When the board of trustees of the Keeneland Association selected Bill Thomason to be the seventh president in the 76-year history of the track and auction house, it was a recognition of the two years of work that he had done righting Keeneland after its sales revenue dropped by half during the recession that began in 2008. Thomason, 57, was hired in 2010 as chief financial officer, and he immediately set in motion a process to evaluate spending in every aspect of Keeneland’s operations.

Trainer Todd Pletcher is holding the trump card for Saturday’s $75,000 Dover Stakes at Delaware Park. The only question is whether he plans to use it.

Among the 10 2-year-olds entered in the mile and 70-yard Dover, the Pletcher-trained Micromanage is by far the fastest horse. Micromanage cruised to a five-length victory and earned an 84 Beyer Speed Figure in a seven-furlong maiden race a month ago at Saratoga. The sixth-place finisher came back to win a maiden race on turf at Delaware with an 80 Beyer.

Grace Hall has been given a clean bill of health by trainer Tony Dutrow and will try to regain her form of old in the Grade 2, $200,000 Indiana Oaks on Saturday at Hoosier Park.

In her last out Aug. 18, Grace Hall finished far back in the Grade 1 Alabama at Saratoga. After the race, mucus was discovered in the 3-year-old filly’s lungs.

“It has been nearly seven weeks,” Dutrow said “She is doing good and is as healthy as ever.”

[bc_video_id:264653:]LEXINGTON, Ky. – The majority of racehorses have a problem of being too slow. For Groupie Doll and her trainer, Buff Bradley, the problem of being too fast popped up last Saturday when the star filly was having her final workout for the Thoroughbred Club of America Stakes.

“She went a couple seconds faster than I wanted,” said Bradley, referring to a half-mile breeze in 46.20 seconds with John McKee aboard at Churchill Downs. “John said he did everything he could to slow her down. She just did it so easy, it really couldn’t be helped.”

MIAMI – Saturday’s $55,000 Mike Sherman Memorial Stakes was surely not designed as a Breeders’ Cup prep, but it could end up becoming just that for defending BC Filly and Mare Sprint champ Musical Romance, who is among the 10 females entered to go 6 1/2 furlongs in the overnight dash.

The Mike Sherman shares top billing on Saturday’s 12-race program at Calder with the $75,000 Kenny Noe Jr. Handicap, a 6 1/2-furlong race for 3-year-olds and up. The two races do have one common denominator – the speedy filly Spectacular Sky, who was entered in both events by trainer Marty Wolfson.

Trainers Bob Hess and Billy Morey have similar concerns heading into Saturday’s Charlie Palmer Futurity, a $75,000 stakes race for 2-year-olds at one mile over dirt at the Big Fresno Fair.

The Hess-trained Anytime Magic and the Morey-trained My Best Bet are both legitimate contenders in the field of six, but, as with all their other rivals, Saturday’s race is the longest they’ve attempted during their brief careers.

Breeding suggests both Anytime Magic, a son of Fusaichi Pegasus, and My Best Bet, who is by Best of the Rest, should be able to handle the distance.

ETOBICOKE, Ontario – Spring Venture, Woodbine’s leading 2-year-old filly, will test her skills around two turns on the Polytrack on Saturday at Woodbine in the Grade 3, $200,000 Mazarine Stakes.

Spring Venture won for fun when she debuted in a seven-furlong maiden special on the grass Aug. 18. A month later, she was favored in the Grade 2 Natalma Stakes, in which she closed from midpack to prevail while being geared down late by Patrick Husbands.

Keeneland has withdrawn from a racing industry lobbying group that has pushed for casino legislation for the past five years, the company confirmed on Thursday.

The millionaire Ben’s Cat towers over his nine rivals on class in the $100,000 Maryland Millon Turf Sprint Handicap, a race he has won each of the past two years. But will he be toppled over by the weight he must concede?

The Turf Sprint is the leading race on the undercard of the 27th annual Jim McKay Maryland Million on Saturday at Laurel Park. The 11-race program devoted to the offspring of Maryland-based stallions will offer a collective $1.05 million in purses.

Eighttofasttocatch was hammered down to 4-5 favoritism when he scored in last fall’s Maryland Million Classic at Laurel Park. He shouldn’t be anywhere near that price when he defends his title against five rivals in the $150,000 feature during the 27th Jim McKay Maryland Million, an 11-race card devoted to the offspring of Marland-based stallions.

Although he is winless since March and his three most recent races were lackluster efforts, Eighttofasttocatch may not be as vulnerable as he appears at first glance in the 1 1/8-mile Classic.