LEXINGTON, Ky. – Oleksandra is coming to the Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint off a layoff. So is her trainer.

ELMONT, N.Y. – From 41 starts in this country, they have combined to win 27 races, 23 graded stakes, 17 Grade 1’s and bank nearly $8.5 million. They are all Breeders’ Cup winners. Two are champions.

On Saturday at the Breeders’ Cup at Keeneland, the triumvirate of Sistercharlie, Uni, and Rushing Fall will each make the final start of her career, and the significance of that is not lost on their trainer, Chad Brown.

LEXINGTON, Ky. – The Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint comes on the earlier side of Saturday’s card at Keeneland.

“I’m glad it’s 12:30,” said trainer Joe Orseno, who will saddle Imprimis as one of the favorites in the race, the fifth of 12 on the card. “I don’t have to sit around all day.”

Orseno had been waiting a long time for a horse like Imprimis, sixth in last year’s Turf Sprint at 11-1, to bring him back to the Breeders’ Cup with a major chance. But Orseno, 65, is no stranger to the sport’s biggest days, despite several years out of the spotlight.

Day 2, Breeders’ Cup 2020. Waist deep in Euros. No words to waste on cute introductions. One thing: Wet weather predominated this fall in England, Ireland, and France. Racecourses turned very soft and heavy for a couple months. Keeneland will be much different. Bump the firmer-ground horses that recently struggled, knock down those that moved forward under testing conditions.

On to the races.

Turf

It is a rite of fall, like the leaves changing colors, jackets getting dusted off for use as the wind picks up and temperatures drop. This is the time of year in racing when 3-year-olds see if they can step up and beat their elders in championship races, none more significant than the Breeders’ Cup Classic.

LEXINGTON, Ky. – Kurt Becker had something of a harrowing experience with the coronavirus and feels fortunate to be back calling the races Friday and Saturday at Keeneland.

Becker, the only race-caller in Keeneland history, was diagnosed on Oct. 23 as positive for the virus, forcing him to miss the final day (Oct. 24) of the 17-day fall meet. He was cleared earlier this week by health officials in his hometown of Altamont, Ill., and in Fayette County, Ky., to return to the announcer’s booth for the two Breeders’ Cup dates.

OZONE PARK, N.Y. – With a strong purse structure, two turf courses that haven’t been used in 11 months, and a slightly shortened racing schedule, signs are pointing to a potentially strong Aqueduct fall meet, which gets under way Friday.

As was the case at both Belmont meets and at Saratoga, fans will not be permitted at Aqueduct due to COVID-19 restrictions put in place by the state. That will be particularly frustrating to fans considering the adjacent casino is open at 25 percent capacity, albeit under strict protocols.

It was just about feeding time the other morning at Al Stall Jr.’s barn at Churchill Downs and there was Tom’s d’Etat, in a familiar spot, peering out of his stall, eagerly awaiting brunch. It was the morning after his final work, six days before what will be the final start of his elongated and oft-interrupted career, in the $6 million Breeders’ Cup Classic on Saturday at Keeneland, and the 7-year-old war horse was seemingly as eager as ever to get it on.

ETOBICOKE, Ontario – Princess Elizabeth Stakes winner Dreaming of Drew has been put away for the year by trainer Barbara Minshall, who said she’s looking at the 2021 Woodbine Oaks as the main goal for the striking chestnut.

Dreaming of Drew was a blowout maiden winner in July before losing the Catch a Glimpse Stakes on the grass by a nose to Alda, a longshot in Friday’s Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf. She subsequently finished fourth in the Grade 1 Natalma after trying to lay in through the stretch in that one-mile turf route.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Brad Cox doesn’t plan on getting all emotional after what is likely to be the final start for Monomoy Girl. “At least I say I’m not going to,” Cox said with a laugh.

No one could blame Cox for being overwhelmed Saturday if Monomoy Girl becomes just the fourth horse to win the $2 million Breeders’ Cup Distaff for a second time. It has been 2 1/2 years since Monomoy Girl kick-started a remarkable span of success for her trainer, giving him a number of noteworthy victories in furthering his rise as one of the game’s young stars.