OZONE PARK, N.Y. - Seven horses were entered Wednesday for Saturday’s Grade 1, $750,000 Cigar Mile at Aqueduct, but the ink was barely dry on the overnight when one had to scratch.

O Besos, most recently fifth in the Breeders’ Cup Sprint, will not be permitted to run after five horses tested positive for equine herpesvirus in a barn at Churchill Downs, according to Greg Foley, the trainer of O Besos. That barn, which had 14 horses in it, had been placed under quarantine on Tuesday.

A number of racetracks have placed bans on shippers from Churchill Downs in Louisville, Ky., after a sick horse who was removed from the grounds on Tuesday tested positive for equine herpesvirus.

The bans were put in place by the tracks owned by 1/ST Racing, which include Gulfstream Park in Florida and Santa Anita Park in Southern California, as well as by Oaklawn Park in Arkansas and the New York Racing Association, which is racing at Aqueduct.

OZONE PARK, N.Y. - O Besos nearly lost the Cigar Mile before he passed through the entry box.

Hoosier Philly, unbeaten in three starts and a smooth winner of the Golden Rod Stakes on Nov. 26 at Churchill, is getting a freshening at Woodford Farm in Ocala, Fla., before joining Tom Amoss’s string at Fair Grounds in late December.

A five-length winner in the Golden Rod after an even easier score in the Rags to Riches Stakes, Hoosier Philly, if all goes well, could make her 2023 debut in the Feb. 18 Rachel Alexandra Stakes at Fair Grounds.

Proxy scored his first Grade 1 win in the Clark Stakes on Nov. 25 at Churchill Downs and will have even more important targets early in 2023.

Michael Stidham, who trains Proxy for his breeder, Godolphin, said Proxy had come out of the Clark in good shape and could next race Jan. 28 at Gulfstream in the Pegasus World Cup.

“The obvious spot is the Pegasus,” Stidham said. “It’s good timing at the end of January, and if he were to run well it’s good timing to the Dubai World Cup.”

Extra Anejo, among the most exciting 2-year-old maiden winners of 2022, is expected to soon have his first workout since shipping into Fair Grounds from Kentucky in mid-November and could start Dec. 26 in the Gun Runner Stakes at Fair Grounds.

Steve Asmussen, who trains Extra Anejo for Ron Winchell’s Winchell Thoroughbreds, on Tuesday termed the 1 1/16-mile Gun Runner the “most likely” spot for Extra Anejo’s second race.

Total handle on the mixed meet at Horseshoe Indianapolis in Shelbyville, Ind., has been estimated by track management at a record $235 million, the fourth straight year that handle has risen.

Track officials said that the estimated $235 million total for the 123-day meet would be approximately 5 percent higher than total handle last year, when the track ran 27 fewer races. Per race, the estimated handle is expected to jump 9 percent compared to last year, the officials said.

Churchill Downs has placed a barn on its backstretch under quarantine after a horse began displaying potential symptoms of equine herpesvirus on Tuesday morning, according to the track’s equine medical director.

The horse was shipped to a veterinary clinic after showing signs of “ataxia and neurological distress,” according to Dr. Will Farmer, who oversees equine health and welfare at Churchill’s tracks. Although Farmer said that tests on the horse have not yet been completed, those are two of the primary symptoms of equine herpesvirus, a highly contagious disease.

Jockey Vicente Del-Cid, who ranks as the second-leading rider in wins in North America, will likely miss the remainder of the year due to facial fractures sustained in a spill Saturday night at Delta Downs in Vinton, La.  

Agent Louis Coco said Del-Cid is expected to be sidelined for approximately four to six weeks. The rider was to meet with doctors Tuesday about surgery to address his injuries. Del-Cid sustained a broken bone around one of his eyes as well as a broken nose when his mount, Luck of the Stars, fell and he was thrown. 

ARCADIA, Calif. – A deep jockey colony this winter at Santa Anita is getting deeper.

Kazushi Kimura, runaway leading rider at Woodbine the past two seasons after winning the Eclipse Award as outstanding apprentice in 2019, will relocate to California and ride the Santa Anita meet that begins Dec. 26.