Del Mar and Saratoga are closing their doors on Labor Day, but two other horse racing success stories are stepping into the spotlight to lift our spirits.
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Mike Brunker

Mike Brunker 's horse racing column is online Thursdays and appears in Friday's print edition of the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
A rainstorm, gathering darkness and lack of lighting resulted in an unreadable finish line photo. What happened after that is known only to the NYRA stewards.
Assessing the horses in a particular race is Job A as a handicapper. But it pays dividends to know as much as possible about the surface they’re running over.
Florent Geroux, Julien Leparoux and Flavien Prat have been good friends since their teens and cheer for one another except when they are in the same race.
The Hall of Fame trainer “will suffer irreparable harm if an injunction is not issued,” wrote the San Diego judge who issued the order.
A 4-year-old thoroughbred named Mr. Changue who was swallowed by a sinkhole early this month returned from his ordeal this week to win a race at Fort Erie racetrack.
The track’s decision to bar Hall of Fame trainer Jerry Hollendorfer from running horses draws a lawsuit saying the action violates its contract with California horsemen.
The marquee meets of summer come as a relief, but the pall hanging over horse racing — particularly in California — has not dissipated.
The new racetrack in Prescott Valley, Arizona, announced this week it will resume its inaugural season on July 20 after abruptly canceling racing two weeks ago.
Jerry Hollendorfer is one of the most accomplished and hardest-working trainers in California, but that didn’t stop The Stronach Group from banning him.
Officials are resisting growing pressure to cancel the final six days of the meet after the deaths of two more horses last week, bringing the total since Dec. 26 to 29.
Belmont Park will offer eight Grade 1 stakes featuring top horses in virtually every division on Saturday’s card, in addition to two lesser stakes.
The new horse racing track in Prescott Valley, Arizona, which has a small-town feel but an A-list team calling the shots, runs its inaugural meet through Labor Day.
The Kentucky Derby controversy is finally calming down despite a challenge by the owner of disqualified Maximum Security. Meantime, Arizona Downs opens its doors.
As 13 horses prepare to contest the second leg of the Triple Crown Saturday at Pimlico, suspensions and lawsuits keep Kentucky Derby disqualification on the front burner.