For only the second time in his last 14 starts, long-distance specialist Itsinthepost will run a distance as short as 1 1/8 miles when he heads the field in the Grade 2, $250,000 Eddie Read Stakes for turf runners at Del Mar on Sunday.

Itsinthepost has won four of his last five starts, most recently the Whittingham going 1 1/4 miles on May 26 at Santa Anita. Rather than sit on him until the 11-furlong Del Mar Handicap on Aug. 18, trainer Jeff Mullins decided to turn him back to nine furlongs, the distance at which Itsinthepost won the San Gabriel in January.

Accelerate, winner of the Santa Anita Handicap and Gold Cup at Santa Anita earlier this year, will carry top weight of 125 pounds in the Grade 2, $200,000 San Diego Handicap at Del Mar on Saturday. The San Diego, at 1 1/16 miles, is the major local prep for the $1 million Pacific Classic on Aug. 18.

Accelerate’s main rival is likely to be Mubtaahij, who was second in the Lone Star Park Handicap last time out in his only start since finishing third in the Dubai World Cup. He worked five furlongs in 1:01.20 on Monday morning at Del Mar. He was assigned 121 pounds.

DEL MAR, Calif. – Trainer Richard Mandella is hoping the grass is greener for Paradise Woods.

Having seen enough of Unique Bella for now in dirt races, and desirous of trying Paradise Woods on the surface on which her half-brother has thrived, Mandella will move Paradise Woods to the turf for the first time in the $75,000 Osunitas Stakes for fillies and mares on Friday at Del Mar.

Ron McAnally first came to Del Mar as a teenager working for his uncle, trainer Reggie Cornell, back in 1948, and this year’s meeting is particularly noteworthy for him, both because it’s the 70th anniversary of his first visit here, and because he’s here following a bad ankle fracture three months ago.

DEL MAR, Calif. – The best horse at Del Mar won’t run here, and time is running out for him to potentially run again.

Justify, the Triple Crown winner, has arrived at Del Mar, where he is walking daily. He was removed from training after filling developed in an ankle earlier this month at Santa Anita. He was brought out for local television media here in the barn area on Monday morning, and trainer Bob Baffert did a group interview and then a number of live hits for various morning shows, and deftly deflected any questions regarding specifics on Justify’s next start.

Voodoo Song, who won four races at Saratoga last summer, is headed back to the Spa for this year’s meet. How often he runs could depend on how ambitious his connections get.

Voodoo Song won Saturday’s $150,000 Forbidden Apple Stakes at Belmont by one length over Projected. He ran a mile in 1:31.67 and earned a career-best Beyer Speed Figure of 102.

On Monday, trainer Linda Rice said the options for Voodoo Song could include the $100,000 Lure Stakes on Aug. 4 as a prep for the $150,000 West Point for New York breds on Aug. 24.

ELMONT, N.Y. – With Mother Nature forcing the postponement of turf workouts at Belmont Park from Sunday to Monday, trainers had to call an audible in preparing their horses for upcoming stakes.

Chad Brown had to move 10 works from Sunday to Monday, including by the Grade 1-winning duo of A Raving Beauty and Sistercharlie, who will head the field for Saturday’s Grade 1 Diana Stakes at Saratoga. Brown is expected to enter three in the Diana when entries for Saturday’s card are taken Wednesday.

ETOBICOKE, Ontario – While Queen’s Plate winner Wonder Gadot is bound for the second leg of the Canadian Triple Crown, trainer Mark Casse has different plans for his two other starters exiting the June 30 race at Woodbine. Telekinesis and Neepawa were both forwardly placed in the first jewel of the Canadian Triple Crown before tiring late to finish fifth and 10th.

Gunnevera continues to thrive on the comeback trail and had his most recent workout Saturday, breezing a bullet five furlongs in a minute over a fast surface at Gulfstream Park West.

Trainer Antonio Sano told Gulfstream Park publicity he hopes to find a suitable race for the 4-year-old colt early next month at Gulfstream as a prep for the Grade 1 Woodward on Sept. 1 at Saratoga. The Saturday breeze was the fourth for Gunnevera since he returned to training after having about 60 days off the track.

ETOBICOKE, Ontario – A small field could be headed to Fort Erie for the 83rd running of the $400,000 Prince of Wales Stakes on July 24, with five to eight runners likely to face off for the second jewel of the Canadian Triple Crown over 1 3/16-miles on dirt.

Nominations closed last Tuesday with six horses remaining eligible, pending any supplemental entries. The nominations included the top four finishers from the $1 million Queen’s Plate at Woodbine on June 30: Wonder Gadot, Aheadbyacentury, Cooler Mike, and Strike Me Down.