Trainer Joe Cain, a mainstay on the Kentucky circuit, is battling amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), known as Lou Gehrig’s Disease. For years, Cain has operated out of his farm in the faraway town of Russell Springs in the south-central part of Kentucky, driving tens of thousands of miles each year to run his horses at Ellis Park, Turfway Park, and other tracks. Before the races on opening day, July 4, about 50 friends and colleagues hosted Cain in the Ellis track kitchen, giving him a warm reception and a plaque honoring his tenure in racing.

DEL MAR, Calif. - Belle Royale, the winner of the Grade 1 Gamely Stakes at Hollywood Park in May, has been retired and sent to Kentucky to be bred next year, trainer Simon Callaghan said.

Callaghan said earlier this month that Belle Royale had suffered a tendon injury that jeopardized her racing career. After consulting with veterinarians, Callaghan and owner Michael Tabor opted to end her racing career, which included 10 wins in 26 starts and earnings of $358,231.

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - Rick Dutrow Jr. lost another round in court on Thursday but rebounded 24 hours later to win Friday’s $100,000 James Marvin at Saratoga.

One day after a New York appeals court upheld the 10-year revocation of his trainer’s license, a penalty handed to him last fall by the New York State Racing and Wagering Board, Dutrow sent out the lightning-fast Pacific Ocean to register a 1 3/4-length victory over Goldigger’s Boy in the Grade 3 James Marvin on Saratoga's opening day.

AUBURN, Wash. – A couple of new shooters will take a local test drive Sunday in the $50,000 Mt. Rainier Handicap, the final stakes preliminary at Emerald Downs before the Grade 3, $200,000 Longacres Mile on Aug. 19. The 10-race program begins at 2 p.m. Pacific.

Ruler On Ice, the 2011 Belmont Stakes winner but idle since finishing far back in the Grade 1 Donn Handicap this past winter at Gulfstream Park, worked a half-mile in 48.40 from the gate in company with stablemate Valley Stream over the main track at Saratoga on Friday.

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ETOBICOKE, Ontario — Trainer Mark Frostad kept his options open with Stars to Shine, nominating the 5-year-old mare to both stakes races that will be run here Sunday.

Accomplished on both turf and Polytrack, Stars to Shine could have faced males in the Grade 2, $300,000 Nijinsky over 1 1/8 miles of turf or stayed with her own sort in the Grade 3, $150,000 Matron at 1 1/16 miles on the main track.

Frostad eventually chose the latter option, and Stars to Shine looms the probable choice in the Ontario Matron’s field of eight.

Trainer Christophe Clement may eventually attempt to stretch out Summer Front in distance, but didn’t think the circumstances were right to do it in Saturday’s Virginia Derby.

With the possibility of less than firm ground at Colonial Downs, Clement scratched Summer Front from Saturday’s $600,000 Virginia Derby and instead will run him in Sunday’s $100,000 Duluth Stakes at Saratoga.

The Duluth is a one-mile race, a distance at which Summer Front has won three stakes, including the Grade 3 Hill Prince in his last start.

The early favorite for the prestigious All American Futurity for Quarter Horses will be established Sunday afternoon at Ruidoso Downs with the running of the Grade 1, $700,000 Rainbow Futurity. The 400-yard race is the middle jewel of Ruidoso’s rich series for 2-year-olds that culminates with the Grade 1, $2.4 million All American Futurity on Sept. 3.

AUBURN, Wash. – While he’s not exactly ducking his celebrated stablemate, St Liams Halo figures to enjoy his chance to run in a race that doesn’t include Taylor Said. After three consecutive losses to his speedy nemesis at Hastings, St Liams Halo will start as one of the favorites Sunday in the $50,000 Mt. Rainier Handicap at Emerald Downs.

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - When trainer Nick Zito drove to work Friday morning, it didn’t take him long to realize that this day was different from most.

As he drove to the Saratoga backstretch, Zito saw long lines of people waiting outside the gates on Union Avenue, gates that wouldn’t open yet for hours.

“You come in, it’s 6 o’clock and people are standing on line outside trying to get a good seat,” Zito said. “You know it’s different. Like they say, the show starts.”