HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – Saturday’s meeting of champions Monomoy Girl and Swiss Skydiver in the Apple Blossom has overtones of the kind of race the late Charles Cella was attempting to put on in 2010, when the Oaklawn president offered a $5 million purse if that year’s edition were to draw both Rachel Alexandra and Zenyatta.

The New York Racing Association will return the pick six wager to its traditional format, albeit with a $1 minimum wager, when the Belmont Park spring/summer meet begins April 22, the company announced Thursday.

This format replaces the Empire 6, which was a 20-cent minimum and which, in recent months, paid out its entire pool daily. When the Empire 6 debuted in August 2019, the idea was to pay out the entire pool only if there was one unique ticket with all six winners. Prior to the implementation of the Empire 6, NYRA’s traditional pick six was a $2 minimum bet.

Canterbury Park in Shakopee, Minn., will reduce its pick 6 takeout to 10 percent and abandon the bet’s jackpot-style format when the track opens for live racing on May 18, Canterbury announced on Thursday.

Though Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced Wednesday that fans will be permitted to return to horse racing tracks in New York beginning April 23, the New York Racing Association wouldn’t commit to opening its doors to fans that soon.

“We will be reviewing protocols and guidance issued by New York State to make a determination when we will be able to open Belmont Park to fans,” NYRA spokesperson Pat McKenna said.

The stakes winners Country Grammer, Independence Hall, and Royal Ship are among five expected runners in Saturday’s Grade 2 Californian Stakes for older horses going 1 1/8 miles at Santa Anita.

Those three will likely be joined by Growth Engine, who was fifth in the Santana Mile on March 28, and Magic On Tap, who will have his stakes debut in the $200,000 race.

ARCADIA, Calif. – Jockey Victor Espinoza did not get far on the Santa Anita apron on Sunday morning without stopping to visit with numerous trainers, a few owners and basically anyone else who crossed his path.

The grandstand at Santa Anita may cover the length of the stretch, but Espinoza, dressed in a riding helmet, safety vest and blue jeans, was determined to work the room. He has some catching up to do.

LEXINGTON, Ky. – You missed the press release on Charlie LoPresti retiring from training because, well, there wasn’t one.

“Didn’t want to make a big deal about it,” said LoPresti, who less than a decade ago was on top of the racing world as the trainer of Wise Dan, the two-time Horse of the Year (2012-13).

Arapahoe Park on Tuesday received Colorado Racing Commission approval to conduct a fall meet for 2021. The 32-date season will run from Aug. 11-Oct. 2. There had been an order to delay racing to 2022 in part because of the impact of the coronavirus pandemic, but it was rescinded Tuesday.

Arapahoe, which conducts a mixed meet for Thoroughbreds and Quarter Horses, generally races from late May to the middle of August. The track will begin receiving horses July 27, an Arapahoe official told the commission Tuesday.

HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – The champions Monomoy Girl and Swiss Skydiver were among six fillies and mares entered in the Grade 1, $1 million Apple Blossom Handicap at Oaklawn. The race will share a Saturday card with the Grade 2, $1 million Oaklawn Handicap, which drew eight horses, including Santa Anita Handicap runner-up Express Train.

Swiss Skydiver drew post 2 and will be ridden by Robby Albarado, while Monomoy Girl will start from post 6 under Florent Geroux. The race is slotted as the 11th of 12.

HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – The connections of Grade 1 winner Get Her Number will be keeping close tabs on Kentucky Derby developments leading up to the May 1 classic at Churchill Downs.

Trainer Peter Miller said Tuesday that the race is on the horse’s radar after his troubled fourth-place finish in the Arkansas Derby last Saturday. Get Her Number earned 10 points to bring his total to 20, and sat 24th on the Kentucky Derby leaderboard on Tuesday.