BOSSIER CITY, La. – Trainer Ralph Irwin has quietly built a reputation as one of the best horsemen on the grounds at Louisiana Downs, and his work with The Pickett Factor will place him in the spotlight on Saturday. The horse is the morning-line favorite for the Grade 2, $400,000 Super Derby and represents Irwin’s first starter in the marquee race at his home track.

“The horse deserves the opportunity to be in there,” Irwin said. “He’s a real blessing. We’re just riding on his coattails.”

ELMONT, N.Y. – After a terrific Saratoga meet where he won 7 races from 19 starters, trainer Barclay Tagg was back at Belmont Park on Thursday making fall plans for many of those runners.

Three of Tagg’s winners were 2-year-olds: Realm, Tale of S’avall and Highland Sky. Realm, who got the meet rolling with a 1 3/4-length victory July 25, came out of the race with a few minor issues and has only recently resumed training.

Tale of S’avall, a son of Tale of Ekati who won a Travers Day maiden race by two lengths, is being pointed to the Grade 1 Champagne on Oct. 3.

Seven stakes, including the Grade 3 Berkeley Handicap and four stakes for 2-year-old runners, are scheduled to be conducted at the Golden Gate Fields fall meeting, which runs from Oct. 22-Dec. 20. The stakes schedule still needs to be approved by the Thoroughbred Owners of California.

The $100,000 Berkeley is scheduled Sunday, Nov. 29 at 1 1/16 miles on the main track.

Two-year-olds begin the path to the Grade 3 El Camino Real Derby with the $50,000-added Golden Nugget at six furlongs on Nov. 7, and continue in the $75,000 Gold Rush at one mile on Dec. 5.

ELMONT, N.Y. – Trainer Kiaran McLaughlin still needs to talk with the principals of Godolphin Racing, but all indications are that Frosted is likely to run in the $1 million Pennsylvania Derby on Sept. 19.

Frosted worked four furlongs in 47.95 seconds on Thursday over the main track at Saratoga. Frosted worked in company with Cavallucci, finishing two lengths ahead of that horse at the wire while going his final quarter in 24.51 seconds. Frosted galloped out five furlongs in 1:00.99, per Saratoga clockers.

ETOBICOKE, Ontario – The accomplished New York invader Lea has been made the 5-2 morning-line favorite for Sunday’s $1 million Woodbine Mile.

Lea drew post 10 and is trained by Bill Mott, who won the inaugural running of the Grade 1 turf event in 1997 with Geri. Joel Rosario will ride Lea, a Grade 1 winner on dirt who hasn’t raced on turf since 2013, when he placed in Grade 2 stakes company behind Wise Dan. Wise Dan, a two-time Horse of the Year, was being pointed for this race before he was retired on Monday due to a tendon injury.

VANCOUVER, British Columbia – Trainer Craig MacPherson will try to win his second British Columbia Derby on Sunday. If he wins the Grade 3, $250,000 race with Bluegrass Angus, it will be a little sweeter than his first victory with Second City.

ELMONT, N.Y. – While Lady Eli continues to make great progress in her battle against laminitis – with the possibility of returning to training early next year – one of the podiatrists instrumental in her recovery was killed this week in a vehicular accident.

Robert Agne, a veterinarian with the Rood & Riddle Equine Clinic in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., was riding his bicycle Monday in Pawlet, Vt., when he was struck by a car, whose driver had fallen asleep at the wheel, according to published reports. Agne, 54, was declared dead at the scene, according to police.

Lincoln Race Course’s token one-race meet has been rescheduled for Monday after heavy rain forced the cancellation of Thursday’s card.
Post time for the rescheduled race will be 4:50 p.m. Central.

The Lincoln, Neb. venue hosts a single one-furlong parimutuel race each year to maintain its simulcast license for the following year, with long-term plans for the site including a one-mile course and a longer meet.

Gross all-sources handle at the Ellis Park meet that ended Monday in western Kentucky was up 8 percent over 2014, increasing to about $33 million from $30.5 million, but daily average handle of about $1,064,500 was down nearly 2 percent because there were 31 racing dates this year compared with 28 last year.

Ontrack handle grossed about $5 million, with the per-day average up marginally, according to a track release, while average field size increased from 7.3 to 8.2 horses per race.