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.”

OZONE PARK, N.Y. - Nations Pride is likely to wrap up his stay in North America Saturday when he takes on Classic Causeway and four others in the Grade 3, $1 million Jockey Club Derby Invitational on the turf at Aqueduct.

Nations Pride finished second to Classic Causeway in the Belmont Derby on July 9 and then flipped the script in the Saratoga Derby, beating Classic Causeway by 1 3/4 lengths. Saturday those two will meet the German-based Ardakan and three seemingly overmatched opponents in Daunt, The Grey Wizard and Wicked Fast in the 1 1/2-mile Jockey Club Derby.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Kentucky Derby winner Rich Strike had his first workout since finishing fourth in the Aug. 27 Travers at Saratoga when going five furlongs Tuesday in 1:02.40 at the Mercury training center of trainer Eric Reed.

“He skipped right across there,” said Reed. “He’s real fresh right now, doing really well. He came out of the Travers super good.”

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Damon’s Mound, one of the most promising 2-year-old colts in the eastern half of the U.S., will put his glitzy record on the line Saturday as a heavy favorite among a field of nine in the Iroquois Stakes at Churchill Downs.

Trainer Michelle Lovell said Wednesday that Damon’s Mound “is doing super. He’s ready for his stretch-out.”