SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - If Saturday were a regular day, Dean Hayes would be driving a truckload of Darley Stable's finest stallions from a farm in Lexington, Ky., to the Louisville airport on their way to the Southern Hemisphere for the breeding season.
SHAKOPEE, Minn. - The Claiming Crown may not deserve an apples-to-apples comparison to the Breeders' Cup, for obvious reasons, but in at least one respect there is striking similarity: the races come at you in rapid-fire succession.
At 2:35 p.m. Central, the Claiming Crown procession will begin in earnest. The first of seven straight Claiming Crown races, the $50,000 Iron Horse, will kick off more than three hours of frantic action, with the anchor event, the $150,000 Jewel, culminating the series as the day's ninth race at 5:43 p.m.
ETOBICOKE, Ontario - Although East End Tap is coming off a solid second-place finish behind Harlem Rocker in Fort Erie's Prince of Wales, he will be a major question mark in the Breeders' Stakes here at Woodbine on Sunday.
The $500,000 Breeders', a 1 1/2-mile turf race that is the final leg in the Triple Crown for Canadian-bred 3-year-olds, attracted a field of 10.
The majority of the entrants have shown acceptable form on grass, but East End Tap has no green in either his race or workout history.
OCEANPORT, N.J. - Big Brown will break from post 4, right in the middle, in his comeback Sunday in the $1 million Haskell Invitational at Monmouth Park.
The Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner is the 1-2 favorite on Monmouth oddsmaker Brad Thomas's morning line in the seven-horse field for the 1 1/8-mile race.
As usual, Kent Desormeaux will be aboard as Big Brown makes his first start since being pulled up in the Belmont Stakes.
VANCOUVER, British Columbia - In the past, the $50,000 B.C. Cup Sprint has easily outshone the $100,000 Classic as the best race on B.C. Cup Day. Once again, the Sprint is shaping up to be the more interesting race, especially with Holy Nova in the field.
Trained by Troy Taylor, Holy Nova is easily the best filly or mare in Western Canada. She has just toyed with her rivals in all three of her starts north of the border this year. But can she beat what appears to be a very solid field of older male sprinters Monday?
ETOBICOKE, Ontario Marina Ballerina has been pointed toward Saturdays $150,000 Royal North Stakes since she arrived at Woodbine, and she looks like the one to catch in the six-furlong turf event for fillies and mares.
Marina Ballerina has started three times since joining trainer Sam DiPasquales barn in March. She flashed brief speed before fading to eighth in the April 20 Whimsical Stakes, but she showed more stamina when sixth in another Grade 3 stakes on Polytrack May 11, the Hendrie.
SANTA ROSA, Calif. Although the race lacks the headliner name it had in recent years, when it carried a $100,000 purse, Saturdays field for the $50,000 Joseph Grace Handicap is a good one for the betting public.
There is plenty of depth in the field, which includes last years second- and third-place finishers, Eager Pharisien and Saratogas Magic. All seven runners in the 1 1/16-mile turf race for 3-year-olds and up are based in Northern California.
EDMONTON, Alberta Arkhill seeks his third straight stakes score as the 123-pound highweight in a field of nine 3-year-olds contesting Saturdays Count Lathum, which is the final Northlands Park stakes prep for the Aug. 23 Canadian Derby here.
The 1 1/16-mile Count Lathum offers a $75,000 purse and drew plenty of interest from Hastings connections, with Malcolm Beveridge saddling the entry of Saratoga Avenue and Valdero, and Terry Jordan shipping in speedster Tigerheat.
AURORA, Colo. Aspen Mist and Cowboy Joe, running as an uncoupled entry for trainer Kenneth Gleason, figure to dominate the action in the $20,000 CTBA Stallion Stakes at Arapahoe Park on Saturday. The seven-furlong test for 3-year-old colts and geldings is for runners conceived by a nominated stallion standing in Colorado in 2005. Seven entered the affair, including three maiden runners.