SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – Galt, a 2-year-old full brother to multiple champion filly Songbird, will make his career debut in Saturday’s seventh race, which appears to be coming up one of the stronger maiden races of the meet.

In the summer of 2015, Songbird won her debut by 6 1/2 lengths on her way to a career in which she won 13 of 15 starts including nine Grade 1 stakes. She was a champion at 2 and 3 and earned $4.69 million for owner Rick Porter while being trained by Jerry Hollendorfer.

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – The connections of Grade 2 Saratoga Special winner High Oak were planning to wait until the Grade 1 Champagne on Oct. 2 at Belmont Park to run their unbeaten 2-year-old again. High Oak obviously had other ideas.

After evaluating how well the horse is doing, trainer Bill Mott and owners Lee Einsidler and Mike Francesa have opted to run High Oak in Monday’s Grade 1, $300,000 Hopeful Stakes, setting up a showdown with undefeated Sanford Stakes winner Wit in the closing-day feature.

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – There are still five days remaining in the meet, but this has already been a record-setting summer handle-wise at Saratoga.

Following Wednesday’s card – the 35th day of the 40-day meet – all-sources handle stood at $709,437,410, eclipsing the all-time all-sources handle record of $705,343,949 set in 2019. Last year, all-sources handle at Saratoga – during a meet in which fans were not allowed ontrack – was $702,535,472.

The 2019 record was set during a meet in which only 39 of the scheduled 40 days were run.

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – Following a second-place finish in a first-level allowance here July 24, Amendment Nineteen was purchased privately by Juddmonte Farm and transferred to Brad Cox.

Amendment Nineteen, formerly owned by D.J. Stable and trained by Linda Rice, will make her first start for her new connections in Saturday’s Grade 2, $250,000 Prioress Stakes for 3-year-old fillies at six furlongs.

In three starts, Amendment Nineteen has a maiden win sandwiched around second-place finishes to Always Carina in a maiden race and Caramel Swirl in an allowance.

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – War Like Goddess, impressive winner of the Grade 2 Glens Falls on Aug. 7, will get a chance to capture her first Grade 1 when she starts as a strong favorite in the $600,000 Flower Bowl Stakes at 1 3/8 miles on turf.

The Flower Bowl, like the Jockey Club Gold Cup, was moved to this meet from Belmont Park and is a Win and You’re In for the Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Turf on Nov. 6 at Del Mar. It will be run for the first time at 1 3/8 miles.

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – Trainer Steve Asmussen has had a memorable Saratoga meet already with a chance to punctuate it even further with horses to run in three of the final four Grade 1 races of the meet.

At Saratoga this summer, Asmussen became the all-time leading trainer in wins (9,467 through Tuesday), and last weekend won the Grade 1 Forego and Grade 1 H. Allen Jerkens about 40 minutes apart.

The field for the Grade 2 Zenyatta Stakes on Oct. 3 at Santa Anita may feature a filly who won the race in 2020 but has not raced since the spring and another who has struggled at Del Mar in her first two starts in the country.

Harvest Moon, trained by Simon Callaghan, won the Zenyatta Stakes at 1 1/16 miles last fall in advance of a fourth-place finish in the Breeders’ Cup Distaff at Keeneland last November. Harvest Moon was fourth and third in leading stakes for older fillies and mares at Santa Anita in March and April before she was given a rest.

The Grade 2 Del Mar Derby on Saturday may be the betting race of the track’s summer season. It certainly has the field size required to earn such a distinction.

The $250,000 race at 1 1/8 miles on turf is expected to have a full field of 14, including stakes winners Cathkin Peak, Flashiest, Hudson Ridge, Jimmy Blue Jeans, None Above the Law, Sword Zorro, and Zoffarelli; the stakes-placed Crew Dragon, Hockey Dad, No Foolery Here, and Petruchio; as well as Barraza, Lincoln Hawk, and Optimstic Valor.

The number is so large it looks odd in a race record.

Myfavoritedaughter won a seven-furlong maiden special weight race on a sloppy track by an astonishing 25 lengths on June 30 at Gulfstream Park.

The race was meant to be run on turf. Racing on grass can wait for Myfavoritedaughter. The result has turned into a trip to California for Myfavoritedaughter and a start in Sunday’s Grade 1 Del Mar Debutante, California’s top race for 2-year-old fillies in the summer.

Five horsemen whose quick action averted a disaster during the Aug. 22 barn fire at Ellis Park were honored Sunday in a winner’s circle tribute at the western Kentucky track.

Marvin Prado, a groom for Eddie Kenneally, was first on the scene in freeing six horses and a stable pony from a blaze that destroyed the receiving barn. Prado braved the fire when getting the horses out of their stalls and handing them off one by one to the other men on the scene.