As part of a season in which he won seven races and finished third behind Commentator in the $500,000 Massachusetts Handicap, Cuba went off as the 6-5 favorite when he coasted to a four-length win in last fall's Maryland Million Classic.

But those past accomplishments don't carry as much weight because Cuba has done little recently, and the 8-year-old could be close to double-digit odds when he defends his title Saturday against a solid lineup of 10 that includes two winners from last year's Maryland Million card.

ARCADIA, Calif. - Zenyatta's racing career may not end in the Breeders' Cup at Santa Anita in November.

On Thursday, trainer John Shirreffs said owners Jerry and Ann Moss are considering starting Zenyatta in early 2010 before sending her to Kentucky to be bred.

"I think she'll continue to race until that decision is made," Shirreffs said. "She's doing so well. I hope that would be the case. She's just rounding into form now."

FLORENCE, Ky. - It could be worse.

Beset by years of sagging business, deflated purses, and an uncertain long-term future, Turfway Park on Saturday will run the Kentucky Cup for the 16th time with a couple of saving graces on hand: the synthetic racetrack is similar to that at Santa Anita, site of the Nov. 6-7 Breeders' Cup, and the six-week span between events is ideal for some horsemen.

In fact, the surface and timing were key factors in WinStar Farm sending Hold Me Back, easily the marquee name in the Kentucky Cup this year, to Turfway.

POMONA, Calif. - How weird is it to scratch from a $50,000 stakes to go in an easier race for double the purse?

That is the unusual decision facing trainer Don Warren. His improving 3-year-old Acclamation, third in the Grade 2 Del Mar Derby, is the preliminary favorite Saturday at Fairplex Park in the Pomona Derby (race 11) for 3-year-olds.

But Warren and owners Bud and Judy Johnston may scratch Acclamation from the Pomona Derby and face older horses a day later in the $100,000 Ralph M. Hinds Pomona Handicap on Sunday.

ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, Ill. - Unbeaten 2-year-old filly She Be Wild worked a solid five furlongs in 1:02.20 on Thursday at Arlington and is now considered a likely runner in the Oct. 9 Alcibiades Stakes at Keeneland. Trainer Wayne Catalano had considered sending She Be Wild directly to the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies off her win in the Sept. 5 Arlington-Washington Lassie, but Catalano said Thursday that he now was leaning toward running in the Alcibiades. Catalano said She Be Wild would ship from Arlington to Keeneland on Oct. 2.

ELMONT, N.Y. - In a year that has become defined by the girls beating the boys in Thoroughbred racing, another female may be ready to take the plunge.

Diamondrella, who earlier this year won the Grade 1 Just a Game Stakes against females going a mile at Belmont Park, is being seriously considered for a start against the boys in the Grade 2, $250,000 Kelso Handicap here Oct 4. The Kelso, like the Just a Game, is run as a one-turn mile over Belmont's Widener turf course.

ETOBICOKE, Ontario - It's not that unusual for a stakes-placed horse to show up in a first-level allowance race.

But Saturday's $79,500 ninth race, a first-level allowance for 3-year-olds and upward over 1 1/8 miles on turf, goes way beyond the pale, with no fewer than five stakes-placed runners slated to start in a field of 11.

Backgammon, Cool Gator, Keino West, Knight's Cause, and Bourbon Bay all have finished third or better in at least one stakes.

Runnning Brook Gal will make her first start since her dominating performance in the All American Futurity on Saturday at Zia Park, when she runs in trials for the Grade 2, $300,000-estimated Hobbs America Futurity for Quarter Horses.

Runnning Brook Gal is set to run in the fifth race on a card that features six trials. The 10 fastest qualifiers from the 400-yard trials will advance to the Oct. 11 running of the Hobbs.

Presque Isle Downs closes out its meet Saturday with three $100,000 stakes. The final card of the 100-day meet includes the Fitz Dixon Memorial for 2-year-old colts and geldings, the HBPA for older fillies and mares, and the Presque Isle Debutante for 2-year-old fillies as the final race of the season.

In each of the last two runnings of the Turf Amazon Handicap, Philadelphia Park's top turf race for female sprinters, bettors have made Smart and Fancy the favorite.

They were rewarded when Smart and Fancy scored by 2 1/2 lengths in 2007, but disappointed when she got shuffled back early and had to settle for second at 9-5 last year.