SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – Wise Dan didn’t work a bullet or do anything fancy by his standards, although trainer Charlie LoPresti was all smiles back at the barn about 90 minutes after the two-time Horse of the Year breezed an easy five furlongs in 1:02.13 over the main track shortly after the renovation break here Saturday.

DEL MAR, Calif. – Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes winner California Chrome had the first workout of his comeback at Los Alamitos on Friday, a quarter-mile breeze through the stretch.

Unraced since finishing in a dead heat for fourth in the Belmont Stakes on June 7, California Chrome was timed in 25 seconds, according to trainer Art Sherman, who caught the colt galloping out three furlongs in 37 and change.

California Chrome showed the most interest at the end of the workout, Sherman said.

The complexion of the $200,000 West Virginia Governor’s Stakes changed drastically Friday evening when it was learned that heavy favorite Moonshine Mullin would have to scratch from the race with "a bit of an issue," according to his trainer, Randy Morse.

Moonshine Mullin was expected to be on the lead in the Governor's. That task will now fall to Carve, who also becomes the likely favorite in the 1 1/16-mile Governor's, and Outbacker, who won a second-level optional claimer at Mountaineer in his last start.

Trainer Randy Morse made the trip from Louisville to Mountaineer Park on Friday but he only brought one of the two horses he entered on Saturday’s West Virginia Derby card.

Morse will be running No Distinction in the $100,000 West Virginia Chairman’s Cup at Mountaineer but he left his Grade 1 winner Moonshine Mullin behind in Louisville. Moonshine Mullin would have been a heavy favorite in Saturday’s $200,000 West Virginia Governor’s Cup.

The West Virginia Derby is supported by a nice undercard, comprised strictly of stakes races. There is a 50-cent pick five on races 5-9. The first four races in the sequence look pretty straightforward, but the final race looks up for grabs to me. Here is a $34 play intended to hit the pick five multiple times.

This ticket originally started off as an $89 ticket but has been adjusted for scratches (as of noon Saturday).

Race 5
$100,000 President’s Cup, fillies-mares, 1 mile and 70 yards on turf

ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, Ill. – Trainer Aidan O’Brien will have at least one horse for each of the four major stakes races Aug. 16 on the Arlington Million card, and Breeders’ Cup Turf winner Magician will head his team, the racing office at Ballydoyle, O’Brien’s training yard in Ireland, confirmed Friday.

AUBURN, Wash. – After two easy victories to begin her career, Ethan’s Baby seems destined for a bright future. Her owners and breeders, Todd and Shawn Hansen, have fielded calls from would-be buyers, but the Hansens aren’t interested in selling. Ethan’s Baby is fast and, for the moment, there’s no one at Emerald Downs who can beat her.

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – Lubash and Kharafa, two of the top New York-bred turf horses on this circuit, are likely to renew their rivalry in an $85,000 allowance race going a mile Sunday at Saratoga.

Kharafa has beaten Lubash in three of their last five meetings, but Lubash is coming off a performance in a similar race July 13 that his trainer, Christophe Clement, called “phenomenal.”

Boxed in along the inside until deep stretch, Junior Alvarado got Lubash outside, and he came with a powerful run to win by 2 1/4 lengths.

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – The connections of La Bella Valeria, who finished second in Thursday’s third race at Saratoga, have filed a protest with the stewards on the outcome of the race, believing Uncle Southern, the winner, should have been scratched for arriving late to the paddock.

Originally scheduled for the turf, the $78,000 New York-bred optional-claiming race was moved to the dirt after heavy rains pelted the area after the first race. The change of surface led to several late scratches.

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – With Wise Dan not going for a three-peat in next Saturday’s Grade 2, $500,000 Fourstardave Handicap, favoritism in the one-mile turf race figures to be between Seek Again and Silver Max.

Seek Again gave Wise Dan all he wanted in the Grade 1 Woodford Reserve Turf Classic at Churchill Downs on Kentucky Derby Day, finishing within a head of him. Seek Again came back to finish third as the favorite in the Grade 1 Manhattan at Belmont Park going 1 1/4 miles.