Venue for August 1 . . .

[JolyB]

Sounds like a great way to start August to me.

I'm not suggesting this for our contest card, but wanted to call everyone's attention to the Shared Belief Stakes at Del Mar on Saturday. It is listed as race 2 on the card, only drew 6 runners and only has a purse of $100,000. On the other hand, the race does have Kentucky Derby qualifying points, and has quite a field: Baffert has entered Uncle Chuck, Thousand Words and Cezanne. Also entered are Anneau d'Or and, oh yes, Honor A.P. Kiss Today Goodbye rounds out the field.

With the Kentucky Derby only a little over a month away, this may provide a final chance for some of these to qualify, or a final tune up for some others. Either way, it's an opportunity to see some of the potential west coast contenders. Again, I'm not suggesting this for our contest, only to watch and learn.