The Iowa Festival of Racing commences Friday evening with the initial set of three stakes – the $100,000 Saylorville Stakes, a six-furlong sprint for fillies and mares; the $100,000 Iowa Distaff, a 1 1/16-mile race for the females; and the featured $125,000 Iowa Sprint Handicap, an open-six furlong event for 3-year-olds and up.

The Iowa Sprint Handicap, which drew a field of seven, looks like a showdown between Canterbury Park-based Atta Boy Roy, trained by Valorie Lund, and the Bob Baffert trainee Ventana. Both come in to the race in excellent form.

Sportive looks like the one to beat in a $20,000 claiming race for 3-year-olds that will serve as Wednesday’s feature race at Northlands Park. The 6 1/2-furlong sprint drew six horses and goes as the fourth race.

ETOBICOKE, Ontario – Dulce Esparenza’s first try at the Ontario-sired nonwinners-of-two allowance level was good, and she could easily clear that condition on Wednesday night at Woodbine.

Dulce Esparenza was dismissed at 8-1 when trainer Steve Owens debuted her in a 1 1/16-mile maiden special May 4, but she ran like a favorite. She closed three-wide from midpack to prevail over next-out winner and current rival Forest Maid.

ETOBICOKE, Ontario – Check Your Soul, winner of the 1 1/8-mile Plate Trial, and Queens’platekitten, who captured the 1 1/16-mile Marine, top a large list of candidates for Woodbine’s $1 million Queen’s Plate.

As of Monday morning the connections of 17 Canadian-bred 3-year-olds were looking to contest the Queen’s Plate, the 1 1/4-mile race which will be run for the 152nd time here Sunday afternoon.

AUBURN, Wash. – Noosa Beach overcame a slow start to win the $50,000 Budweiser Handicap on Sunday at Emerald Downs and moved closer to a possible start in the Breeders’ Cup this fall at Churchill Downs.

A Washington-bred by Harbor the Gold, Noosa Beach tied Handy N Bold’s record of 10 stakes victories at Emerald Downs. Noosa Beach is expected to try for No. 11 on July 24 in the Mount Rainier Handicap, with the Grade 3 Longacres Mile on Aug. 21 his primary summer objective.

INGLEWOOD, Calif.- A four-win day at Hollywood Park on Sunday, highlighted by a victory on Irish Gypsy in the $76,050 Desert Stormer Handicap, met the satisfaction of jockey Martin Garcia.

“It’s okay,” he dead-panned, while leaving the winner’s circle.

LINCOLN, Neb. - Bach's Homebrew ran his record to 5 for 5 over the local course with a late run to capture the $16,350 President's Cup Stakes by a head in the Sunday feature at Lincoln Race Course.

Hammett Star closed from last for a neck win over Lucky Lo Lo in the $40,000 Molly Brown Stakes at Arapahoe Park on Sunday. It was another 1 1/4 lengths back in third to Amber Got Even.

Hammett Star ($16.60) raced in sixth early as Quietly Roar led the field of fillies and mares through fractions of the 22.58 seconds for the opening quarter and 45.56 for the half-mile. Hammett Star was up nearing the wire, while covering six furlongs on a fast track in 1:09.90.

Travis Wales rode the winner Steve Cluff and trainer Kerry Kemper.

GRAND PRAIRIE, Texas- Trainer Bret Calhoun won all seven of the races he had starters in during the past week at Lone Star Park, where he sent out a total of eight runners between last Thursday and Sunday.

Coyote Canyon ($5.80) capped the big race week on Sunday when he won the fifth race. He was one of two starters Calhoun had in the maiden special weight sprint for 2-year-olds, with Gold Road Mine finishing sixth as a separate interest.

INGLEWOOD, Calif.- Trainer Vann Belvoir was at his base at Emerald Downs outside of Seattle watching on television when he won the first race of his career at Hollywood Park on Saturday with Macho Dorado.

“We were bouncing around the office,” he said. “We thought we’d won the Kentucky Derby.”

It was a milestone win, and could be the first of several new successes in Southern California this summer for Belvoir, who plans to have as many as 12 horses at Del Mar this summer.