Bodog Beat

Bold Chieftain will run in the Del Mar Mile this weekend. (AP Images)

Two important prep races for the Breeders' Cup Mile will be run this weekend: the Bernard Baruch Handicap and the Del Mar Mile.

On Saturday, Aug. 23, Saratoga will welcome 3-year-olds and up to its turf course for the 50th running of the Gr. 2 $200,000 Bernard Baruch Handicap. Likely contenders include the Robert Frankel-trained Proudinsky, who will be hoping to erase memories of his 11th-place finish in the Gr. 1 Woodford Reserve Manhattan Handicap and return to the form which saw him win the Mervyn Muniz Jr. Memorial Handicap in March. Eight-year-old Silver Tree, winner of the recent Gr. 3 $150,000 Oceanport Stakes at Monmouth, and the Todd Pletcher-trained Red Giant, winner of the $150,000 Fourstardave earlier this month, are also nominated.

The Del Mar Mile, a Gr. 2 $400,000 one-mile turf race for 3-year-olds and up, will be run this Sunday, Aug. 24. It is a Breeders' Cup Challenge series race, which will grant the winner an automatic berth into the 2008 Breeders' Cup Mile. Among the nominees is Bold Chieftain, who boasts a record of 11 wins in 20 outings. His victories include the $131,000 California Dreamin' Handicap, a race he also won in 2007, and trainer and co-owner Bill Morey Jr. would like to add to Bold Chieftain's resume with a graded stakes win. "We know it's a big step up, but maybe he deserves the chance," Morey said.

The venerable 9-year-old Perfect Drift is also a possible starter, and will be coming into the race with a 2008 record of two fourth-place finishes and an eighth-place finish in the Hollywood Gold Cup in June.

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