ELMONT, N.Y. – With nine weeks between races, trainer Shug McGaughey did not feel it was necessary to do too much too soon with his Grade 1 winner Honor Code in order to have him ready for the $1.25 million Whitney Stakes on Aug. 8 at Saratoga.

So, in the first 30 days after his Met Mile victory Honor Code had just one work, a half-mile move in 49.44 seconds June 20. Tuesday, Honor Code had his second work since the race, a three-furlong move timed by Belmont clockers in 36.81 over the main track.

CYPRESS, Calif. – This summer is shaping into a busy one in stakes races for California-based trainer Keith Desormeaux.

Already, Desormeaux won the $150,500 San Juan Capistrano at Santa Anita on June 28 with the former claimer Crucero. Last Saturday, Texas Red, winner of the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile last November, ran a game second in the Grade 3 Dwyer Stakes at Belmont Park.

Desormeaux has plans to have stakes runners at Los Alamitos this weekend and at Del Mar and Saratoga in coming weeks.

CYPRESS, Calif. – The first week of the Los Alamitos summer meeting was a rough one for jockeys.

Four riders were cited for five instances of violating new rules for whip abuse, two riders misjudged the finish line and received suspensions, and two riders were disqualified for causing interference.

On July 1, the California Horse Racing Board enacted tougher whip rules stating riders could strike a horse on the flank only three times in succession before pausing to allow the horse to respond.

CYPRESS, Calif. – Los Alamitos showed growth in all-sources handle in the first week of the track’s summer meeting.

From July 2 through Sunday, all-sources handle, including simulcasting and account-wagering venues, grew 5.4 percent, from $24,783,656 in 2014 to $26,209,149 this year, according to track officials. The all-sources handle of $8,022,511 last Saturday was the highest since daytime Thoroughbred racing resumed at the track in July 2014.

Michael Ritvo recently became a journeyman rider and won his first race without an apprentice weight allowance June 29 at Parx Racing.

Ritvo, 21, made good use of his apprenticeship, winning 194 races from 1,168 mounts with purse earnings of more than $4.4 million.

Ritvo began riding at Gulfstream Park in March 2014. He won 29 races there before moving north to ride at Delaware Park in September, where he quickly won 31 races before the meet ended.

Normandy Invasion came out of his comeback race in good shape, according to trainer Larry Jones.

Normandy Invasion finished second in a Delaware Park allowance on July 1. He was herded wide into the first turn of the 1 1/16-mile race by eventual winner Our Caravan and jockey Alex Cintron, took the lead easily nearing the stretch, but was beaten three-quarters of a length when Our Caravan came on again.

Normandy Invasion was making his first start since the 2014 Met Mile. He fractured sesamoids and had surgery following a training accident last September.

Larry Jones is ready to start the second half of his season Saturday when he runs Kentucky Oaks winner Lovely Maria in the Grade 3 Delaware Oaks. He is pointing his other star filly I’m a Chatterbox to the Grade 1 Coaching Club American Oaks on July 26 at Saratoga.

Jones swept the winter/spring stakes for 3-year-old fillies in Louisiana and Kentucky with Lovely Maria and I’m a Chatterbox.

ELMONT, N.Y. – Overshadowed by the stakes action Saturday at Belmont was the terrific performance by Matrooh in a third-level allowance race featuring the return of the multiple stakes winner Samraat. Matrooh, trained by Chad Brown, dueled with Samraat through a half-mile in 46.12 seconds and three-quarters in 1:10.46 before putting him away and holding at bay Catholic Cowboy.

ELMONT, N.Y. – It’s Take 2 for Cozmic One.

The first foal out of the wildly popular Horse of the Year Zenyatta, Cozmic One will make his second career start Wednesday at Belmont Park in a $75,000 maiden race. The 1 1/16-mile race goes as the seventh (4:26 p.m. Eastern) on the nine-race program.

Cozmic One finished last in his debut at Santa Anita, a two-turn, one-mile race April 17.

The New York Racing Association will split the Grade 1 stakes traditionally run on the same day at its Belmont Park fall meet and conduct them over two Saturdays, according to a schedule released Monday by the organization.

Two Grade 1 races – the Jockey Club Gold Cup and Flower Bowl – as well as the Grade 2 Kelso will be run Oct. 3. One week earlier on Sept. 26, the Joe Hirsch Turf Classic, Vosburgh, and Beldame – all Grade 1 races – will be run along with the Grade 2 Gallant Bloom and Grade 3 Pilgrim.