Heitai is being freshened following his win in Saturday’s inaugural Evangeline Downs Turf Sprint, a $300,000 race that Boyd Gaming plans to renew next season after the program, which included four other stakes, produced near-record handle figures for its Opelousas, La., track.

Heitai won his sixth stakes of the year in the Turf Sprint, a five-furlong race for 3-year-olds and up in which he led throughout. He finished 3 3/4 lengths clear of runner-up Whiskey Bravo and earned a Beyer Speed Figure of 98.

This week is the calm before the holiday storm as the only stakes scheduled in the Mid-Atlantic are relatively minor ones at Monmouth Park and Delaware Park. Both of those tracks will take a big step forward on the national calendar over the July 5-6 weekend when Monmouth puts on the Grade 1 United Nations (July 6) and Delaware serves up its Grade 2 Oaks (July 5).

Still, as of Tuesday morning there were some interesting races to take a look at early in the week:

Delaware, Thursday, June 27

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – D. Wayne Lukas will turn 79 on Sept. 2 but continues to exude the enthusiasm of a far younger man – especially when he’s winning.

Lukas, the Hall of Fame trainer honored with the 2013 Eclipse Award of Merit, sent out a 2-year-old filly named Take Charge Brandi for a winning debut Sunday at Churchill Downs and was all smiles at his Barn 44 headquarters the following morning.

“How’d ya like that one?” he grinned. “She might be okay, that filly.”

OPELOUSAS, La. – Having achieved both midseason goals set forth by his connections, Sunbean is going to get the rest of the summer off.

The Daily Racing Form’s Matt Bernier admitted, “I never thought in a million years I’d be saying, ‘I’m going to Pleasanton this weekend.’ ”

But he is and will appear at this weekend’s handicapping seminars at the Oak Tree at Pleasanton meeting. The free seminars are held at 11:30 a.m. daily in front of the paddock.

The opening week for Oak Tree at Pleasanton brought mixed results. Conducted at the Alameda County Fair, the Pleasanton meet began last Thursday and will run through July 6.

As usual, racing officials were wishing for stronger business, and that is something they should get Thursday, with carryovers in the pick six ($20,208) and super high five ($23,664). Thursday’s card includes a 2-year-old maiden special weight race and a pair of strong starter-allowance races.

On Tuesday, a day after allegedly assaulting jockey Trevor McCarthy in the winner’s circle following the fourth race at Delaware Park, trainer Juan Vazquez was apologetic and expressed remorse for losing his temper.

Both Vazquez and McCarthy will be present at a stewards’ hearing at Delaware Park on Wednesday morning, at which Vazquez could be fined or suspended. Vazquez was arrested by Delaware State Police for his role in the altercation and faces assault charges.

ETOBICOKE, Ontario – An exercise rider died in a freak accident at Woodbine early Tuesday morning.

Mourad Boudraa, a 41-year-old native of Morocco, was pronounced dead at the scene by paramedics after sustaining massive head injuries when the horse he was riding crashed into a fence in the sand ring, a quarter-mile track used for light training. The horse, Tawney’s Wish, a maiden 3-year-old filly trained by Don Pleterski, died from an apparent heart attack.

Retired rider Kevin Whitley was inducted into the Finger Lakes Hall of Fame on Monday by the local division of the Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association. Whitley, 60, was on hand for the day’s races and honored at a dinner in the evening.

Whitley won or shared nine riding titles at Finger Lakes between 1981 and 1992. He led the standings for five consecutive years from 1986-90.

ETOBICOKE, Ontario – Sunday’s Grade 2, $202,000 King Edward was the first stakes tally for Grand Arch, who looks to be coming into his own this year at age 5. Grand Arch saved ground on the turn under David Moran before splitting horses in the stretch, and then collared the leading favorite Excaper in the final strides of the one-mile turf event.

Trainer Brian Lynch said Grand Arch will stick to local turf stakes this summer, with the next stop being the Grade 2 Nijinsky, a 1 1/8-mile event on July 19.