Most notably, the three Breeders’ Cup races that made their debut in 2007 will receive grades for 2009:  the Filly and Mare Sprint and the Dirt Mile will be Grade 1’s and the Juvenile Turf will be a Grade 2.  The Breeders’ Cup races that debuted in 2008 will remain ungraded for 2009.

Other changes of interest include the return of the Mass Cap to graded status (G3) and the elevation of the Sam F. Davis, a prep for the Tampa Bay Derby, to a Grade 3.

The change that could have the most impact is the upgrade of the Derby Trial at Churchill Downs to a Grade 3.  Run just a week before the Kentucky Derby, the Derby Trial will now provide an opportunity for horses in need of graded stakes earnings a last chance to qualify for the Kentucky Derby.

The ThoroughbredReport.com Graded Stakes database has been updated to reflect these changes and will be updated throughout the year as race dates are announced and race results become available.  The database includes all graded stakes races and results since 2006 with links to result charts and video replays.  The database can be queried by date, track, surface, distance, age, sex and grade.

 Filly and Mare Sprint

The scratch of Indyanne should ease some of the early pace pressure and perhaps make it easier for Indian Blessing to get involved earlier.  I give Zaftig the best chance of beating Indian Blessing.  I don’t know if they’ll get up for the win, but Intangaroo and Ventura should be able to make a run at the leaders in the stretch.  I’ll be including Magnificience underneath in the exotics.

Juvenile Fillies Turf

Laragh could steal the race on the lead like she did in the Jessamine, and I’ll bet on that eventuality, but I expect the Euros to be fully involved at the finish.  I also like Sugar Mom alot.  I think a dime super box of Laragh, Sugar Mom, April Pride, Heart Shaped and Beyond Our Reach will be $12 well spent.  (If Internallyflawless makes it in from the Also Eligible list, she is worth a look, as well).

Juvenile Fillies

Stardom Bound is obviously the horse to beat, but there are lots of other interesting fillies in here.  Sky Diva and Dream Empress have looked good.  The Euro, Pursuit of Glory didn’t fly this far west for the weather and could be a good one.  C. S. Silk’s stakes victory at Arlington was only a Grade 3, but she’s been working like a monster.  I just wish at least one of the works had been at Santa Anita.  I would have given a lot of thought to making Doremifasollatido my top pick if she wasn’t stuck way out in post 13.  That can’t be helpful.  Yeah, I know, I just named about half the field, but the favorite is a 2 year old closer in a big field and that can lead to all kinds of problems.  I’ll go as deep as I can here to catch a price if Stardom Bound comes up short.

Filly and Mare Turf

Wait A While certainly has home court advantage (3 for 3 at Santa Anita), but had to work hard to hold on last out in the Yellow Ribbon.  If she’s not at her best, there are a host of runners ready to take advantage.  She should see lively pace upfront with Folk Opera and Dynaforce going for the lead and the Euro Halfway to Heaven being forwardly placed, as well.  That should be to the benefit of Mauralakana and Forever Together.

Ladies’ Classic (Distaff)

The talent in this race is truly spectacular, but as deep and accomplished as the field is, Zenyatta has been even more impressive.  The undefeated filly has answered every call and if she can overcome this bunch, deserves to get some consideration for Horse of the Year.

Good luck, have fun, and save some money for Saturday.

As for the food options, the big news is that there will be Hattie’s chicken at the track!  Hattie is long gone, but her fabulous fried chicken lives on!  Growing up in Saratoga, I have fond memories of takeout from Hattie’s Chicken Shack.  Hattie’s Restaurant is still at the same location it’s been in for the past 40 years and is worth a visit if you enjoy southern cooking.  As long as I’m on food, the other great treat for me when I go to the races at Saratoga is ribs from PJ’s BAR-B-Q.  They are my absolute favorite.  (Don’t get there too early - I don’t want to have to wait in line behind you!)

