ELMONT, N.Y. – Though he has competed in 22 consecutive editions of the Breeders’ Cup, trainer Bill Mott broke a 12-year winless drought in the championship series when Unrivaled Belle captured last year’s Ladies’ Classic.

“They’re hard to win,” Mott said. “You’ve got to come loaded, you’ve got to come with good horses, the timing has to be right.”

There’s probably no way that Saturday’s $750,000 Fitz Dixon Cotillion Stakes can live up to the race’s 2010 edition, but that’s all right, because there have not been many rivalries in the modern history of Thoroughbred racing to match the one 4-year-old fillies Blind Luck and Havre de Grace have going. Last year’s Cotillion marked the third race in which that epic duo met, and when Havre de Grace prevailed by a neck, it was the first time she had taken the measure of Blind Luck.

AUBURN, Wash. – Emerald Downs put the finishing touches on its 16th season Sunday with attendance up sharply and betting handle down slightly. The average daily handle of $1,171,731 was off 1.1 percent from the previous season, track officials said, while attendance increased by more than 10 percent. Total handle for the 82-day meeting was more than $96 million.

ELMONT, N.Y. – Of the two overnight stakes carded for Wednesday at Belmont Park, the $60,000 Mom’s Command looks a lot more appealing from a wagering standpoint, in part because zeroing in on the horse to beat is not easy.

The Mom’s Command, for 3-year-old fillies at one mile, will be run as the third race on the card, immediately following the Corma Ray for New York-bred sprinters. Both races are worth $60,000.

Louisiana Downs closed out its 84-date meet on Sunday with a marginal increase in handle on its live races. The track reported an average $1,279,233 a day was bet on its races from all sources, up a quarter of a percent from the 84-date meet in 2010.

Of that total, an average $1,156,273 a day was handled offtrack, up .22 percent, and an average $122,960 a day ontrack, up .37 percent. Officials were pleased with the numbers in light of recent industry trends and the economy.

ETOBICOKE, Ontario – Trainer Roger Attfield opted to try Smart Sting on the Polytrack for the first time in Sunday’s Grade 3, $250,000 Selene Stakes. Any questions regarding surface wound up being incidental for Smart Sting, who was a convincing 3 1/2-length winner of the 1 1/16-mile Selene.

Smart Sting, a homebred who was foaled in Kentucky and races for Stronach Stable, had shown plenty of promise in her first six starts on turf but appeared to raise her game to a new level in the Selene by earning a career-high Beyer Speed Figure of 90.

ETOBICOKE, Ontario – Gypsy Ring bypassed the Grade 1 Woodbine Mile in favor of much easier pickings Wednesday night in the $125,000 Overskate Stakes, a seven-furlong sprint for Ontario-sired runners.

Gypsy Ring started in three Ontario-sired Polytrack stakes earlier in his career, finishing a close second on each occasion. In June of last year, he earned a career-high 100 Beyer Speed Figure when he was beaten three-quarters of a length in the Shepperton.

Shackleford and Caleb’s Posse are among the 3-year-olds confirmed to race Saturday in the Indiana Derby, while trainer Bob Baffert said Monday he was still trying to decide whether to send Coil cross-country from California for the Grade 2, $500,000 race at Hoosier Park in suburban Indianapolis.

Trainer Dale Romans said he was happy with the way Shackleford, winner of the 2011 Preakness, breezed five furlongs in 59.80 seconds over a sloppy track at his Churchill Downs base Saturday morning.

“That’s what told me we need to go up there,” Romans said.

Golden Cup couldn’t get it done as the heavy favorite when he stretched out to a middle distance for the first time in the one-mile, $50,000 Alberta Premier’s Futurity on Sept. 17. Nonetheless, he looks like the one to beat with the move back to a sprint when he runs in an allowance race for 2-year-olds at Northlands Park on Wednesday. There are no restrictions attached to the conditions of the 6 1/2-furlong race that drew seven horses and goes as race 5 on the 10-race card.

POMONA, Calif. – The lone front-runner in the $75,000 Ralph M. Hinds Handicap at Fairplex Park stole the signature race of the 13-day Los Angeles County Fair meet that ended Sunday.

Atticus Jack is trained by Brian Koriner, who gave simple instructions to jockey Agapito Delgadillo.

“Go to the lead and at the half-mile pole, just send,” Koriner said. “Open up, and see what happens.”