EDMONTON, Alberta - Saturday's Breeders' Cup simulcasts from Santa Anita will have six local races dovetailed into the program.
The action begins with the Breeders' Cup Distaff at 11:20 a.m. local time, and the first Northlands event at noon.
This is the first time Northlands has inserted its own races among the Breeders' Cup races, rather than running its card after the simulcasts.
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. - Trainer Tim Hills lined up the perfect way to enjoy the Breeders' Cup.
"I get to spend the day at Santa Anita with my two favorite gals, my wife [Laine] and Mooji Moo," said Hills.
The Hillses had long planned to visit friends in California and attend the Breeders' Cup as fans. The opportunity to run Mooji Moo in the $100,000 Very Subtle Handicap on the Breeders' Cup undercard offered a chance to mix business with pleasure.
"With her speed, she should really love Santa Anita," Hills said from Florida. "The owners were very game to go."
SAN MATEO, Calif. - What do Robert Bone and Jeffrey Diener of Sacramento, Calif., have in common with Ken Smole and Jane Conway of Mill Valley, Calif.?
Both northern California groups have a horse entered in Saturday's Breeders' Cup.
Bone and Diener own Captain Squire, who drew post 13 for the Sprint. Smole and Conway, who have had horses with Wally Dollase since 1997, are members of Horizon Stable, which own Classic starter Ten Most Wanted.
Ten Most Wanted and Captain Squire have additional local ties as they have each run in northern California.
It's not easy for a jockey to lead the standings at Louisiana Downs if he does not regularly ride for one of the meet's two powerhouse trainers, Cole Norman or Steve Asmussen, but that's exactly what Kirk LeBlanc is doing at the Bossier City, La., track.
Going into the races on Thursday, LeBlanc had an 87-83 lead in the standings over defending champ Gerard Melancon. He is working to secure his second Louisiana Downs title, having won his first in 2001.
AB What a Runner - undefeated, a champion, and a millionaire - will be an overwhelming choice to advance to the finals of the Grade 1, $250,000-estimated Los Alamitos Derby when she runs in the 400-yard trials at Los Alamitos on Saturday night.
The 10 fastest qualifiers from the trials go on to the Nov. 8 finals.
Owned by Dennie and Kris Hill, AB What a Runner was last year's champion 2-year-old. She won the $1.9 million All American Futurity and turned in the all-time fastest quarter-mile by a juvenile, 20.993 seconds, while winning her All American Futurity trial.
LEXINGTON, Ky. - Commendation has a lot more to do to even approach what his highly decorated sibling has accomplished, but at least he's off to a good start. As a 2-year-old half-brother to Take Charge Lady, Commendation can keep heading in a positive direction Friday in the $100,000 Bourbon County Stakes at Keeneland.
STICKNEY, Ill. - When Breeders' Cup Juvenile contender Cactus Ridge went down with an injury last weekend, his trainer, Bret Calhoun, felt the blow. Calhoun had never trained a horse who had so much talent, and he isn't sure he ever will again. But if Calhoun wants a cushion, he can look at his Hawthorne meet as a whole. Through Sunday, Calhoun had seven wins, four seconds, and a third from just 14 starters.
PORTLAND, Ore. - Any horse with designs on handicap stakes at the just-begun Portland Meadows meet should check the name on his bridle. If it doesn't say "Lethal Grande" he should probably think again.
That was the apparent conclusion to be drawn from Saturday's six-furlong Inaugural Handicap, which the 4-year-old Lethal Grande won in an authoritative performance.
ETOBICOKE, Ontario - Woodbine doesn't have much of a Breeders' Cup contingent this year, the only locally based representatives being Perfect Soul and Soaring Free in the Mile.
But that won't stop the money from flowing freely here Saturday when Woodbine offers a host of Thoroughbred wagering opportunities, including simulcasts of the 12-race Breeders' Cup Day program from Santa Anita, the abbreviated cards from Belmont and Keeneland, and the full 10-race slate from Fort Erie - in addition to 11 live races.