SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – Big Drama’s first two forays into Grade 1 company were unsuccessful. His connections hope the third time is the charm when Big Drama seeks his first Grade 1 victory in Sunday’s $250,000 Alfred G. Vanderbilt Handicap at Saratoga.

Big Drama’s first Grade 1 attempt came in last year’s Preakness, where he finished fifth to Rachel Alexandra in a race where he got hot and bothered at the gate. The second try came in last year’s King’s Bishop here where here caught a sloppy main track and finished sixth of nine.

DEL MAR, Calif. – Joe Talamo will miss the remainder of the Del Mar meeting after suffering fractured bones in his left wrist in a one-horse spill on Thursday.
He is the second jockey among the top 10 at the meeting to be sidelined by injury for the rest of the meet. Jockey Tyler Baze suffered facial injuries in an incident at the starting gate on July 24, and like Talamo is expected to be sidelined until the start of the Oak Tree at Santa Anita meeting on Sept. 29.

VANCOUVER, British Columbia – According to trainer Dino Condilenios Burj Dubai has moved to the top of the list of the three horses he is pointing to the Grade 3, $250,000 Longacres Mile Aug. 22. Until recently, Teide was number one on the depth chart. Teide has been the top older horse at Hastings for the past two years, and last year he had a rough trip when he finished third in the Mile. Condilenios also nominated Almost Time to the Mile after he scored an impressive win in the B.C. Cup Sprint last Monday.

Five European-trained horses have been confirmed as starters by the International Racing Bureau for the Arlington Million on Aug. 21 at Arlington Park. They are currently headed by Summit Surge, recent winner of the Group 2 York Stakes, plus the third- and fourth-place finishers in the 1 1/4-mile, 88-yard contest, Allybar and Debussy.

Tim Glyshaw’s first exposure to horse racing came as a teenager at Ellis Park, adjacent to his hometown of Evansville, Ind.

A quarter-century later, after taking quite the circuitous route, Glyshaw is contending for leading trainer at the Henderson, Ky., track. A training title is something that Glyshaw, now 41, has never come close to attaining in the six years since he opened a public stable, so he is finding this life-comes-full-circle thing to be quite exciting.

FORT ERIE, Ontario – Set in Stone, a 3 3/4-length winner going seven furlongs in a $16,000 claiming race at Woodbine last time out, will be looking to make it two in a row in Sunday’s $30,000 Andy Passero Memorial Cup at Fort Erie.

The 1 1/16-mile feature, restricted to horses who have started at least twice at Fort Erie this season, drew a field of eight.

ETOBICOKE, Ontario – Trainer Bill Tharrenos, who sent out his first winner here in 2005, generally has operated beneath the radar in subsequent seasons.

But Tharrenos will find himself in a different light here Sunday when he sends out both Tree Pose and Lucky Be Me for the $125,000 Nandi, a six-furlong race for Ontario-sired 2-year-old fillies that drew a field of 11.

“I expect both fillies to run very well,” Tharrenos said.

ETOBICOKE, Ontario – Field Commission, last year’s Canadian champion sprinter, will experiment around two turns Sunday at Woodbine in the Grade 3, $150,000 Seagram Cup Stakes.

Field Commission is winless in four starts at the meet, but he didn’t finish worse than fourth in those four stakes. His best effort this year was a runner-up placing in the Grade 3 Connaught Cup behind Grand Adventure, who subsequently won the Grade 2 King Edward Stakes.

“He’s hasn’t run a bad race this year,” said trainer Danny Vella. “He’s a pretty legit horse. He runs every time.”

For the first time in 25 years trainer Sam David Jr. is not stabled at Louisiana Downs, so when he saddles horses in the seventh and ninth races on Sunday, they will be just his fourth and fifth starters at the meet. David has moved his base of operations to Lafayette, La., to be closer to family, and has reduced his 40-horse stable down to about 10 runners.

Bernell Rhone is optimistic about winning the $50,000 John Bullit at Canterbury Park on Sunday. Rhone brings three horses with different strengths to the 1 1/16-mile stakes race on the turf.

“I’m stacking them up this race,” Rhone said. “I like my chances.”

Rhone saddles Heza Wild Guy, who likes to run on the front end, and Chiphunter and Gesundheit, who come from off the pace.

Heza Wild Guy has won 5 of his last 11 starts. His most recent win came against Indiana-bred company in the A.J. Foyt at Indiana Downs on July 14.