DEL MAR, Calif. – The fall Del Mar meet started with a flourish by playing host to the Breeders’ Cup and it will finish with a flourish, with seven graded turf stakes over the final four days, including Grade 1, $400,000 races on Saturday and Sunday that have lured top-quality horses and riders from the East Coast.

The Grade 1 Hollywood Derby for 3-year-olds on Saturday and Grade 1 Matriarch for fillies and mares on Sunday both were won last year by trainer Chad Brown, with Domestic Spending and Viadera, respectively, and he will try to win both again.

DEL MAR, Calif. – There has to be a story behind the name Worse Read Sanchez, a 2-year-old who debuts in race 3 on Sunday at Del Mar for trainer Doug O’Neill and owner-breeder Paul Reddam, right?

Yep, there is.

According to O’Neill and one of his owners, Dave Kenney, the name sprouted from a caddy’s misread of a Reddam putt at Sherwood Country Club near Thousand Oaks, Calif.

DEL MAR, Calif. – Peter Miller on Thursday night announced in a press release that he was stepping away from training. His longtime assistant Ruben Alvarado will take over the barn.

A representative of the partnership that has reached an agreement to buy Delaware Park in Wilmington told the state’s racing commission on Thursday that the company does not have immediate plans to implement major changes to the racetrack, according to a published report.

Ron Baumann, a former general manager at Indiana Grand and Harrah’s Philadelphia racetrack, told the commission that he has been selected by the company to run the racing operation at Delaware, which also owns an adjacent casino and sports book.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Maxfield was sent through the final timed workout of his outstanding career when prepping early Friday for the Grade 1 Clark with a five-furlong breeze in 1:01.20 over a fast track at Churchill Downs.

Maxfield, a Grade 1 winner of more than $1.55 million in 10 career starts, will face the standout 3-year-old Midnight Bourbon and a handful of older horses Friday (Nov. 26) in the $750,000 Clark, the annual fall highlight at Churchill. Friday entries will be drawn Sunday.

Thanksgiving’s opening card of the 2021-22 Fair Grounds meet, drawn Thursday in New Orleans, attracted 95 entrants spread among nine races.

The program has an early noon Central first post and is headlined by the $150,000 Thanksgiving Classic, a six-furlong sprint that lured seven runners. The field, from the rail out, comprises Necker Island, Pyron, Went West, Greeley and Ben, Emerald Forest, Strike Power, and Just Might.

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – The Gulfstream Park fall session ends Sunday, but management has opted to disburse the Rainbow 6 carryover one day earlier. The pool will be a modest one, likely sitting at approximately $400,000 if it is not taken down on Thursday or Friday, with the final total perhaps in the vicinity of $2 million by the time the final 20-cent Rainbow 6 tickets are punched prior to Saturday’s fifth race.

The New Jersey Racing Commission on Wednesday approved 71 live racing dates for Monmouth Park next year, with 11 of those proposed dates taking place for an all-turf meet at the Meadowlands.

While the award is a return to normal for the Thoroughbred racing calendar, the 71-date schedule is nine more racing dates than were awarded for 2020. The 60 live racing dates for Monmouth will be run from May 7-Sept. 17, while the all-turf meet at the Meadowlands is scheduled for Sept. 23-Oct. 29, running only on weekends.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Nominations have been released for the six closing-week stakes at Churchill, most notably a list of 22 for the Grade 1, $750,000 Clark, which is set for next Friday, Nov. 26. Maxfield and Midnight Bourbon are expected to clash in the 1 1/8-mile Clark, but beyond those two and Code of Honor, Dr Post, and Happy Saver, it’s unclear who else might show. Brad Cox said “doubtful” for his two nominees, Night Ops and Plainsman, while the trainers of other would-be contenders such as Independence Hall, King Fury, and Dennis’ Moment have been eyeing other races at Aqueduct.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Matera didn’t exist in the same realm as Knicks Go and Essential Quality during yet another breakthrough season for trainer Brad Cox, but give her another 10 years or so.

Like those two Cox superstars of 2021, Matera is headed to the breeding shed, where her impeccable pedigree makes her a highly prized commodity. The gray daughter of the world-class sire Tapit was produced by Miss Macy Sue, “and that makes her a half-sister to Not This Time and Liam’s Map,” said Cox, referring to two of the hottest young sires in the industry.