This winter at Santa Anita, trainer Leonard Powell has won graded stakes on turf with Air Force Red in a sprint and Dicey Mo Chara in a race at 1 1/8 miles. The two runners will have separate campaigns this year.

Air Force Red, who worked a half-mile in 48.60 seconds on Friday, has the Grade 1 Frank Kilroe Mile on turf on March 4 as a long-range goal, with a possible start in the Grade 3 Thunder Road Stakes at a mile on turf on Feb. 4.

“His energy will tell us whether he runs in the Thunder Road or waits for the Kilroe,” Powell said on Friday.

Damon’s Mound, who cruised to a 12 1/2-length debut win last July at Churchill Downs before capturing the Grade 2 Saratoga Special by 3 1/4 lengths over Gulfport, arrived this week at trainer Michelle Lovell’s Fair Grounds barn following a freshening.

Damon’s Mound’s 2-year-old campaign ended on a sour note, the colt dueling and fading to sixth in the Iroquois Stakes, his first try around two turns. Since the race shape worked against Damon’s Mound, Lovell can’t be sure the son of Girvin can’t handle a route of ground.

The near absence of turf racing at this Fair Grounds meeting has caused a severe decline in betting on the track’s product compared to a similar period during the 2021-22 meet.

Through 29 days of racing, total handle has dropped close to 26 percent, from $83,730,100 during the first 29 days last season to $62,285,295 through Jan. 8 this year. Fair Grounds began this meet Nov. 18, a week earlier than last season. The track through Jan. 8 had run 251 races compared to 270 during the same period in 2021-22, with handle per race falling 20 percent, from $310,111 to $248,148.

The 5-year-old horse Proxy displayed early ability, finishing second in a pair of 2021 Fair Grounds 3-year-old stakes, the Lecomte and the Risen Star, but even while racing competitively against good horses like Midnight Bourbon and Mandaloun, Proxy didn’t truly have his mind in the game.

Trainer Michael Stidham added blinkers to the colt’s race-day equipment to no great effect and Proxy finished fourth in the Louisiana Derby and Lexington Stakes two Aprils ago at Keeneland, his last start until February 2022.

Santa Anita will not race on Saturday because of a forecast for significant rain, but the Friday program will go forward, the track announced late Thursday morning.

This is the second time this month inclement weather has led to a cancellation. Racing was not held at Santa Anita on Jan. 1.

The forecast for Saturday calls for approximately an inch of rain in the Santa Anita area, according to accuweather.com.

Racing is scheduled to proceed on Sunday, but Monday’s card will be subject to an evaluation on Friday, track officials said.

Los Alamitos will not race on Saturday or Sunday evening in anticipation of wet weather in Southern California.

The track made the announcement after receiving approval from the California Horse Racing Board. The decision was finalized before entries for either card were taken.

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Queen Goddess, winner of the Grade 3 Robert Frankel Stakes at Santa Anita on Dec. 31 and two other stakes in her 10-race career, will start in the Grade 3 Pegasus World Cup Filly and Mare Turf Invitational at Gulfstream Park on Jan. 28, her richest race since October 2021.

Woodford Reserve, the bourbon brand sold by Brown-Forman, has reached an agreement with Churchill Downs Inc. to extend its presenting sponsorship of the Kentucky Derby through 2027, the companies announced on Wednesday.

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – The updated list of invitees to the $3 million Pegasus World Cup Invitational on Jan. 28 was released Wednesday by the Gulfstream Park racing office with no changes made to the original group named a week earlier. The lineup is headed by Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile runner-up Cyberknife, Grade 1 Awesome Again winner Defunded, Grade 1 Clark Stakes hero Proxy, and the $2.3 million earner Art Collector.

Two Emmys is closing in on his fourth season of racing at Fair Grounds, with the Jan. 21 Colonel E.R. Bradley a likely comeback spot pending his final timed workout or two, trainer and principal owner Hugh Robertson said Tuesday.

Two Emmys has gone 3-3-1 from nine Fair Grounds grass starts, finishing second to Colonel Liam in the 2021 Muniz Memorial and winning the Muniz, Fair Grounds’ most important turf race, last March over Santin.