FRANKLIN, Ky. – Kentucky Downs officials were bursting with pride when announcing earlier this year that two $1 million races would be run on the same card at its 2022 meet.

Imagine how they’re feeling now that not two – but five – $1 million events are expected to be run here Saturday, an unforeseen yet exciting expansion owing to unfolding events.

“They’ve really got it going on,” said Brad Cox, the two-time Eclipse Award-winning trainer who will saddle Arklow for one of them, the Kentucky Turf Cup.

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – When Leave No Trace won Sunday’s Grade 1 Spinaway Stakes, it capped a terrific Saratoga meet for trainer Phil Serpe.

Serpe had won with 6 of 15 starters through Sunday – he had one more entered Monday – and won two stakes. He captured the Union Avenue Stakes for New York-bred fillies with Bank On Anna.

DEL MAR, Calif. - Stablemates Hong Kong Harry and Gold Phoenix won the most important races of their careers in Grade 2 turf stakes at Del Mar on Saturday, but will have divergent schedules this fall for trainer Phil D’Amato.

A trip to Keeneland for the Breeders’ Cup Turf on Nov. 5 beckons for Gold Phoenix, who won his first stakes in Saturday’s Grade 2 Del Mar Handicap for turf marathoners.

Hong Kong Harry, the winner of the Grade 2 Del Mar Mile, is not leaving California.

Economics are playing a major role in the decisions, D’Amato said Sunday.

DEL MAR, Calif. - The Generous Portion Stakes for California-bred 2-year-old fillies at Del Mar on Monday has a purse of $125,000.

Owner Michael Repole paid a $25,000 supplemental fee to make Uncontrollable eligible for the six-furlong race as well as the Golden State series, a lengthy list of stakes for statebreds at tracks statewide for the remainder of the filly’s career.

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – Jockey Katie Davis finished sixth in Friday’s fourth race at Saratoga, but she most certainly felt like a winner when she got off the filly Diva Banker.

The mount was the first for Davis since May 9, 2021, at Pimlico when she won a $16,000 claimer aboard Fairy Wish. 

“I was champing at the bit,” Davis said.

Juveniles take center stage closing weekend at Del Mar. Five of the six stakes Sept. 9-11 are for 2-year-olds including a pair of seven-furlong Grade 1s – the TVG Del Mar Debutante for fillies on Sept. 10, and Runhappy Del Mar Futurity on Sept. 11.

The 20-cent Rainbow Pick Six will have a mandatory payout at Del Mar for Saturday’s Pacific Classic program, although interest may be somewhat muted by what is expected to be a small carryover.

The bet was hit by a single ticket worth $467,147 last Saturday. Through Thursday, the carryover in the Rainbow Pick Six was $66,161. Assuming there is not a single winning ticket on Friday, the carryover may approach $100,000.

For the first time since Memorial Day, jockey Flavien Prat is back in Southern California. He is riding on Saturday’s blockbuster program at Del Mar, his first appearance there since November.

The lure is the brilliant 4-year-old Flightline, an overwhelming favorite in the Grade 1 Pacific Classic. Prat has mounts in seven other races, including three other stakes.

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – The owners of Drafted, who finished fifth in the Grade 1 Forego on Aug. 27 at Saratoga, have appealed a decision by the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority that would result in the forfeiture of their $26,000 share of the purse.

Drafted was disqualified from purse earnings in the Forego after it was determined by New York Racing Association steward Brook Hawkins that jockey Luis Rodriguez Castro struck the gelding 10 times with the whip during the running of the race. Under HISA rules, a rider is limited to a maximum of six strikes in a race.

Turfway Park on Thursday opened its new grandstand and historical horse racing facility to the public nearly 18 months after ground was broken on the $145 million project.

Officials from parent company Churchill Downs Inc. were on hand Tuesday evening at the northern Kentucky track for a soft opening of the new building, which will house more than 1,500 of the slots-like machines, seating with trackside views, and a simulcasting area.