MIAMI – Blue Eyed Sweetie solidified her spot as the second-best 2-year-old filly on the grounds after setting all the pace en route to a popular one-length victory over a game Beso Grande in Saturday’s $85,000 Brave Raj Stakes at Calder.

My Jen, an unheralded 3-year-old filly coming off a runner-up finish in the Victory Ride Stakes at Saratoga, was up in the final yards to nail fellow longshot Moontune Missy by a head in Saturday’s Grade 2, $150,000 Gallant Bloom Handicap, a Win and You’re In event for the Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Sprint.

BENSALEM, Pa. – After a spring and summer of agonizing defeats in major races for 3-year-olds, trainer Nick Zito finally got to taste the thrill of victory in Saturday’s $1 million Pennsylvania Derby at Parx Racing.

OCEANPORT, N.J. – Jonathan Sheppard reached a significant milestone Saturday at Monmouth Park, getting his 1,000th steeplechase training victory when Arcadius took the Grade 1, $100,000 Helen Haskell Sampson Stakes.

“One thousand wins means I’ve done something nobody else has done,” said Sheppard, a Hall of Fame trainer. “I knew I was in range, but I honestly thought I wouldn’t be able to get there until next year. Thankfully, everything has fallen into place this year, and we’ve gotten a little lucky.”

Grand Rapport, under Ramon Dominguez, timed his run perfectly to just get up at the wire for a half-length victory over Workin for Hops in Saturday’s Grade 3, $249,550 Kent Breeders’ Cup at Delaware Park.
Making just his third start on turf, Grand Rapport was the 9-5 favorite coming off a nose defeat to Interactif in the Grade 2 Hall of Fame Stakes at Saratoga on Aug. 13.

ETOBICOKE, Ontario - Stately Victor won his first race since the Grade 1 Blue Grass at Keeneland on Saturday in the $154,500 Ontario Derby at Woodbine.
Stately Victor raced wide near the back of the pack during the early stages of the nine-furlong Polytrack route, as Kara’s Orientation set honest fractions, while being pressed by favored Big Red Mike.

ELMONT, N.Y. – The Breeders’ Cup World Championships are still six weeks away, but trainer Todd Pletcher certainly had that series of multi-million dollar races on his mind Saturday morning when putting several of his prospects through workouts at Belmont Park.

Pletcher worked a plethora of his prospective Breeders’ Cup starters, but when working his impressive debut winner Uncle Mo five furlongs in company with two other juveniles, it was with the idea of him having ready to face a large field in the BC Juvenile at Churchill Downs on Nov. 6.

MIAMI - Four horses who had been under quarantine at Calder Race Course have tested positive for Equine Piroplasmosis, according to a report received from the Florida state veterinarian’s office.

Track officials confirmed on Saturday that all four horses have been euthanized. The four horses were trained by Giuseppe Iadisernia.

Equine Piroplasmosis is a blood-based infectious disease that can be spread by ticks. Symptoms of the disease range from acute fever, lack of appetite and malaise, to anemia and jaundice, and sudden death.

POMONA, Calif. – Martin Pedroza was scheduled to resume riding Saturday at Fairplex Park. With top mounts in the final three days of the Los Angeles County Fair meet, his bid to break the meet record for wins (51) could be within reach Monday, closing day.

It hardly seemed possible at the start of the final week of racing. The all-time leading rider at Fairplex, Pedroza blanked Wednesday for the first time at the meet, then was sick with a stomach bug and did not ride Thursday.

The Remington Park meet in Oklahoma City is experiencing significant increases in handle on its live races a third of the way into its 65-date Thoroughbred meet, according to track officials.

Handle on Remington’s races at its off-track sites is averaging $558,528 a card 20 nights into the meet, a 33 percent increase from an average of $420,188 a card through the corresponding period in 2009. Remington is handling another $83,093 a night on its live races ontrack, up 8 percent from the average $76,675 a card in 2009.