The “wet bulb globe” temperature – a type of measurement used to determine appropriate exposure to high temperatures – is forecast to fall “below our inclement Weather Protocol threshold,” the company wrote. It had, thus, “confidently decided to proceed with the scheduled races tomorrow.”

The company is taking several steps to account for the heat. The most obvious to fans and bettors is that the first post is being adjusted to 12:10 p.m., 15 minutes earlier than originally scheduled.

The company’s “comprehensive heat mitigation precautions… include stationing an additional Veterinarian along the backstretch and expanding our staff to assist in hosing down the horses after each race. We will also have ice buckets and sponges readily available as well.”

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WHERE HAVE YOU GONE, DE FRANCIS DASH?

Saturday’s headliner is the $150,000 Frank J. De Francis Memorial Dash, and let’s be honest, for those of us who remember when the De Francis was the De Francis, it hurts even to type those words.

What, no grade? And only $150,000?

How little is a buck-and-a-half in the modern game? Saturday’s second race at Saratoga, a second-level allowance, has a base purse of nearly as much: $120,000.

The De Francis once was a champion-making race, with horses like Smoke Glacken and Cherokee Run counting the De Francis among their key victories in their Eclipse-winning seasons.

The most recent of those, 2006 champ Thor’s Echo, came to central Maryland three weeks after winning the Breeders’ Cup Sprint and, against a field that included the third- and fifth-place finishers from the Breeders’ Cup Sprint, posted a hard-fought victory that secured his championship.

Saturday’s favorite is the formful Lightening Larry (8-5), who won Delaware’s Alapocas Run four weeks ago and has won consecutive minor stakes.

Synthesis is the second choice, at 2-1. When last seen locally, he was finishing up the track in the off-the-turf King T. Leatherbury Stakes but most recently was second in the Grade 2 John A. Nerud.

Synthesis gives one clue as to what ails the De Francis: he’s cross-entered at Saratoga, in the $350,000, Grade 1 A. G. Vanderbilt. It, like the De Francis, is contested at six furlongs

SCRATCHES COULD BE ALMA NORTH STORY

Scratches are expected to take a bite out of the $100,000 Alma North Stakes, one race prior to the De Francis.

Trainer Jerry Robb told The Racing Biz Thursday he would scratch his two projected starters, Street Lute and Princess Kokachin. Fellow trainer Ferris Allen indicated the same about Sweet Gracie.

The speedy Beguine is the 2-1 morning line favorite for trainer Ned Allard, who last week visited Maryland to judge the MHBA yearling show. With the scratches, Beguine may be loose on the lead under Jevian Toledo and could be awfully hard to reel in.

It says here Response Time might outrun her 20-1 morning line and get herself in the mix of this contest.

FRIENDLY CONFINES

Laurel lover Nimitz Class spent the winter dominating Laurel’s two-turn, $100,000 stakes. Down went the Bobby Manfuso, the John B. Campbell, the Harrison Johnson, the Native Dancer: each month, like clockwork.

But trainer Bruce Kravets and owner Tom Coulter skipped what seemed the next logical spot – the Grade 3 Pimlico Special – and instead ran in an open allowance at Parx, winning easily again. In his most recent start, the four-year-old Munnings colt tried graded foes for the first time, running well but just failing to hold off Petulante in the G3 Salvator Mile at Monmouth, a race that’s already produced a next-out stakes winner in Trademark.

Toledo once again has the mount – the Salvator Mile was the first time in six tries together the duo tasted defeat – on a runner who’s 7-5 on the morning line. If he runs his typical race back, he’ll likely win for the fifth time in seven local outings.

MARYLAND-BRED STAKES OFFER INTRIGUE

A pair of Maryland-bred stakes – the Miss Disco for fillies and Star de Naskra, both for three-year-old Maryland-breds – offer intrigue.

In the former, Malibu Moonshine, who won three straight locally as a two-year-old, makes her first start since February for trainer Charlton Baker. The late-running sort will have Angel Cruz up in what should be a good challenge for her.

The rest of the field is fairly diverse with some shippers and some locals. One interesting contender is Precious Avary (6-1), who’s won three straight on both dirt and turf. Her speed figs stack up nicely here, but, while she’s four-for-five against New Jersey-breds (she’s Maryland-sired), she’s 0-for-5 against everybody else.

In the Star de Naskra one race later, the morning line favorite is the Norm Casse-trained Easy Action (5-2), who’ll make his first start since running third in an April allowance at Oaklawn Park that was won by Ryvit, who since has won three stakes, including the Grade 3 Chick Lang at Pimlico.

The horse with the spiffiest resume in the Star de Naskra is local star Coffeewithchris. The John Salzman, Jr. trainee won two stakes over the winter in a campaign that’s already seen him run in the Grade 1 Preakness.

But this race offers plenty of other options: promising Freeze the Fire, suddenly-good Super Accelerate, Feeling Woozy, and late-running It’s Viper all can make a case.