Mast Track - Despite dealing with a small quarter crack, Robert Frankel reported Tuesday morning that his charge Mast Track, who it appeared would run in the Breeders' Cup Classic and likely be the pacesetter in the 1 1/4m race, instead will be entered in the TVG Dirt Mile this morning at Santa Anita. "The quarter crack is in his right front, on the outside," the Hall of Fame conditioner noted. "It's a small one; you could even say it is tiny. My blacksmith wanted to put a patch on it, but I told him I didn't think it was that bad. I think it's going to bust out through his coronet band. By the time we get to the race, I think we'll have it all cleaned up." Tuesday morning Mast Track went to the track and galloped 1 1/4m, coming off the track at 6:45 dancing and feeling full of himself. "He doesn't know he's got a quarter crack," stated Frankel, nodding toward the horse that he owns, trains and bred. "If you push on it, he knows, but otherwise he could care less. I'm going to train him like he doesn't have one and bring him up to the race right." Simply, a quarter crack is a break in the continuity of the horn wall at the quarter of the hoof. They can be superficial, or cracks that go through the full thickness of the horn wall. Horses can train and run with small quarter cracks, but more extensive ones need to be closed, or patched, if training is to continue. "It's a better spot for him; he fits better there," Frankel said of the change to the Dirt Mile from the Classic. "And the (entry) money is a whole lot less. The money is a factor, absolutely." As owner, Frankel will be saving himself $100,000 in fees by switching races. Pre-entry and entry fees for eligible horses for the Classic come to $125,000. Those fees amount to $25,000 for the Dirt Mile. Tyler Baze has the call on Mast Track. The pair combined to win the Hollywood Gold Cup in June.

Awesome Gem - With no major defections expected from the Breeders' Cup Classic, trainer Craig Dollase chose to enter the 5yo gelded son of 1998 Classic winner in the Dirt Mile on Saturday. "I think he'll do very well there," the trainer said of 2007 third-place finisher in the Classic. He acknowledged that he had been hopeful that some of the major runners such as defending champion Curlin might choose not to run over the Santa Anita main course in the 1 ¼ m Classic. As for post position, Dollase said, with a big smile, "Right in the middle." Awesome Gem galloped a mile Tuesday at his Hollywood Park home.

Surf Cat - In a change of plans, trainer Bruce Headley sent the Sir Cat 6yo 4f in a sharp 45 4/5 at Santa Anita with exercise rider Jack Stack up. Headley's original plan was to work the same distance on Wednesday as final serious work for Saturday's Dirt Mile. "It was just a gut feeling," said the "old school" conditioner. As is his wont, the trainer sent his worker out before dawn.

Pyro - Trainer Steve Asmussen said that after "further deliberation," it has been decided to run Ron Winchell's Pyro in the Dirt Mile rather than the Classic. It was reported on Monday that he would run in the Classic, giving Asmussen three starters in the race. "I am still concerned with how fast the racetrack has been playing," said Asmussen Tuesday morning. "Will he have time to catch anybody going a mile? That's the concern. But things change day to day and we'll see how the track itself comes up in front of him."