A Quiet Weekend

After the long, slow build-up towards the Breeders' Cup, and then the whrilwind two days of racing that took place last weekend in Louisville, the racing world becomes a bit quieter.  

The Grade 1 Hollywood Turf Cup will take place today in Inglewood, the lone Grade 1 race in North America.  Treat Gently (GB) grabs morning line favorite status in a field of eight that will run a mile and a half on the Hollywood Park turf course.

Over in Japan, the Group 1 Queen Elizabeth II Commemorative Cup will take place at Kyoto Racecourse in Tokyo.  Ave (GB) will re-represent non-Japanese interests in a field of seventeen that will go to post tonight.  Coverage of the race is available on both TVG and HRTV.

Next weekend will feature the $1,000,000 Grade 3 Delta Jackpot for juveniles, a race that could potentially have a big impact on the field for the 2011 Kentucky Derby by virtue of it's huge purse.  A win in the Delta Jackpot will earn a horse around $600,000 in graded stakes earnings, a figure likely to assure any horses a spot in the Derby.

On Thanksgiving weekend, Aqueduct will feature the Grade 1 Cigar Mile and the Grade 2 Remsen.  The Remsen is a particularly good race to get a read on juveniles that bypassed the Breeders' Cup and, because it's a two-turn race at a mile and an eighth, it could feature horses that will figure prominently in the run-up to the Derby next spring.