LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Until Super Saver crossed under the line first in the 136th Kentucky Derby nearly seven months ago, it had been 36 years since the winner of the Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes had returned to Churchill Downs to capture the Derby.

With that victory there seems a little added significance to the KJC this year. And with Astrology, the solid favorite in the 84th running of the $150,000 KJC here Saturday, owning an unmistakable Derby pedigree, no one could blame his camp for thinking they might be back here with the colt for the 137th Derby next May.

In past seasons, the Southern California Derby at Los Alamitos was not well-supported, and gaining one of the 10 spots for the final was not very difficult for a horse with a decent level of ability. This year will be different. There are 38 horses in Friday’s four time trials, a record number of entrants. The purse for the Dec. 18 final is estimated at a record $202,500.

A placing in Friday’s trials is vital to have any chance of earning a berth.

“I think you’ll have to run 1-2-3,” said trainer Jose Antonio Flores, who has starters in three trials.

OZONE PARK, N.Y. – For more than a month, Qualia has been all dressed up with nowhere to run. Three weeks ago, she failed to crack into the field for the Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Sprint. Two weeks ago, an overnight stakes at Aqueduct failed to fill.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – A pretty big deal was made about Charlie Lopresti making it to the Breeders’ Cup earlier this month with two horses. Lopresti trains only 16 head at his Keeneland base, and yet Here Comes Ben and Wise Dan both were legitimate contenders in their respective races.

Funny thing, but neither is the best horse in the barn, according to Lopresti’s careful assessment. That in-house honor would belong to Successful Dan, who will carry high weight of 121 pounds as a major player Friday in the 136th running of the Grade 1 Clark Handicap at Churchill Downs.

Penn National Race Course is seeking to shift its live-racing schedule in 2011 to take advantage of a paucity of night-racing signals on Monday and Tuesday, the track said on Wednesday.

Under the revised schedule, Penn National would conduct 202 days of live racing in 2011, with cards on Friday, Saturday, Monday, and Tuesday. In 2010, the track ran a similar number of live racing dates, but conducted the cards on a Wednesday-through-Saturday schedule.

ETOBICOKE, Ontario - The Ontario Racing Commission has allowed an appeal by owner Jamie Attard and has placed his horse Federal Court first in the 10th race here July 31.

Coffee Bar had finished first while Federal Court had run second in the race. There was no inquiry and the result was declared official. Attard filed a protest and notice of appeal based on his belief that Coffee Bar had interefered with Federal Court during the stretch run.

ETOBICOKE, Ontario – The Boy’s Ring will take a two-race win streak into Friday’s feature at Woodbine Racetrack, a second-level allowance with a $62,500 claiming option which has also lured three stakes winners. The Boy’s Ring, a homebred owned and trained by Paul Buttigieg, has won 3 of 6 starts at the meet, which includes a pair of Ontario-sired allowance victories. His Oct. 6 tally, which followed a summer layoff, came against nonwinners-of-three Ontario-sired stock, and he was awarded a modest 74 Beyer Speed Figure.

ETOBICOKE, Ontario – Trainer Roger Attfield is busy setting up shop at his winter headquarters in Payson Park, Fla., following a business trip to Japan with the filly Ave and a brief holiday in Hawaii. Barring any unforeseen circumstances, Attfield probably will not be seen here at Woodbine Racetrack until the Sovereign Award ceremony next April 1.

“I’m sending them out of there pretty quickly,” said Attfield. “There are not that many horses with races left, and some of their races aren’t going.”

Trainer Tim McCanna has past history on his side to explain his confidence in Saratoga Boot going into Friday’s Grade 3, $100,000 All American at Golden Gate Fields.

Saratoga Boot – one of two 3-year-olds in the field of eight in the 1 1/8-mile Tapeta race – is the only runner in the field with a victory at the distance.

New Jersey shipper D’wild Ride, who came across the Delaware River two months ago to win an allowance race with an inflated purse of $110,000, duplicated the feat Tuesday when she overtook pacesetter Noble Maz in the stretch to win the $75,000 Cornucopia Stakes for filly and mare sprinters at Parx Racing.