HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – In an unforgettable day at the races, fillies owned by former Kentucky Gov. Brereton C. Jones won two major Kentucky Oaks preps last Saturday. Lovely Maria delivered as the favorite in the Grade 1 Ashland at Keeneland, and Include Betty came through at 18-1 in the Grade 3, $400,000 Fantasy at Oaklawn Park. Jones is the sole owner of Lovely Maria, while he races Include Betty in partnership with Tim Thornton.

HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – Far Right has a diverse cast of people working behind the scenes to bring out the best in the multiple stakes winner, who could start as the second choice to Southern California shipper American Pharoah in the Grade 1, $1 million Arkansas Derby on Saturday.

Far Right has wintered at Oaklawn, where twice he’s rolled up the rail to win stakes, taking the $150,000 Smarty Jones in his 3-year-old debut in January and the Grade 3, $300,000 Southwest Stakes in his most recent out Feb. 22.

Enchanting Lady is likely to start in the $200,000 Eight Belles Stakes at Churchill Downs on May 1 after winning the second stakes of her career in Sunday’s $77,050 Santa Paula Stakes.

Enchanting Lady will give owner Kaleem Shah a formidable team for some of the leading stakes at Churchill Downs on Kentucky Derby weekend. He owns the unbeaten Dortmund, who won the Santa Anita Derby last Saturday and is a top-rated candidate for the Kentucky Derby on May 2.

Jockey Joe Talamo will miss a week of riding after bruising a shoulder in a spill after the Santa Paula Stakes.

Talamo was unseated from Sensitively when the filly fell a few strides after finishing last. Talamo was taken to a hospital, where X-rays showed no fractures. The rider saw a doctor Monday who advised a week of rest.

Talamo, 25, is expected to resume riding at Santa Anita on April 16.

Shared Belief, the top handicap horse in the United States this year, is nearing a start in the $1.5 million Charles Town Classic in West Virginia on April 18 in peak form.

That was the assessment of trainer Jerry Hollendorfer after the 4-year-old gelding worked six furlongs in 1:14.60 at Golden Gate Fields on Tuesday.

“We’re looking at a horse that is very fit,” Hollendorfer said. “We’re not bearing down on him to get him fit. I think he’s doing just fine. I’m happy with him.”

The first Maryland turf races of the season will be held at Pimlico on Thursday, weather permitting. Turf racing had been scheduled to start last Thursday but was pushed back a week due to the late arrival of spring.

Races 4, 5, 7, and 8 are scheduled to be run on the grass. Race 4 has 10 entrants, race 5 has 11, race 7 has 13, and race 8 has 10. This is a welcome relief as field size has dwindled in recent weeks as the pool of local dirt runners has been depleted.

The field for the April 18 Charles Town Classic is coming together, with Shared Belief a heavy favorite in a short field. On Tuesday, Bob Baffert confirmed that he will not be sending Breeders’ Cup Classic winner Bayern.

“The race was never on my radar,” Baffert said.

Bayern was slowed by a quarter crack early this year but has had six works since March 14, including a bullet seven-furlong drill in 1:23.60 at Santa Anita on Tuesday.

Last season’s Arlington Million winner, Hardest Core, is on target to make his 5-year-old debut in the Grade 1 Man o’ War at Belmont Park on May 9, according to trainer Eddie Graham.

Hardest Core is based at the Runnymede Farm of his majority owners, Gregory, Caroline, and Andrew Bentley, in the beautiful Unionville area of Pennsylvania. Graham has had Hardest Core in training since Jan. 1, with the bulk of his preparation coming at the nearby Fair Hill Training Center in Maryland due to winter conditions at Runnymede.

LEXINGTON, Ky. – The Maker’s 46 Mile lacks its superstar from the last couple of years, but at least the Grade 1 race has a more competitive look than it did for those two runnings.

Wise Dan won the 2013 and 2014 runnings of the Maker’s 46 Mile, both times as the reigning Horse of the Year and a 2-5 favorite, but with the 8-year-old gelding still sidelined, favoritism in the $300,000 race Friday over the Keeneland turf will be distributed more evenly among Summer Front, Za Approval, and Jack Milton.

HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – The champion Untapable drew post 2 in a field of seven for the Grade 1, $600,000 Apple Blossom Handicap, to be run Friday at Oaklawn Park. The race is one of two stakes on the program. I Spent It, the winner of the Grade 2 Saratoga Special, makes his second start of the year in the $100,000 Bachelor. Entries were taken Tuesday.

The Apple Blossom will go as the ninth race on a 10-race card that starts at 1:30 p.m. Central. Post time for the 1 1/16-mile fixture for fillies and mares is 5:10 p.m.