OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Back from stakes tries at Kentucky Downs, the Christophe Clement-trained pair of Gufo and Big Invasion will have different plans for the remainder of 2022.

Gufo, beaten a nose by Red Knight in the $1 million Kentucky Turf Cup, will be pointed to the Grade 1, $500,000 Joe Hirsch Turf Classic at Aqueduct on Oct. 8. Big Invasion, who had a six-race winning streak snapped when he finished third in the Franklin-Simpson, will be put away from the remainder of the year and point to a 4-year-old campaign in 2023, Clement said.

ETOBICOKE, Ontario - Woodbine Entertainment announced on Friday that its board of directors has appointed longtime horse racing industry executive Hugh Mitchell as chair, effective immediately.

OZONE PARK, N.Y. - Fingal’s Cave, the undefeated New York-bred 3-year-old filly, could make her next start in the Grade 1, $1 million Cotillion at Parx on Sept. 24, trainer David Donk said Friday.

Donk said he planned to work Fingal’s Cave at Belmont over the weekend and would enter the filly in the Cotillion on Monday. That will give Donk ample time to study the field and see if he wants to take a swing.

He was purchased for $850,000, he is a half-brother to a graded stakes winner, and will be ridden by a Hall of Fame jockey.

The 2-year-old colt Nielson will draw ample attention when he makes his career debut in a maiden special weight race at a mile at Los Alamitos on Saturday. The question is whether he can beat two other first-time starters – stablemate Gandolfini and Jeweled Shillelagh, and Odonato, who was fourth in his second start at Del Mar on July 30.

Skinner, third as a maiden in the Grade 1 Del Mar Futurity at seven furlongs on Sept. 11, could stay in high-profile races, including the Grade 1 American Pharoah Stakes at 1 1/16 miles at Santa Anita on Oct. 8.

Trainer John Shirreffs said on Friday the $300,000 American Pharoah Stakes is a leading option for Skinner, who was beaten 9 1/2 lengths by the impressive Cave Rock in the Del Mar Futurity while making his second start.

“We’ll see how he works and trains and nominate him for the race,” Shirreff said. “There are plenty of options with Skinner.”

Free Like a Girl, who last month ran second in the Grade 3 Charles Town Oaks, worked a bullet half-mile Thursday in her first move out of the race. Trainer Chasey Deville-Pomier said the 3-year-old filly is headed for the $100,000 Magnolia at her base of Delta Downs.

The seven-furlong race is for Louisiana-bred fillies and mares and it will be run around two turns on the six-furlong track at Delta.

Jockey Jermaine Bridgmohan remained in a Minnesota hospital on Thursday, recovering from injuries sustained in the fourth race Wednesday night at Canterbury Park.

Bridgmohan has suffered broken ribs, a punctured lung, and two back fractures, according to information provided to track officials by agent Scott Stevens. 

The $80,175,928 wagered from all sources was a record handle at the seven-day meet that ran from Sept. 1 through Wednesday at turf-only Kentucky Downs in south-central Kentucky. That figure is 8.2 percent higher than the former record of $74 million handled at a six-day meet in 2021.

Purse payouts amounted to more than $17.86 million, highest in the track’s 31-year history. Average field size was 10.6 horses per race, while favorites won at just a 21 percent clip (15 for 73).

OZONE PARK, N.Y. –  First Captain, third in the Grade 1 Jockey Club Gold Cup, could make his next start in the Grade 2, $350,000 Fayette Stakes at Keeneland on Oct. 29, trainer Shug McGaughey said.

McGaughey said First Captain could use the Fayette as a stepping-stone to the Grade 1 Clark at Churchill Downs on Nov. 25.

McGaughey said First Captain would be nominated to the Grade 1, $500,000 Woodward at Aqueduct on Oct. 1 just to give him that option should that race come up a light field. The presence of Life Is Good will likely limit the size of the Woodward field.

OZONE PARK, N.Y. – The setback that forced Yibir to miss the Sword Dancer at Saratoga will also force him to miss a repeat bid in the $4 million Breeders’ Cup Turf, trainer Charlie Appleby said Wednesday.

Appleby said Yibir has only recently resumed light training, but that he won’t “make it back in time for the Breeders’ Cup Turf.”