SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – A surprisingly large field of 11 was entered in Saturday’s Grade 1, $250,000 Forego Stakes at Saratoga, and that was just fine with Ian Wilkes, trainer of Warrior’s Reward.

Before entries closed, Wilkes feared that far fewer horses than that would be entered, and that Vineyard Haven would wind up as the main speed in the race. But the entries of Checklist, Big Drama, Charitable Man and Omniscient should ensure a lively pace for the late-running Warrior’s Reward, who drew post 9.

DEL MAR, Calif. – It will cost $13,750 to supplement and start Rigoletta in Saturday’s $250,000 Darley Debutante at Del Mar.

Considering that owners Pavla and Erik Nygaard paid just $35,000 for Rigoletta at a 2-year-olds in training sale in April, the five-figure investment – a $10,000 supplemental fee and $3,750 in entry and starting fees – may be worth the gamble.

“We feel like it’s just tacking it on to her purchase price,” trainer Dan Hendricks said Wednesday.

OCEANPORT, N.J. – The Pennsylvania Derby on Sept. 25 will likely be the next spot for Afleet Again following a fourth-place finish in the Travers Stakes at Saratoga.

“He came out of the race great,” trainer Butch Reid said on Wednesday. “He went back to the track this morning at Philadelphia Park. He galloped a strong mile and a quarter, and looked good doing it.”

The Travers was a solid bid, considering the big gray was hung wide around both turns. The rallying trip, with Cornelio Velasquez aboard, was exactly what Reid hoped for.

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – It will be blinkers on and Calvin Borel off Mine That Bird when the 2009 Kentucky Derby winner takes on Quality Road and five others in Saturday’s Grade 1, $750,000 Woodward Stakes at Saratoga.

Rajiv Maragh, who has worked Mine That Bird the last two weeks, will be aboard him Saturday from post 2. Quality Road, beaten a head by Blame in the Whitney at 1-2 odds here Aug. 7, drew post 3 and will be ridden by John Velazquez. As the conditions of the Woodward are weight for age, all horses will carry 126 pounds.

The tough economic times that have led Retama Park to reduce the length of its meet from 30 to 16 nights have also inspired the track to amp up the deals it will offer its customers. Retama will feature a reduced 12 percent takeout on both pick threes and doubles this meet, while admission to the track will be free every Saturday night as part of a promotion that also includes lower-priced concessions.

OCEANPORT, N.J. – Hurricane Earl could be an unwelcome visitor at Monmouth Park for the start of the final weekend of the summer portion of the meet.

The storm bearing down on the East Coast could play havoc with Friday’s card, especially the two $82,000 co-features both scheduled on grass.

“Will we be on turf or mud? That’s the first question,” said trainer Tim Hills, who has runners in both races.

The two features are the long and the short versions of the same second-level $40,000 optional claimer for fillies and mares.

AUBURN, Wash. – Barring last-minute withdrawals, a total of 172 horses will be offered at auction Tuesday during the Washington Thoroughbred Breeders and Owners Association’s annual summer sale at the Morris J. Alhadeff Sales Pavilion adjacent to Emerald Downs.

In a departure from past years, when the event was limited to yearlings, the sale will include broodmares, weanlings, horses of racing age, and stallion shares, though most of the focus will be on a preferred group of 117 yearlings. The sale begins at 1 p.m. and is open to the public.

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – The one thing trainer Neil Howard has learned about Lou Brissie is that the juvenile colt would benefit from running long. Without a dirt option, Howard hopes to learn that Lou Brissie likes the turf as well when he runs in Friday’s Grade 3, $100,000 With Anticipation Stakes at Saratoga.

The With Anticipation, scheduled for 1 1/16 miles on the outer turf course, is the feature on a nine-race program that begins at 2:30 p.m.

DEL MAR, Calif.– Unbeaten in four sprints, Goggles McCoy starts in the $100,000 El Cajon Stakes at Del Mar on Friday, trying a mile for the first time.

The El Cajon is an important race for Goggles McCoy’s future, and for trainer Steve Sherman and his family. For the first time, Sherman, 46, and his father, Art, 73, will have runners in the same stakes. Art Sherman starts Haimish Hy, who has not started since finishing second in the Grade 3 El Camino Real Derby at Golden Gate Fields in April.

“His horse can run,” Steve Sherman said of Haimish Hy.

OPELOUSAS, La. – Here in the heart of Cajun Country, there is certainly no shortage of jockey lore. This summer, however, it is a native of Lima, Peru, that has had a meeting for the ages.

John Jacinto has been so dominant in the saddle that he has distanced himself by almost 50 winners from his nearest competitor in the standings. With a week remaining in the current stand, he has visited the winner’s circle 123 times, compared to 76 for longtime Evangeline regular Gerard Melancon.