Of course, the real meat for racing fans will be the 31 graded stakes races on the menu.  In last year’s Saratoga preview, I took a shot at predicting the winner of 25 graded stakes (excluding those for two-year-olds) and didn’t do too bad.  He’s my list of fearless predictions for 2008:

Graded Stakes for Two-year-olds

Two-year-olds are a big part of racing at Saratoga and many high priced runners make their debut here early in the meet, so pay special attention to the Maiden Special Weight races for two-year-olds and you might see a future champion make his debut.  (I like to go out to the paddock area for these races to get a good look at these well-bred multi-million dollar investments).  A couple of these precocious babies will go on to win a graded stakes later on in the meet.

There’s no point in trying to predict now which horses will win these graded stakes, but I do try to predict which trainers will do well.  In 2006, Todd Pletcher won four of the six graded stakes for two-year-olds and Scott Blasi (covering for Steve Asmussen) won the other two.  Last year, the six races were won by six different trainers.  Fearless Predictions:  Three wins for Asmussen.  Two for Pletcher.  One for Bill Mott.

Graded Stakes for 3-Year-Olds on Dirt

For the sprinters, there are two graded stakes each for the males and females.  Fearless Predictions:  True Quality in the Amsterdam, Indian Blessing in the Test, J Be K in the King’s Bishop, Game Face in the Victory Ride.

Street Sense swept the Jim Dandy and Travers Stakes last year.  This year’s Travers could be very interesting if Big Brown can return to form.  Fearless Predictions:  Pyro in the Jim Dandy, Big Brown in the Travers.

The Alabama should be a real treat given how many exciting three-year-old fillies we’ve see so far this year.  Fearless Prediction:  Music Note

Graded Stakes for 3-Year-Olds on Turf

There are two graded stakes on the turf apiece for three-year-old colts and fillies.  Fearless Predictions:  My Princess Jess in the Lake George, Sporting Art in the National Museum of Racing, Namaste’s Wish in the Lake Placid, and Gio Ponti in the Saranac.

Graded Stakes - Dirt Sprints for Older Horses

A Grade 1 and a Grade 2 each for the older males and females.  Fearless Predictions:  Bustin Stones in the Vanderbilt, Rite Moment in the Honorable Miss, Dream Rush in the Ballerina, and Benny the Bull in the Forego.

Graded Stakes - Dirt Routes for Older Horses

For the older males, there are two Grade 1’s:  the Whitney opening weekend and the Woodward closing weekend.  Curlin’s flirtation with turf racing certainly opens up this division, unless Steve Asmussen decides to return him to dirt.  The older females also get two Grade 1’s, the Go For Wand and the Personal Ensign.  Fearless Predictions:  Giant Gizmo in the Whitney, Ginger Punch in the Go For Wand, Hystericalady in the Personal Ensign, and Grasshopper in the Woodward.

Graded Stakes - Turf Routes for Older Horses

Last year, the three graded stakes turf routes for older distaff runners went to:  My Typhoon, Wait A While and Rosinka.  This year’s Fearless Predictions:  Wait A While in the Diana, Rutherienne in the Ballston Spa, and Rosinka to repeat in the Glens Falls.

The three graded turf stakes for older males last year went to Silver Tree, Grand Couturier and Shakis.  This year there is a chance that Steve Asmussen will decide to give Curlin another try on the grass and that could happen in the Sword Dancer.  Fearless Predictions:  Thorn Song in the Forestardave, Red Rocks in the Sword Dancer, and Sudan in the Bernard Baruch.

Fearless Curlin Prediction:  Steve Asmussen is based at Saratoga and he could easily decide to send out Curlin for another turf try in the Sword Dancer or switch him back to dirt in the Woodward, but I’ll predict that he sits him for the summer and targets the Jockey Club Gold Cup at Belmont Park before heading west for the Breeders’ Cup Classic.

Well, there you go.  Several of my picks won’t even enter the races I’ve picked them to win, but that’s the chance you take picking this far in advance.  And yes, I know, it looks like a chalk fest, but that’s who wins most of these races.  Good trainers know how to target their best horses for specific races and you can be sure that Saratoga has been on their radar all year.

In any case, good luck, have fun and enjoy these precious few weeks at The Spa!

