SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y.– One of the reasons Flavien Prat left California for the East Coast was to try and win more of the races that could put him in contention for an Eclipse Award. Many of those races are offered at Saratoga, where Prat will ride full time for the first time when the 40-day meet opens Thursday.

Workouts at any distance, including one or two furlongs, must be included in workout reports published by California racetracks effective immediately, according to a directive issued Friday by California Horse Racing Board executive director Scott Chaney.

Most one- or two-furlong workouts are recorded by juveniles, while horses 3 years old and up rarely have works of less than three furlongs on the work tab.

There have been some scintillating performances put in by 2-year-olds so far this year and more are likely to come over the course of the 40-day Saratoga meet, which begins Thursday.

Damon’s Mound, a 12 1/2-length debut winner at Churchill Downs on July 2, is being pointed to the Grade 2, $200,000 Saratoga Special on Aug. 13 and then potentially the Grade 1 Hopeful on Sept. 5, trainer Michelle Lovell said Sunday. Damon’s Mound has joined Lovell’s stable at Colonial Downs for the summer.

The Alameda County Fair in Pleasanton, Calif., is not known as a venue for a Breeders’ Cup hopeful. Trainer Doug O’Neill is hoping to change that this year with the 2-year-old filly Vegas Magic, who remained unbeaten after two starts with a come-from-behind win in Saturday’s $76,800 Everett Nevin Stakes at 5 1/2 furlongs.

“She’s shown she has above-average ability,” O’Neill said Sunday. “We’re dreaming about the Breeders’ Cup.”

Considering his success earlier this year, it is easy to forget that Express Train won the Grade 2 San Diego Handicap at Del Mar last July. He is scheduled to run back in the San Diego Handicap on July 30.

Express Train won three stakes and was third in the Grade 1 Hollywood Gold Cup in an eight-race campaign in 2021. This year, the 5-year-old Express Train has made three starts, all at Santa Anita, winning the Grade 2 San Pasqual Stakes in February and the Grade 1 Santa Anita Handicap in March before a second in the Grade 2 Californian Stakes in April.

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – After a 2021 meet that set an all-sources handle record of $815 million, welcomed back fans at full capacity, and had six eventual Eclipse champions participate, what can Saratoga do for an encore in 2022?

“That’s a great question,” Dave O’Rourke, NYRA’s president and CEO said.

A measure of High Connection’s first stakes win in Saturday’s $125,000 Los Alamitos Derby will not be known for several months.

High Connection ran in a stakes for the second time in the Los Alamitos Derby, giving Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert a record seventh win in the race in the nine years since it was moved from Hollywood Park in 2014.

Matt Crawford has been named racing secretary for both the Thoroughbred and Quarter Horse meets at Louisiana Downs, the track announced Thursday.

Crawford is the current assistant racing secretary for the Thoroughbred meet at Lone Star Park. He will assume his new position July 18.  

Crawford, 65, is a former trainer who began working as a racing official in 2008 at Louisiana Downs. He’s been the racing secretary at Canterbury Park, Delta Downs, Hialeah, Sam Houston, Ruidoso Downs, and Zia Park. He also was the racing secretary for the Quarter Horse meet at Lone Star.   

The Net a Bear show is coming to Louisiana Downs.  

The mare who picked up her 10th stakes win this month at Evangeline Downs to improve her 2022 record to 5 for 7 is targeting the Louisiana Cup Day program on Aug. 6.  

Trainer Allen Landry said Net a Bear is being pointed to the Distaff. She won the 1 1/16-mile turf race for fillies and mares last year. Net a Bear will be moving back into the Louisiana-bred ranks after defeating open company by a head in the off-the-turf Opelousas Stakes at her base of Evangeline on July 1.  

Flightline, the undefeated two-time stakes winner, had his first major exercise since a win in the Grade 1 Metropolitan Handicap last month at Santa Anita on Saturday, working a half-mile in an official time of 47 seconds.

There was some discrepancy about the time. Trainer John Sadler clocked Flightline in 48 seconds.

“He went a nice easy half,” Sadler said. “It was a maintenance work. We weren’t looking to do anything sensational.”