OCEANPORT, N.J. – Musket Man is headed to the Breeders’ Cup Classic, even though he failed to complete his latest mission.

Prior to the Monmouth Cup on Oct. 9, trainer Derek Ryan said the 4-year-old Musket Man needed to win that race to earn a spot at Churchill Downs. But from Ryan’s perspective, Musket Man turned in a winning effort while finishing second to Etched. Locked along the rail behind slow fractions, Musket Man angled out for clearance on the final turn and continued strongly to the wire with Eibar Coa aboard.

LEXINGTON, Ky. – Aside from the very beginning of his Hall of Fame career and the occasional stakes engagement, Kent Desormeaux has never ridden all that often in his home state of Louisiana.

That will change later this year. Desormeaux said he will ride for at least the first month or so at Fair Grounds when the New Orleans track begins its four-month meet on Nov. 25 and could continue into 2011, depending on how things go.

“I’m really looking forward to it,” said Desormeaux. “I usually take December off, but I already got my month off this year.”

MIAMI – Sunday marks the final day of the long Calder session that began April 25. The Tropical at Calder meeting opens Thursday and runs through Jan. 3.

Runnning Brook Gal, the winner of the 2009 All American Futurity at Ruidoso Downs, makes her Los Alamitos debut in a division of the Los Alamitos Super Derby trials on Sunday evening, a race that trainer Paul Jones admits has left him “a little concerned.”

“It’s kind of tough to run here under the lights for the first time,” Jones said. “It’s her first out on this racetrack. and I wanted to get an out into her. I’m hoping she runs a big race and qualifies.”

LEXINGTON, Ky. – Kelly Breen has been around the racetrack long enough to know that there are no absolutes. Yet, the 41-year-old New Jersey-born trainer knows when circumstances are in his favor, and that might well be the case Sunday, when Breen sends out a long-winded 3-year-old named They Call Me Giant in the eighth race at Keeneland, a $51,000, second-level allowance at 1 1/2 miles on the turf.

ETOBICOKE, Ontario – Sunday’s Cup and Saucer Stakes could go into the books as little more than a footnote on Canadian International weekend.

But for some of the participants, including trainer David Bell, the $250,000 Cup and Saucer will be far and away the most important race run here this weekend.

Bell also owns a 50 percent interest in Ojibway Signal, who will be making his stakes debut in the 1 1/16-mile turf feature for Canadian-bred 2-year-olds and was supplemented to the race at a cost of $7,500. Gus Vlahos is the gelding’s co-owner.

FORT ERIE, Ontario – The 2010 Fort Erie meeting, which ends Oct. 26, was the first under the management of Fort Erie Live Racing Consortium, and the overall response from fans and horsemen has been positive.

The track, formerly run by Nordic Gaming, was leased to the Fort Erie Live Racing Consortium, which is led by chief executive officer Jim Thibert.
“My background in the horse racing business was negligible,” said Thibert, “and the search for a strong management team had to be our first priority.

ETOBICOKE, Ontario – Say No More and Good Better Best, who both won their only start on the grass, are the obvious contenders in Sunday’s $250,000 Cup and Saucer Stakes, a 1 1/16-mile turf route for Canadian-bred 2-year-olds at Woodbine.

Say No More could go favored off his front-running triumph in a one-mile maiden special Sept. 25. He drew off in the final furlong then to prevail by 2 3/4 lengths, in a time of 1:35.88, which translated into a 68 Beyer Speed Figure.

Is it time for another upset by Autism Awareness?

The 5-year-old horse has won only 4 of 29 starts and is winless this year. But he has a knack for pulling off upset victories, including the Grade 3 El Camino Real Derby as a 3-year-old and the Grade 3 Berkeley when he defeated millionaire Bold Chieftain by a head for his last victory, which came in May 2009.

Autism Awareness has five rivals in Sunday’s closing-day $50,000 Bull Dog Stakes at 1 1/8 miles on dirt at the Big Fresno Fair, and while he won't be a huge price, he should offer value.

Ask Queenie, the richest-ever Massachusetts-bred racehorse and 20-time stakes winner, has been retired and will be recognized with a day in her honor at Suffolk Downs on Oct. 30.

Owned by Laurine Barreira, bred by her grandfather, Lloyd Lockhart, and trained by her mother, Lori Lockhart, Ask Queenie won 27 of her 63 starts and banked $780,365. She won the James B. Moseley New England Horse of the Year in 2005 as a 4-year-old and won other regional awards every year from 2004-2007 and again last year.