Bentornato quickly shook off the other speed and extended his margin through the stretch to win by 2 1/4 lengths.

Spice Runner got up in deep stretch to edge Comport in Saturday's Iroquois (G3) at Churchill Downs, the first of 36 qualifying races in the 2025-26 Road to the Kentucky Derby series.

The 2026 Road to the Kentucky Derby series kicks off Saturday at Churchill Downs, when the Derby site plays host to the $300,000 Iroquois (G3) over one mile.

Straight No Chaser raced prominently from the start and courageously reeled in Bentornato late in Saturday’s $1,840,000 Breeders’ Cup Sprint (G1) at Del Mar.

The drumbeat of Breeders’ Cup speculation about Next will grow louder in the wake of yet another lopsided victory, this time in Saturday’s Greenwood Cup (G3) on Pennsylvania Derby Day at Parx.

The stakes-packed Friday evening card at Charles Town provided a chance for proven stakes winners to add rich victories to their decorated resumes.

Forever Young, Remake, Spirit Dancer, Tower of London, and Annaf won on the Saudi Cup undercard.

Before champion Fierceness takes the stage in the Holy Bull (G3), Scalable will represent the same connections in the Forward Gal (G3) on the Road to the Kentucky Oaks.