(If you’re a glutton for punishment, you can follow my daily Saratoga picks at SaratogaHandicapper.com)

Let’s start with the drugs!  Who got popped this week?  Only some of the biggest names in the sport:  Richard Dutrow, Jr., trainer of Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes winner Big Brown; Steve Asmussen, the leading trainer in the country, not to mention trainer of 2007 Horse of the Year Curlin; and Larry Jones, trainer of the ill-fated filly Eight Belles. 

Dutrow has been suspended for 15 days by the Kentucky Horse Racing Authority for an overuse of Clenbuterol, a bronchodilator, found in his horse Salute the Count, who finished second in the Grade 3 Churchill Downs Turf Sprint on May 2nd.  The trainer is expected to file an appeal.  (Drug infractions are nothing new for Dutrow.  If you’re keeping score at home, this makes 13 violations for drugging horses versus 8 for drugging himself.)

Steve Asmussen is expected to be notified by the Texas Racing Commission on Thursday that a Lidocaine positive has been detected in a blood sample taken after a victory by Timber Trick on May 10th at Lone Star Park.  Asmussen is no stranger to drug infractions either, having served a six-month suspension in late 2006 for a Mepivacaine violation.

Most surprising was the news that Larry Jones, a trainer who has never had a drug infraction during his 27 year training career, has been notified this week by Delaware racing officials that his runner Stones River showed a Clenbuterol overage after his win in an allowance race at Delaware Park on June 8th.  Jones garnered much unwanted attention as the trainer of Eight Belles, the filly who broke down and had to be destroyed after running in the Kentucky Derby.  PETA made every attempt to implicate the filly’s jockey and trainer in the unfortunate accident that caused her death.  (PETA is against killing animals, unless they get to do it themselves).  His first reaction to news of a positive test result was to claim sabotage, but he has since allowed that it could have been legitimate.

The most interesting drug news this week was the announcement by IEAH Stables, principle owners of Big Brown, that for the good of the sport all of their horses will be now be trained and raced without the use of any drugs other than Lasix.  If sincere, and if they follow through on their pronouncement, they are to be applauded.  The interesting part, of course, is that their trainer is the aforementioned Richard Dutrow, Jr.  We’ll see how much resolve they really have if they stop winning races.  Hopefully, we’ll see other owners and trainers come out in support of racing clean.

Racing received yet another black-eye this week, literally, when it was announced that jockey Jeremy Rose has received a six month suspension for ‘extreme misuse of the whip‘.  Rose’s mount Appeal to the City was struck in the face during the third race at Delaware Park on June 23rd and was treated for a laceration near his eye.  The jockey says the incident was not intentional and the suspension will be appealed.

The Breeders’ Cup has announced a new fantasy sports game that will coincide with their Breeders’ Cup Challenge race days.  The free online contest will run from July 5th to October 9th.  The contest joins the previously announced Road to the Breeders’ Cup Fantasy Challenge sponsored by Churchill Downs.

Admit it.  You only read this far to find out about the sex.  (I’m taking headline writing lessons from the New York Post).  Better than Honour, the mare that dropped back-to-back winners of the Belmont Stakes, won’t be having any more sex this year.  After failing to conceive in May, it was decided that it was too late in the year to try again.  She will be bred again in early 2009.

Big Brown staggered home in last place and rather than continuing on down the stretch to cool out like normal, he hung a quick right just past the finish line and left the track long before the other runners returned to be unsaddled.  I can’t say I blame him.  I’d want to get off the track as soon as possible after that uninspired performance.

As of late Sunday night, there were no reports indicating a physical problem with the horse.  Neither the jockey or the trainer were able to offer any explanation for Big Brown’s lack of response when he needed it most.  Maybe he just wasn’t in the mood.

It may be that Big Brown was just too lightly raced to withstand the stress of three big races in a five week span.  Maybe with a few more races under his belt he would have been professional enough to dig a little deeper when he wasn’t at his best.  There will be another Triple Crown winner someday, but it will take a tough, talented, and professional race horse to get it done.  There are no shortcuts to a Triple Crown.

Hat tip to Nick Zito for envisioning this result.  He knew before the race his horse had a chance to steal the race on the front end.  I wish I had spent a few minutes myself considering the possibility.