AUBURN, Wash. − While he’s no threat to win the Emerald Downs training title – at least not this year – Jonathan Nance is having a terrific meeting. Entering this week, 30 of his 46 starters had finished first, second, or third, an in-the-money rate of 65 percent. Jerry Hollendorfer would be proud.

Nance is pleased, too. “It’s going better than I thought it would go,” Nance said Thursday. “The horses seem to be running pretty good. I’m pretty happy about the percentages. The track has been really good. As long as I can keep them sound, I think I’ll keep doing well.”

OCEANPORT, N.J. – Flashpoint should be back on his game Sunday in the Grade 3, $150,000 Jersey Shore Stakes for 3-year-olds at Monmouth Park.

The winner of the seven-furlong Hutcheson Stakes at Gulfstream Park with a dazzling 102 Beyer Speed Figure, Flashpoint will have usual pilot Cornelio Velasquez aboard.

He took an ambitious swing last time, setting the early pace in the Preakness before fading to last.

The gray colt has been training lights out since then at Aqueduct for Wesley Ward, and should love the distance cut back to six furlongs.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The richest event Sunday at Churchill Downs is a mere first-level, $62,100 allowance, but that hardly qualifies as bad news. More worthy of note is all the large fields on a 12-race card, perhaps a sign that horsemen are eager to get in one more Churchill start before scattering to their different summer venues.

ETOBICOKE, Ontario – The Ralph Biamonte stable has fashioned an enviable record with its 2-year-olds at this meeting, clicking with 5 of 8 starters, including Victoria Stakes winner Banner Bill.

On Sunday, Biamonte will be looking to enhance that statistic when he sends out Jenna’s Wabbit for the $125,000 Clarendon Stakes.

The Clarendon, a 5 1/2-furlong race for Ontario-foaled 2-year-olds, attracted a field of seven, and Jenna’s Wabbit is the only winner.

ELMONT, N.Y. – Coming off a dominant victory in the Grade 2 Vagrancy Handicap here June 4, Hilda’s Passion would have been a logical candidate for next weekend’s Grade 1, $350,000 Princess Rooney Handicap at Calder.

Despite the larger purse and the fact she would have been an odds-on favorite in that six-furlong race, Hilda’s Passion remained home in New York to run in Sunday’s Grade 3, $150,000 Bed o’ Roses Handicap, where she also figures to be heavily favored in this seven-furlong stakes.

VANCOUVER, British Columbia – Castinette Dancer will put her three-race winning streak on the line when she stretches out to 1 1/16 miles for the first time in the $50,000 Supernaturel for 3-year-old fillies at Hastings Sunday.

ETOBICOKE, Ontario – Spooky Kitten gave the brilliant Inglorious a run for her money in the Woodbine Oaks, a performance that makes her the one to fear most in Sunday’s $250,000 Bison City Stakes.

The 1 1/16-mile Bison City follows the Oaks as the second leg of the Canadian triple tiara, a lucrative series for Canadian-bred 3-year-old fillies. The race lost some of its luster when Inglorious skipped it in favor of a successful run in last Sunday’s Queen’s Plate, but there are some promising fillies in the six-horse field.

Give Me Five will try and make amends in a first-level allowance race for 3-year-old fillies that will serve as Sunday’s feature race at Northlands Park. The 6 1/2-furlong sprint drew seven horses and goes as race 3 on the eight-race card.

SHAKOPEE, Minn. - As of midnight Thursday, Canterbury Park has ceased all racing, simulcasting, and card club activities due to the shutdown of the Minnesota state government. Gov. Mark Dayton and the state legislature were unable to come to agreement on a budget in time to keep the government functioning. As a result, the Minnesota Racing Commission shut down operations, so there would be no stewards, state veterinarians, or test lab available to run the track. Canterbury also was forced to discontinue simulcasting and card room operations.

INGLEWOOD, Calif. - Caracortado was nominated to the Breeders’ Cup program for $25,000 on Thursday, co-owner and trainer Mike Machowsky said. The Thursday payment met an Open Enrollment deadline set by the Breeders’ Cup for discounted nominations for 3-year-olds and up, and came just in time for Caracortado’s important start in Saturday’s $300,000 Shoemaker Mile.