seek to give trainer Bob Baffert his third victory in this race in the last five years.