DEL MAR, Calif.– Acclamation will be out of training for the next few weeks while evaluations continue on the cause of inflammation in a foreleg that prevent him from starting in the $1 million Pacific Classic at Del Mar on Aug. 26.

Thursday morning at trainer Don Warren’s barn, Acclamation stood quietly at the back of his stall with his forelegs wrapped in ice bandages. Owner Bud Johnston said that Acclamation’s injury, inflammation below an ankle, is not severe, but will keep the 6-year-old out of training at least through August.

ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, Ill. – Either the Euros are getting sharper about the horses they bring to Arlington’s International Festival of Racing, or the Americans against whom they are competing are getting slower.

[bc_video_id:260354:]SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – Trainer Christophe Clement called Point of Entry’s 3 1/2-length victory in the Grade 1 Man o’ War one of the two best turf performances he has seen all year along with Wise Dan’s effort here last weekend in the Fourstardave. What’s scary for the other members of the division is that Point of Entry’s trainer, Shug McGaughey, says he doesn’t think we have seen the best of this horse yet.

OCEANPORT, N.J. - The element of surprise is gone for Gourmet Dinner, the winner of the Majestic Light Stakes at 7-1 on the Haskell undercard.

He returns to Monmouth Park on Saturday to find some familiar faces and fresh challengers in the Grade 3, $150,000 Philip H. Iselin Stakes.

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – Trainer Tony Dutrow began thinking about this year’s Alabama last September.

Shortly after Grace Hall won last year’s Grade 1 Spinaway here, Dutrow mapped out a 3-year-old campaign for the filly. The three races uppermost on his wish list were the Kentucky Oaks, Alabama, and Delaware Oaks. After finishing third in the Kentucky Oaks, Grace Hall won the Delaware Oaks with an eye-catching 3 1/4-length victory, setting her up for what Dutrow hopes is a career-defining performance in Saturday’s Grade 1, $600,000 Alabama at Saratoga.

There are deserving favorites in most of the eight stakes that make up the Louisiana Cup program Saturday at Louisiana Downs, but in the $100,000 Turf Classic, shipper Sadie’s Soldier could pull a mild upset. The probable favorite, Kissimmee Kyle, will have to overcome post 10 in the 1 1/16-mile turf race, while String King, a front-runner seeking his fourth straight win, could face pace pressure from a new shooter in the division, Well’s Gold.

The Louisiana Cup races are all restricted to horses bred in the state, with purses for the stakes a cumulative $570,000.

DEL MAR, Calif. – One loss, by a nose, has kept Lady of Shamrock from a perfect record on turf this year. Her strong record does not seem to have impressed the owners and trainers of her nine rivals in Saturday’s $300,000 Del Mar Oaks for 3-year-old fillies.

“We didn’t scare anyone off,” said John Sadler, who trains Lady of Shamrock. “They’ve come to run.”

Or, maybe they have come to run second to Lady of Shamrock.

[Complete coverage of racing at Del Mar: News, PPs, and video]

Nikki’s Sandcastle will be shaking millionaire Rahystrada when he ships to Oklahoma City for Saturday night’s $100,000 Edward J. DeBartolo Memorial Handicap at Remington Park.

The DeBartolo, at a mile and an eighth on turf, drew a field of 10 older horses. Skip a Smile is back to defend his title in the race, while Golden Yank is the 119-pound starting highweight off a fifth-place in the Grade 3, $300,000 Lone Star Park Handicap.

ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, Ill. – Graham Motion long has believed that Aruna has something special awaiting her. A hard-trying British-bred mare with the class to match her consistency, Aruna has the opportunity to fulfill those hopes Saturday in one of the premier filly-mare turf races in North America, the Grade 1 Beverly D. at Arlington Park.

ETOBICOKE, Ontario – Moonlit Beauty faltered when facing some formidable fillies and mares in the Grade 3 Dance Smartly, a 1 1/8-mile turf race that was won by the streaking Marketing Mix.

On Saturday, Moonlit Beauty returns to the company of Ontario-sired turf females and cuts back to 1 1/16 miles when she faces 10 rivals in the Victoriana Stakes.