LEXINGTON, Ky. – Gentle Ruler will be looking to run her 2019 record to a remarkable 6 for 7 as part of a sizable field of filly-mare turf marathoners Sunday in the Grade 3, $125,000 Dowager Stakes. Entries for the 1 1/2-mile race were to be drawn Thursday.

Trained by Ian Wilkes, Gentle Ruler was still a maiden when the calendar turned Jan. 1, having lost her first 11 starts. But the dark bay filly has turned into a win machine at 4 when accounting for three stakes, most recently the $469,000 Ramsey Farm at Kentucky Downs.

LEXINGTON, Ky. – Throw out a couple of races when Bell’s the One was out of her element, and suddenly it looks like she might be capable of pulling an upset Saturday at Keeneland in the Grade 2 Raven Run.

“The good news is she’s coming into this exceptionally well,” said Neil Pessin, who trains Bell’s the One for Lothenbach Stables. “We’ve got no excuses on this side of the race.”

Jockey Florent Geroux, injured in an accident during training hours Sunday morning at Keeneland, is still hopeful of riding in the Breeders’ Cup in 2 1/2 weeks, with his most prominent mount being Owendale in the $6 million Classic on Nov. 2.

Geroux suffered a fractured sternum when thrown from Air Strike while completing a workout Sunday morning. On Wednesday, Geroux saw a specialist in Kentucky, and, according to Geroux’s agent, Doug Bredar, the “doctor liked what he saw.”

Pee Wee Reese, who returned from a layoff to win the Grade 2 Eddie D Stakes last month at Santa Anita, faces his final hurdle this weekend as owner-breeder Nick Alexander prepares to write a big check in order to start him in the Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint.

Tucked away in relative anonymity at Monmouth Park, trainer Luis Carvajal Jr. has tried to pay little attention to all the recent talk and speculation about who may or may not be running in this year’s Breeders’ Cup Sprint. What Carvajal does know for certain is that he’s sending Imperial Hint back to the Sprint for the third consecutive year while he’s doing as well as ever – maybe better than ever.

Castle Lady, the Irish-bred filly who finished second to Cambier Parc in the Grade 1 Queen Elizabeth II Cup at Keeneland last Saturday, will run back in the $2 million Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Turf on Nov. 2 at Santa Anita, trainer Henri-Alex Pantall confirmed Wednesday.

Castle Lady saved all the ground in the Queen Elizabeth, and in the stretch made a menacing run at Cambier Parc, who held her at bay late. Cambier Parc is not running in the Breeders’ Cup.

Mike Smith, the leading rider in Breeders’ Cup history in wins and money won, will ride Scabbard in the $2 million Breeders’ Cup Juvenile on Nov. 1 at Santa Anita, trainer Eddie Kenneally said Wednesday.

Kenneally mentioned that owner Joe Sutton opted for Smith “and we’re absolutely delighted to have him,” Kenneally said.

“He’s the leading rider in the series, plus it’s his home track,” he said.

:: BREEDERS’ CUP 2019: See DRF’s special section with top contenders, odds, comments, and more

Alandra, third in the Alcibiades at Keeneland, and Frank’s Rockette, runner-up in the Frizette at Belmont, both will bypass the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies, which is increasingly looking as though it will have one of its smallest fields in the past two decades.

Ireland-based trainer Aidan O’Brien has won the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf four times in the race’s 12-year history and will be a formidable presence again in this year’s renewal at Santa Anita.

ARCADIA, Calif. – Midnight Bisou tops the 10 candidates for the Breeders’ Cup Distaff on Nov. 2 at Santa Anita, and the absence of a clear second choice has solidified her role as favorite. Midnight Bisou is 8-5 on the Daily Racing Form early line.

Elate would have been the second favorite, but her connections are leaning to the BC Classic. Her absence leaves Paradise Woods second choice on the DRF line at 4-1.

Midnight Bisou worked five furlongs in company Monday at Santa Anita, and after walking Tuesday, she returned to the track Wednesday for a one-mile gallop.