LEXINGTON, Ky. – Tom’s d’Etat has earned a triple-digit Beyer Speed Figure in every start since faltering in the Gulfstream Park slop in the Pegasus World Cup. His resurgence has been so strong and steady that trainer Al Stall Jr. considered running the 6-year-old horse in the Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile.

“For a minute, anyway,” said Stall. “I thought it’d be a big field, that Catalina Cruiser would show up – and now Omaha Beach is in there. I’m so glad I took a powder and said there’s no need for us to go out there.”

ARCADIA, Calif. – The decision on Thursday to run Omaha Beach in the Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile meant that his jockey, Mike Smith, needed to find mounts in both the Classic and the Sprint on Nov. 2. One of those was immediately accomplished, and the irony is rich.

Smith picked up the mount on Yoshida for the Classic, essentially swapping mounts with Joel Rosario, who had ridden Yoshida in his last two starts but is replacing Smith on McKinzie for the $6 million Classic at Santa Anita.

Both Smith’s agent, Brad Pegram, and Bill Mott, the trainer of Yoshida, confirmed the news.

Omaha Beach will make his next start in the Grade 1, $1 million Breeders’ Cup Dirt mile on Nov. 2 at Santa Anita, owner Rick Porter confirmed on Thursday.

The multiple Grade 1 winner also had been under serious consideration for the $2 million Breeders’ Cup Sprint on the same program. Santa Anita publicity reported the race decision Thursday, citing trainer Richard Mandella.

Omaha Beach is coming off a win in the Grade 1 Santa Anita Sprint Championship on Oct. 5, which was his first start since his Arkansas Derby victory in April at Oaklawn.   

VANCOUVER, British Columbia– Infinite Patience didn’t have any trouble stretching out to a mile and a sixteenth for the first time in the $75,000 Fantasy for 2-year-old fillies at Hastings last Sunday. In fact, the 78 Beyer Speed Figure she received is her career best, and once again she did it without much encouragement from Antonio Reyes.

ELMONT, N.Y. – Catholic Boy came out of his fourth-place finish in Monday’s Grade 2 Knickerbocker Stakes in good order, but as of Wednesday his connections had yet to figure out what might be next for the dual-surface Grade 1 winner.

The Breeders’ Cup Classic was still not out of the question, according to trainer Jonathan Thomas, who said the large ownership group had yet to huddle up to discuss the colt’s future.

ELMONT, N.Y. – The largest stakes field on Saturday will be for the $250,000 Empire Distaff, which is topped by the Linda Rice-trained duo of Newly Minted, who drew the rail, and Midnight Disguise, who landed in post 9 of the 11-horse field going a mile.

Newly Minted is 4 for 4 on dirt and is coming off a nine-length victory in the Fleet Indian Stakes going 1 1/8 miles at Saratoga. Rice felt cutting back to a mile in the Distaff was better than sending her 6 1/2 furlongs in the Iroquois. Midnight Disguise has two wins and three seconds in five starts going a one-turn mile.

ELMONT, N.Y. – Mr. Buff has won six of his last 10 starts going back a year. Two of those losses have come to Pat On the Back. As fate would have it, Mr. Buff will have to face Pat On the Back again Saturday in the $300,000 Empire Classic at Belmont Park.

The Empire Classic, at 1 1/8 miles, is the richest of eight stakes on an 11-race program that begins at 12:20 p.m. The Empire Classic drew a field of only five and will be run as the fifth race on the program.

ARCADIA, Calif. – At six furlongs or a mile and one-quarter, Breeders’ Cup options remain open for Omaha Beach, whose first work since his sparkling comeback victory went smoothly Wednesday morning at Santa Anita.

Omaha Beach worked by himself at 7:55, an easy half-mile under Mike Smith in 48.20 seconds. Smith and trainer Richard Mandella hoped for a mellow workout, which was not a certainty in the wake of his sizzling 1:08.79 time for six furlongs in his comeback race, the Santa Anita Sprint Championship.

A second-place finish in the Grade 1 Joe Hirsch Turf Classic at Belmont Park on Oct. 5 marked the sixth consecutive race in which Channel Maker has finished in the first four of a Grade 1 or Grade 2 race since early March. The consistent streak is enough for trainer Bill Mott to start Channel Maker in the $4 million Breeders’ Cup Turf at Santa Anita on Nov. 2.

Channel Maker was beaten a half-length by Arklow in the Joe Hirsch Turf Classic. Channel Maker led in the stretch, but could not sustain the advantage. Mott said earlier this week he considered the result to be a positive.

The list of candidates for the $1 million Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf on Nov. 1 at Santa Anita has been a fast-changing group in the last week.

With the prep races completed, decision time has arrived. The people behind Ask Bailey, Jazzique, Mind Out, Powerful Breeze, and Witek said their runners would pass the one-mile turf race.