David Palmer’s Wet Your Whistle invaded from south of the border and closed with a strong late rally June 29 to win the $300,000 Highlander Stakes (G1T) at Woodbine.

Last year’s runner-up Coronet attempts to go one better in the Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud (G1) June 30, in which the John Gosden-trained mare and stablemate Lah Ti Dar feature among five British-trained runners in the seven-strong field.

Sovereign, sent off at 33-1, landed the biggest race in the Irish flat calendar June 29, the Dubai Duty Free Irish Derby (G1), for miracle man Padraig Beggy, who won the Investec Derby (G1) in 2017 on 40-1 shot Wings of Eagles.

Each Saturday NTRA and BloodHorse provide a one-stop guide to the day’s graded stakes races. Races are listed in chronological order (all times Eastern). Click on links for full preview.

The California Horse Racing Board has announced that five-member review panels, similar to the one established during the last two weekends at Santa Anita, will be in place for the upcoming Los Alamitos and Del Mar summer meets.

Il Paradiso was bred by the Kentucky-based stud

Local runners, including last year’s winner, Hotshot Anna, face off against rivals from down the interstate June 29 in the Chicago Handicap (G3), a seven-furlong sprint for fillies and mares over the Arlington International all-weather course.

On June 28, Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed into law a sweeping expansion of Illinois gaming that includes authorization for the state’s racetracks to conduct both casino gaming and sports betting.

Imagining is a grade 1-winning son of Giant’s Causeway at Anchor & Hope Farm in Maryland. His first winner prevailed June 28 in a maiden special weight at Laurel Park.

With 13 wins to his credit, Irish trainer Aidan O’Brien needs one more victory in the June 29 GAIN Railway Stakes (G2) at the Curragh to equal Vincent O’Brien’s record and he has bright prospects with Monarch of Egypt and Fort Myers representing him.

June 29 is a huge day for our horseplayer friends in We The North Nation, as the $1 million Queen’s Plate headlines a six stakes program at Woodbine Racetrack. 

The 20-cent Rainbow 6 was solved for a jackpot payoff of $3,151,249.04 at Gulfstream Park June 27.

Led by Puerta Cerranda’s multiple Group 1-winning 3-year-old Juliana and Altamar’s 3-year-old La Onda, 16 fillies and mares have been entered in a wide-open renewal of Sunday’s 1 1/4-mile Gran Premio Pamplona (G1) at Hipodromo Monterrico.

Iridessa, the 8-1 outsider of five runners, upstaged her rivals to land the June 28 Juddmonte Pretty Polly Stakes (G1) on day two of the Dubai Duty Free Irish Derby Festival.

Investec Derby (G1) winner Anthony Van Dyck will attempt to complete the Epsom-Curragh Derby double when he takes on a field of seven other 3-year-olds in the June 29 Dubai Duty Free Irish Derby (G1) at the Curragh.

With a nearly 25% decline in wagering on the Santa Anita Park winter-spring meet that concluded June 23, the loss of handle could force horsemen and the track into some tough decisions, although some positive trends could cushion the blow.

United States horseplayers who play multi-race wagers like the Pick 4, Pick 5, or Pick 6 on select international tracks through the advance deposit wagering site AmWager face a proposition similar to contestants on the Deal or No Deal game show.

Underlining an ongoing commitment to the safe and healthy retirement of New York’s racehorses, the New York Racing Association and New York Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association announced June 28 an initiative to increase funding for aftercare.

One start after winning the 1 1/16-mile Eclipse Stakes (G2), Live Oak Plantation homebred Souper Tapit will return to the Woodbine all-weather track but stretch out to 1 1/4 miles June 30 for the $125,000 Dominion Day Stakes (G3).