The ease in which Flying Fig won a division of the Golden State Million Futurity time trials on Oct. 15, and became the fastest qualifier for Friday’s $1,230,450 final at Los Alamitos, left veteran trainer Dennis Ekins stunned.

“I thought she’d run really well, but not to run that fast and post that kind of race,” said.

ETOBICOKE, Ontario – Trelawny went from being a perpetual loser to a winning machine this year, and he should be prominent in Friday’s eighth race at Woodbine, a first-level allowance over six furlong on Polytrack.

It took Trelawny eight tries to earn his diploma, and he finally did so July 28, in a six-furlong maiden special that was taken off the grass. He doubled up a month later in a $62,500 claimer, winning from just off the pace over a modest field.

Double-digit gains in purses distributed during Hoosier Park's 63-day meet led to significant increases in handle on the track's product, according to figures provided by the Anderson, Ind., track.

Trainer Todd Pletcher had seven of his Breeders’ Cup starters arrive at Churchill Downs from New York on Tuesday, led by Quality Road (Classic) and Malibu Prayer (Ladies’ Classic), who shipped in by van at 4 a.m.

STICKNEY, Ill. – As unlucky as Hawthorne Race Course got with wet weather last fall, good fortune has fallen in equal proportion on the track this autumn. When rain finally fell around bone-dry Chicago this week, it came during the track’s three dark days, and after 14 racing days Hawthorne already has run 31 turf races this meet. Just 39 grass races were contested during the entire 2009 fall meeting, that despite five-day race weeks compared to four this year.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – D. Wayne Lukas nearly pulled off one of the biggest surprises of his Hall of Fame training career when Decelerator finished second, beaten less than a length by Hilda’s Passion, in the Grade 2 Raven Run Stakes last Saturday at Keeneland.

Decelerator was 73-1.

“I made a nice little bet on her because I thought she was coming into the race as good as she could be,” Lukas said early Tuesday outside his Churchill Downs barn. “I bet her win and place, so I guess I did okay.”

ELMONT, N.Y. – Just Ben appears to have a tactical advantage as the lone speed in Thursday’s featured eighth race, a $57,000 optional claimer at seven furlongs on the main track.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The Breeders’ Cup has announced that a record 184 horses were pre-entered Monday in the 14 races that make up the 2010 championships that will be run Nov. 5-6 at Churchill Downs. The entire lineups of pre-entries and races will be released Wednesday.

Among the pre-entered horses is Workforce, whose status for the Breeders’ Cup had been unclear since the colt captured the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe in France earlier this month. Other international superstars pre-entered include Zenyatta from the United States, Goldikova from France, and Espoir City from Japan.

Trainer Bret Calhoun has never had a better year at the races with 30 stakes wins so far, and now, the most important races for the barn are on the immediate horizon. Dubai Majesty and Chamberlain Bridge were pre-entered in separate Breeders’ Cup races on Monday, while 2-year-olds Gran Lioness and Su Casa G Casa are candidates for upcoming graded stakes at Churchill and Delta Downs.

INGLEWOOD, Calif. – Cost of Freedom will start in Saturday’s $100,000 California Cup Sprint at Hollywood Park and not the $2 million Breeders’ Cup Sprint at Churchill Downs on Nov. 6, according to trainer John Sadler.

Following a fourth-place finish in the Grade 1 Ancient Title Stakes at Hollywood Park on Oct. 9, Sadler and owners Gary and Cecil Barber considered both races, but have opted for the easier spot. The final decision was made on Monday, the day pre-entries for the Breeders’ Cup were due, Sadler said.