United, the leading horse in distance turf races in California, may have his next start in the Grade 2 Charles Whittingham Stakes on May 23 at Santa Anita after the cancellation of the Dubai World Cup program in the United Arab Emirates on Saturday.

Trainer Richard Mandella said United and the 3-year-old Tizamagician, who was scheduled to start in the Group 3 UAE Derby on Saturday, were scheduled to be flown from Dubai to New York early Thursday. They will be put in quarantine before being sent to California.

HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – Grade 1 winner Street Band is on target for a start in the Apple Blossom Handicap, said her trainer, Larry Jones. The Grade 1, $600,000 race for fillies and mares will be run here April 18.

Street Band last raced March 14, finishing fourth in the Grade 2, $350,000 Azeri won wire to wire by Serengeti Empress.

“Street Band, she’s doing good,” Jones said. “We’ll start prepping for the Apple Blossom.”

Serengeti Empress also is on deck for the Apple Blossom, said her trainer, Tom Amoss.

Jockey Florent Geroux on Sunday was about two hours into a drive from New Orleans to his home in Louisville – where he had hoped to spend a couple of days off – when he got a call alerting him that if he wanted to ride in the Florida Derby on Saturday, he needed to be in Florida by that night. As he has all spring, Geroux sped across the finish line with plenty of room to spare.

HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – Southern California transplant Martin Garcia said there’s a lot of things he likes about the small community of Hot Springs. But one perk stands out.

“There is no traffic,” he said. “There is no traffic!”

Trainer Todd Pletcher ran his first horse in the Florida Derby in 2001 and since then has missed only one running of Gulfstream Park’s marquee race for 3-year-olds. More significantly, Pletcher has won a record five Florida Derbies, including four of the last six.

Saturday, Pletcher will be back for another go at the Florida Derby when he sends out Gouverneur Morris and Candy Tycoon in the last of 14 races on a blockbuster card.

The Rainbow 6 pool at Gulfstream, which began Wednesday with a carryover of more than $1.3 million, will be subject to a mandatory disbursement on the last six races Saturday, including the Florida Derby. All pools must be emptied by Sunday, closing day of the four-month championship meet.

Gulfstream also is offering guaranteed pools of $400,000 for the late pick five and $500,000 for the late pick four on Saturday.

Like every trainer in the country, particularly those with Kentucky Derby prospects, trainer Bill Mott is trying to find a path forward for Modernist without having all that data he’ll need regarding potential prep races, or when racing will return to some semblance of normalcy.

:: KENTUCKY DERBY 2020: Derby Watch, point standings, prep schedule, news, and more

“To even try to plan for anything beyond tomorrow is a little bit ridiculous right now,” Mott said.

With Fountain of Youth winner Ete Indien scheduled to run in the Florida Derby on Saturday and Tampa Bay Derby runner-up Sole Volante being pointed to the Arkansas Derby, trainer Patrick Biancone has had a great year so far, but no victory will top a personal milestone he achieved earlier this week, when he was pronounced cancer-free after having his left kidney removed a few weeks ago.

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – Quite a few stakes horses who otherwise would have sat out the day for a future race elsewhere will compete instead Saturday at Gulfstream Park, one of the dwindling number of racetracks still conducting racing in the United States.

Vekoma, Lucrezia, and Mean Mary are among the notable names whose trainers turned to the Florida Derby Day stakes schedule at Gulfstream when the ongoing coronavirus crisis forced tracks such as Keeneland and Aqueduct to cease activity until further notice.

WHO’S HOT

Wells Bayou and Ny Traffic earned 100 and 40 points, respectively, for their one-two finish in the Louisiana Derby on Saturday and have moved onto the Derby Watch top 20 list. Wells Bayou impressed Daily Racing Form’s Marty McGee enough to make him the co-fifth choice at 12-1 for the Kentucky Derby, now scheduled for Sept. 5. Ny Traffic is 50-1 on McGee’s line.

:: KENTUCKY DERBY 2020: Derby Watch, point standings, prep schedule, news, and more