Norway

Queen Azteca (Sharp Azteca), winner of the G3 UAE Oaks in February at Meydan Racecourse, arrived in Saratoga Aug. 8 and cleared quarantine to gallop over the Oklahoma training track Sunday morning. Trained by Niels Petersen, the bay was purchased privately by Team Valor International and is expected to make her North American debut in Saturday's GI Alabama Stakes. Queen Azteca was accompanied to the training track by her exercise rider Carlos Toro Montecinos and a pony, calmly taking in her surroundings before jogging a half-mile and galloping once around...

Italy's major races will see the most significant downgrades among European countries after the European Pattern Committee announced alterations to the 2023 Flat programme Wednesday, as a host of that country's major races are set to be demoted in status. There will be 827 black-type races run in Europe this year, compared to the 852 in 2022, while group races have been cut by 13 to 412 and listed races drop to 415 from 427. One of the most significant changes to the Irish programme comes in the case of...