Accelerate outran his 42-1 odds when third behind Tamarkuz and Gun Runner in last year’s Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile. He’ll be considered a prime player when the Grade 1, $1 million race is renewed Nov. 3 at Del Mar.

Ultima D won for the first time in her fourth career start in the $348,000 Juvenile Fillies Stakes on Sept. 6 at Kentucky Downs. The win changed the filly, trainer Wesley Ward said Wednesday.

“The last race put a lightbulb on her,” Ward said.

DEL MAR, Calif. – A decision will need to be made by Monday, the day pre-entries are due to be submitted, as to whether Diversify will head west and compete in the Breeders’ Cup Classic on Nov. 4 here at Del Mar, and the implications of his potential participation are far-reaching, not only in terms of field size, but, more importantly, the likely pace scenario.

Elate ships from New York to California next week to complete preparation for the Breeders’ Cup Distaff, a race in which she could vie for the role of favorite following back-to-back Grade 1 smashers.

It is a long way to Del Mar, but Elate has come a long way already, from early-season bomb to late-season star.

Expectations were high for Elate, whose 2-year-old debut was stunning. Facing maidens in November at Aqueduct, she romped by more than 12 lengths, similar to another Bill Mott-trained juvenile filly, Royal Delta, who won her autumn debut by a similar margin.

When heavy rain began to fall Wednesday at Gulfstream Park as Curlin’s Approval was being tacked up in preparation for her final serious work prior to the Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Sprint, her owner-trainer Happy Alter suddenly had an important decision to make. Does he send his multiple graded stakes winner out to breeze over a sloppy track or does he wait, hoping conditions might improve over the next couple of days?

Keith Davis Jr. was convicted of second-degree murder in a Baltimore court Tuesday for the 2015 murder of a Pimlico Race Course security guard.

Kevin Jones, 22, was shot 11 times near the track while on his way to work at 5 a.m. on June 7, 2015.

Davis, 26, was arrested hours after the slaying following a police chase. He was shot several times while being apprehended.

The case has been controversial because Davis’s wife, Kelly, and Baltimore Bloc, a local activist group, contend he was wrongly accused and have rallied in his support at a number of public events.

After a minor midseason slump, Crabcakes has won her last two starts impressively and looks like one of the more solid plays on Saturday’s Maryland Million card at Laurel Park.

Crabcakes was bred and raced by the Buckingham Farm of Elizabeth Houghton, who died in August at age 79. Crabcakes is trained by Houghton’s nephew, Bernie, who races out of Penn National.

LEXINGTON, Ky. – Trainer Ian Wilkes said the Grade 3 Cardinal on Nov. 18 at Churchill Downs is next for both Res Ipsa and Linda, the first- and third-place finishers in a third-level turf allowance last Friday at Keeneland.

Res Ipsa, owned by Deborah Wilson, is unbeaten in two starts since undergoing minor throat surgery over the summer. Her 6-1 victory over Linda in their first head-to-head clash qualified as a mild upset, given that Linda already is a Grade 2 winner and was an odds-on favorite when finishing two lengths behind her stablemate.

LEXINGTON, Ky. – Neolithic has joined the cast for the Oct. 28 Fayette, a Grade 2, $200,000 race that also is expected to attract Honorable Duty and McCraken. The Fayette is the fall meet closing-day feature.

Jack Wolf’s Starlight Racing owns Neolithic with Qatar Racing, and he confirmed this week that the 4-year-old colt was scheduled to ship from New York after having a final prerace breeze Thursday for trainer Todd Pletcher.

LEXINGTON, Ky. – No one could have blamed Michael Matz for sending Tequilita to the Breeders’ Cup after the 3-year-old filly won the Charles Town Oaks last month. But discretion is part of what has made Matz such a successful trainer, and it’s what led him to forgo the BC Filly and Mare Sprint in favor of the Grade 2, $250,000 Raven Run at Keeneland on Saturday.

“It’s just a better fit for us, staying with 3-year-olds and all,” said Matz, who trains Tequilita in the name of his wife, Dorothy Alexander Matz.