ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, Ill. – Pre-entries for the Arlington Million, the Beverly D., and the Secretariat closed at midnight Friday with 10 horses pre-entered in the 27th running of the Grade 1 Million. The list of pre-entered Million horses is topped by Gio Ponti, who will try to become the first back-to-back Million winner when he starts in next Saturday’s 1 1/4-mile turf race.

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – When it comes to readiness for the Travers, Tony Dutrow believes A Little Warm is already there, Todd Pletcher says Super Saver is getting there, and Kiaran McLaughlin doesn’t know yet if Trappe Shot is going there at all.

Comin Thru kept Stolis Winner from becoming the all-time richest Quarter Horse on Friday night, when he won the $50,000 Sam Houston Classic in a blanket finish. Stolis Winner finished sixth as the 4-5 favorite, and needed a win to surpass Refrigerator’s record of $2,126,309 in earnings. Stolis Winner was the world champion Quarter Horse of 2008.

Comin Thru ($16) covered the 440 yards in 21.60 seconds, for a nose win over Point of Deception. Rodrigo Vallejo was aboard the winner for Mickey Tiner and trainer Judd Kearl.

DEL MAR, Calif. - Bonifacio closed from last in a field of seven to pull an upset in Friday’s $83,025 Daisycutter Handicap, much to the delight, and surprise, of winning rider Alonso Quinonez.

Quinonez was uncertain whether Bonifacio ($42) caught Pasar Silbano at the wire of the five-furlong turf race. “I was very wide,” he said. ”I thought I was a little bit in front.”

CHICAGO – The fall-winter meet at Hawthorne Race Course may be in trouble before it even begins. Open stakes purses at Hawthorne’s upcoming meet could be slashed by $700,000, with the Hawthorne Gold Cup purse possibly halved from $500,000 to $250,000. The Hawthorne racing week might be reduced from five days to four, with an overnight purse cut also being considered.

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - By skipping next weekend’s Grade 1 Secretariat at Arlington Park for Friday’s Grade 2 National Museum of Racing Hall of Fame Stakes at Saratoga, trainer Todd Pletcher thought he was running Interactif in an easier spot.
While Interactif did get to the winner’s circle, it was far from easy.

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – Don’t tell Tony Dutrow that next Saturday’s Grade 1 Alabama is simply a showdown between the West Coast-based Blind Luck and the East Coast-based Devil May Care.

As the trainer of Havre de Grace, who came within a nose of upsetting Blind Luck in the Delaware Oaks, Dutrow feels his filly has a big shot to knock off the big two in the $600,000 race for 3-year-old fillies at 1 1/4 miles.

DEL MAR, Calif. – Gotta Have Her meets a stronger field at a longer distance Sunday in the Grade 2 John C. Mabee Stakes at Del Mar. However, the challenges that face the consistent turf mare go beyond streaking Wasted Tears and the 1 1/8-mile trip.

“My biggest concern is no Tyler,” trainer Jenine Sahadi said, referring to injured jockey Tyler Baze, who has ridden Gotta Have Her in 11 straight races. The comment was not meant to knock replacement rider Mike Smith, but Gotta Have Her has only one boyfriend.

DEL MAR, Calif. – The $300,000 Del Mar Oaks on Aug. 21 is likely to have a large field, and that works against trainer Mark Glatt’s hopes for It Tiz.

The field for the Grade 1 Oaks is limited to 10 starters, determined by graded or group stakes winners, or fillies who have placed in such races. It Tiz won the minor Le Cle Stakes at Hollywood Park last month but has had no success in reaching the first three in graded stakes in her career.

ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, Ill. – Only 220 yards separate the co-featured sixth and eighth races Sunday at Arlington Park. Both races are restricted to females and are open to second-level allowance runners or $40,000 claimers, with race 6 carded at one mile on Polytrack, race 8 over seven furlongs on Polytrack.

It’s unusual to see two such similar races on a single card, but Arlington apparently did not have a surplus of options for the Sunday program, with just 73 horses entered in nine races.