Tom Law

The final Saturday in March offers racing fans everything they could ask for – a star-studded Dubai World Cup program from Meydan, Florida Derby Day at Gulfstream and the continued return at Santa Anita Park.

March Madness and the Road to the Final Four went into high gear this week and the path to another major destination – Churchill Downs and the first Saturday in May – also takes another big twist with this weekend’s Louisiana Derby at Fair Grounds.

Extra time in upstate New York this coming summer for the Saratoga Race Course meeting means extra editions of The Saratoga Special on tap for 2019.

Split divisions of the Grade 2 Rebel Stakes – filling a significant void left by continued postponement of racing at Santa Anita Park – headlines this week’s a slightly abbreviated edition of The Saturday Special.

Three key Kentucky Derby preps on the East Coast offer the chance to clear the muddled path to the spring classics and a provide at least a brief respite from the serious issues on the West Coast shining the wrong kind of light on the game.

The final weekend in February offers the chance to regroup a bit without a significant Kentucky Derby prep and a relatively light overall slate.

We’re back, just like racing overseas after the British Horseracing Authority lifted the equine influenza ban this week.

The revamped Saratoga Race Course meeting now set to start in early July will feature several new or relocated stakes for the 2019 season.

Three-time champion Royal Delta is among the five equine and nine overall finalists that make up the National Museum of Racing’s 2019 Hall of Fame ballot as selected by the Hall of Fame Nominating Committee.

The 20th NTRA National Horseplayers Championship started its three-day run Friday afternoon and Saturday a field that includes the core trio of editors and writers from The Saratoga Special will compete in the Tito’s $5,000 NTRA/NHC Charity Challenge.