Girl of the Rain, a successful turf sprinter in Europe last year, will make her North American debut at a mile in Saturday’s $90,000 Tweedside Stakes at Belmont.

Girl of the Rain, an Irish-bred daughter of Refuse to Bend, won 4 of 7 starts in Italy last year. She was sent to trainer Graham Motion over the winter and had been entered in a stakes at Pimlico last weekend that was rained off the turf.

PHOENIX, Ariz. – Five stakes races celebrate the local product as Turf Paradise presents Arizona-bred Day on Saturday. The $50,000 Gene Fleming Breeders’ Derby is the richest of the events, and pits six 3-year-old Arizona-bred males at 1  1/16 miles on the main track. The Derby goes as race 2 on the nine-race card.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Buoyed by the customary buzz that comes with having a Kentucky Derby right around the corner, the Churchill Downs spring meet will kick off Saturday night with the likelihood of another big ontrack crowd, many of whom presumably will stick around to watch the Grade 3, $175,000 Derby Trial.

LEXINGTON, Ky. – Joel Rosario broke the spring meet record for wins at Keeneland on Thursday after booting home his third winner of the day in the track’s sixth race for his 33rd win.

Rosario, 28, broke the 32-win record held by Randy Romero, set in 1990. Almost certainly, the feat will allow him to top the spring meet standings when the Keeneland meet ends Friday, displacing Julien Leparoux, who has won the rider’s title at five consecutive Keeneland meets, including the last three fall meets.

ELMONT, N.Y. – Jockey John Velazquez, who fractured a rib in a spill at Aqueduct on April 7, said everything is on schedule for him to return to the saddle next Wednesday, four days before he is to ride Verrazano in the Kentucky Derby on May 4.

Velazquez said Thursday that he is scheduled to meet with his orthopedist on Monday to get final clearance and he hopes to get on a horse or two Tuesday morning at Belmont.

In a phone interview Thursday, Velazquez said he is “doing really good” and that he has been working out for several days.

[bc_video_id:290322:]LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The rain was gone, but remnants of Wednesday’s downpours remained as the racetrack still had moisture in it and was designated as good during training hours Thursday at Churchill Downs. The rain, which disrupted normal training to some degree the previous morning, was replaced by frigid temperatures, low enough for frost to form on windshields and horses to be on their toes.[:slideshow-right:]

One recent arrival, Orb, especially relished the cooler air, having trained extensively throughout the winter in southern Florida.

Beholder, the champion 2-year-old filly of 2012, worked seven furlongs in 1:27.80 at Santa Anita on Thursday, her final workout before the Kentucky Oaks at Churchill Downs on May 3.

Trained by Richard Mandella, Beholder was ridden by Garrett Gomez and worked in company with a stablemate, starting a few lengths behind. Beholder ranged on the outside in the stretch and finished in front.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The days until the big race have dwindled into single digits, and with most of the major players having settled in comfortably at Churchill Downs, only a few things are left to be done toward the Kentucky Derby.

Chilled, a 5-year-old gelding who was featured by numerous media outlets last May when captured in an exquisite photograph attempting to savage a rival during the final yards of a race at Churchill, died of an apparent heart attack Wednesday morning at Churchill when galloping out from a half-mile workout.

Calvin Borel, who was aboard for the work, was unhurt. Chilled was owned by Deerfield Farm Racing and Carl Pascarella.

The purse for the All American Derby for Quarter Horses is projected to be $2.8 million when it is run Sept. 1 at Ruidoso Downs in New Mexico, making the 440-yard classic the richest race ever put on for the breed. Last year, the All American Derby was worth $2.2 million when Ochoa won and moved to the top of the all-time earnings list for Quarter Horses.

Ruidoso, which on May 24 opens a mixed meet featuring Quarter Horses, released its stakes schedule on Thursday.

The All American Derby is a Grade 1 for 3-year-olds. Trials for the race will be held on Aug. 16.