ASD horses at other tracks tomorrow: Murray Duncan's Ask Eddy is racing in a $14,000 claimer at Hawthorne (race 5) and Charlie Smith has two horses in the eighth race at Retama, a $25,000 optional claimer:  Ruby's Big Band and Mining Town (formerly trained by Tom Gardipy, Jr.).   

Santa Anita Nov. 2 & 3

THREE WAYS TO GET READY FOR SUCCESS:

(1)  Follow Santa Anita to get a feel for its bias (speed has been prominent on the main track). 

(2)  Follow stakes races at other tracks this long weekend.  That's because you'll likely be seeing some of the winners and runners-up from those races in Breeders' Cup races. (See list of main stakes races below under Looking forward to . . . ) 

(3)  Follow Mike Welsch's work-out reports at www.DRF.com when they begin in about two weeks.  

His insights were invaluable last year for determining contenders and completing triactors and superfectas.

BOOK THE BRUNCH:   Back by popular demand will be an all-you-can-eat brunch in the Terrace Dining Room Saturday, Nov. 3 (where your seats are reserved all afternoon and where there are plenty of TVs):  $19.95.  Phone 204-885-3330.  Served from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. You can place your bets right at the table, too! 

WIN A BC BANKROLL!  Enter the Countdown to the 'Cup contest every Sunday afternoon.  Top entrant wins $200 in Breeders' Cup bets.  Second:  $100, third: $50.  Look for contest entries in the Race Book and predict winners in four pre-selected races--two from Woodbine and two from Belmont.  There were 18 entrants in the first week of the contest. Four weeks remain. Standings.

Not that players haven't noticed but the Daily Racing Form puts in perspective just how bad this year has been for 3-year-olds: just seven of 29 winners of a major stakes race or the top four finishers in Triple Crown races continue to be part of the racing scene, although four others have had a recent workout.  Is this a trend or an anomaly?  Depends who you talk to.  We'll know as the years progress.  Of course, the tendon injury that forced I'll Have Another to drop out of the Belmont Stakes without having a chance to prove he could end the 33-year Triple Crown drought was the biggest disappointment of the year.   He's probably not minding, though.  He's in Japan performing stud duty.

"ZERO TOLERANCE" ON WHIPPING WORKS, SAYS COMMISH CHAIR:  David Miles, chair of the Manitoba Horse Racing Commission, says the commission's "zero tolerance" policy on whipping infractions worked because only one whipping charge needed to be laid during this year's entire live season, a $500 abusive riding charge against Robert Reeves.  (The penalty was thrown out on appeal.)  Agree?  Email comments to theinsider@ASDowns.com.

STILL WAITING FOR WORD ON STEWARDS' BUNGLED CALL:   No word yet on the results of the investigation into the stewards' wrong placing in a Downs race on Aug. 22 when they mixed up the winner and second-place finisher.

SWAMP FEVER QUARANTINE KEEPS FAVOURITE OUT OF ARC:  The Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe, the biggest race of the year in France, scheduled for Sunday at Longchamp, will be missing the early favourite--last year's record-breaking Danedream--because the horse must remain quarantined at a German track because a horse there contracted the highly-contagious swamp fever.  Swamp fever can cause a mare to abort her fet

Black Caviar will likely race again