As decision time nears for horses pre-entered in multiple Breeders' Cup races, several turned in their final works Sunday at host track Keeneland.

Keeneland  
Weather: Sunny 
Temp. 33  
Main track: Fast   
Turf: Good

Lexington, Ky. - The skies were clear and cold, but the action on the racetrack was hot and heavy, with nearly 30 potential Breeders’ Cup starters getting in their final works on a crisp Saturday morning at Keeneland.

DEL MAR, Calif. - Jockey Flavien Prat, who led the standings at the Del Mar summer meeting and the Santa Anita autumn meeting that ended last weekend, will not ride at Del Mar on Saturday after working horses earlier in the day at Keeneland.

Del Mar officials notified Prat in recent days that would not be permitted to ride if he worked horses at Keeneland because he would not be able to undergo immediate coronavirus testing. Prat was named to ride in three of the nine races on Saturday’s program. Prat is not booked to ride Sunday.

With one week until the Breeders' Cup Classic, Tiz the Law turned in his final major piece of work at host track Keeneland on Saturday morning. Both he and expected Classic foe Higher Power were among the fastest workers on a busy morning at Keeneland that saw more than two dozen Breeders' Cup pre-entrants turn in their final works, with a similar number down the highway at Churchill Downs.

ARCADIA, Calif. – Authentic and Maximum Security, the last two horses to cross the wire first in the Kentucky Derby, on Saturday morning at Santa Anita turned in their final works for the Breeders’ Cup Classic one week hence at Keeneland. The race that could have championship implications for both.

ELMONT, N.Y. - After more than 2 1/2 inches of rain fell over a 24-hour period, followed by near-freezing temperatures, it didn’t seem likely the dirt tracks at Belmont Park would be suitable for serious training Saturday morning.

But the track maintenance crew had both dirt surfaces in pretty good condition and trainer Todd Pletcher felt confident enough to work his Grade 1 winners Valiance and Halladay over the training track in preparation for their Breeders’ Cup engagements next Saturday at Keeneland.

Spielberg was considered for the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile on Friday at Keeneland, but trainer Bob Baffert has selected a more modest goal for the promising colt.

Spielberg will start in a maiden special weight race at a mile at Del Mar in Sunday’s first race. Spielberg was third, beaten 5 1/2 lengths by Get Her Number, in the Grade 1 American Pharoah Stakes as the 11-10 favorite on Sept. 26 at Santa Anita.

“We were thinking about the Breeders’ Cup,” Baffert said. “I’m trying to develop these young horses.

Del Mar has changed the position of furlong markers on the turf course and altered the run-up distances between the gate and the start of the timing mechanism after conducting a survey of the course after the summer meeting in early September.

In several instances, the run-up to the point when the race time will begin is longer than previous seasons, according to a statement released by the track Friday. The relocation of furlong markers on the course will result in more accurate fractional timing, officials said.

Mike Smith, the all-time winningest rider in Breeders’ Cup history, is skipping the event this year.

Smith, 55, said Thursday that the absence of several leading horses he rode earlier this year from the Breeders’ Cup was a major factor in his decision to not travel to Keeneland for next Friday and Saturday. Instead, Smith will ride at Del Mar.

Smith was the regular rider of the 3-year-old Honor A. P., 5-year-old mare Midnight Bisou, and the 5-year-old horse McKinzie, all major stakes winners who have been retired in recent months.

Owners Alex and JoAnn Lieblong celebrated their second 2-year-old maiden winner of the Gulfstream Park West meet Thursday, and will go for a hat trick of sorts in Sunday’s eighth race with first-time starter Sassy Beast.

Big Thorn was a five-length maiden special weight winner Thursday, closing from 12 lengths back to defeat fellow Florida-breds for trainer David Fawkes and jockey Paco Lopez. He is a son of The Big Beast, a Grade 1-winning sprinter raced by the Lieblongs.