Kingoftherockies will appreciate being back with 3-year-olds after finishing last in the $49,000 Three and Four-Year-Old Sales Stakes at Northlands Park on Aug. 11. While the drop in class is significant, he is by no means a standout in the $20,000 claiming sprint that drew six horses and will serve as Friday’s feature at Northlands.

Trainer Lloyd Mason enjoyed victories by Shudacudawudya and Bleach Blonde last week and said after their victories their owner “was happy with me this week.”

Brett Mason, Lloyd’s son and the owner-breeder of both stars, is probably still happy with his trainer-father. His two stars have won more than $610,000 between them.

The two victories came in the special allowance races Golden Gate Fields cards to give better runners a chance to compete when there are few stakes chances for them.

BOSSIER CITY, La. – Score one for the little guy.

In this era of so called “super” trainers, who campaign multiple strings on several different fronts, Scotty McNair has done something that his higher profile contemporaries can only dream about. McNair’s stable, small as it is, has not lost a race this summer. Dating back to June 9, McNair has sent out eight winners in a row. It is a feat that is believed to be a Louisiana Downs record. When asked about the streak, the gracious McNair preferred instead to talk about understanding owners and sound horses.

Java’s War and Brown Almighty, who finished a neck apart in the $150,000 Sunday Silence last Saturday at Louisiana Downs, will likely have a rematch at Keeneland. The Grade 3, $150,000 Bourbon at 1 1/16 miles on turf is the next spot penciled in for both horses, their trainers said Tuesday. The Bourbon is Oct. 7, and it is a Win and You’re In race, with the winner guaranteed a spot in the $1 million Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf at Santa Anita on Nov. 3.

ETOBICOKE, Ontario – The main turf course was open for the second straight day here Tuesday to give candidates for Sunday’s Grade 1 Woodbine Mile, Grade 1 Northern Dancer, and Grade 2 Canadian a chance to test the surface for their respective events.

But the only horses to haven taken advantage thus far are Kapitale, a 4-year-old filly who is eyeing the $300,000 Canadian at 1 1/8 miles, and her stablemate Scalo, a 5-year-old horse whose target is the $500,000 Northern Dancer at 1 1/2 miles.

Defending champion Rahystrada is among the eight older horses set to run Saturday in the Grade 3, $200,000 Kentucky Turf Cup, the annual meet showcase at turf-only Kentucky Downs.

Trained by Scooter Hughes, Rahystrada most recently dead-heated for third in the Aug. 18 Arlington Million. Corey Lanerie will have the mount on Rahystrada, an earner of nearly $1.2 million, when the 8-year-old gelding breaks from post 3 in the 1 1/2-mile race.

This is the full lineup: Kindergarden Kid, Ioya Bigtime, Rahystrada, Lake Drop, Rezif, Tahoe Lake, Canaveral, and Cozy Kitten.

POMONA, Calif. – Horsemen and handicappers in Southern California are catching on to the surprise jockey of late summer.

Although he did not win a single race from late March to early August, jockey Alex Bisono never gave up.

“I was putting in a lot of work, and I was like . . . when is it going to get better?” Bisono said.

Turns out, it was Aug. 1.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Churchill Downs is exploring the possibility of requesting dates for a meet next September and setting up a possible conflict with beleaguered Turfway Park, although such an option “has lots of hurdles, not just with Turfway, but how we would do it,” according to a Churchill spokesman, John Asher.

ELMONT, N.Y. – Already a stakes winner on dirt and synthetic, Sum of the Parts will try to add turf to his résumé when he runs in Thursday’s $80,000 Groovy Stakes, a six-furlong race named for the 1987 champion sprinter who never raced on the grass.

Sum of the Parts has won all three of his starts this year, beginning with an allowance over Keeneland’s Polytrack, the Tom Ridge over Presque Isle’s Tapeta, and, most recently, the $400,000 Red Legend Stakes over the dirt at Charles Town on June 30.

OPELOUSAS, La. – Evangeline Downs concluded its 2012 season Saturday night with significant increases in both ontrack and average all-sources handle on the track’s live races.

A total of $115,291,118 was wagered on the 83-day season for an average of $1.39 million per program, an increase of 4.3 percent over last year. Ontrack handle rose 9 percent over a year ago to $5,204,405, from $5,064,557, despite five fewer days of racing.

Field size remained strong as well. A total of 8,145 horses started during the 877 races, for an average of 9.29 runners per race.