The future is now on Saturday in Henderson, Ky., where young horses highlight a card at Ellis Park as the track begins its run under new ownership a bit sooner than scheduled. The parent company of Churchill Downs, which purchased Ellis last year, shifted the ongoing meet at its flagship track in Louisville, Ky., to Ellis in order to allow more in-depth research into Churchill’s racing surfaces following a spate of equine fatalities this spring. Churchill’s condition book, with a handful of necessary modifications for surface and distance, continues this Saturday and runs through July 2. Ellis will then conduct its scheduled summer meet from July 7-Aug. 27. Saturday’s 10-race card, entirely on dirt as the Ellis turf course will not be in use until next week, has 2- and 3-year-olds as prime points of interest. Among the key events are: ◗ A $92,000 maiden for juveniles the begins the card. Catty Cruise (Catalina Cruiser), Shimmering Allure (Enticed), and Closing Prayer (Catholic Boy) represent freshman sires in the body of the overflow field. ◗ Extra Anejo makes his second start off a layoff in the third race, a one-mile allowance/optional claimer for 3-year-olds with a $127,000 purse. The one-mile configuration at Ellis requires the field to break from a chute and run straight and into the clubhouse turn before making a left onto the backstretch. Extra Anejo was a spectacular October debut winner at Keeneland. On the shelf for more than six months, he returned to finish second on Kentucky Derby Day in his 3-year-old debut. :: Take your handicapping to the next level and play with FREE DRF Past Performances - Formulator or Classic.  Tall Boy and Classic Legacy have both run in graded/group stakes this year. Tall Boy won the Group 3 U.A.E. 2000 Guineas, but seeks class relief after being unplaced in two subsequent starts. Classic Legacy was third in the Grade 3 Tampa Bay Derby behind Belmont Stakes entrant Tapit Trice, then third in a Keeneland allowance. ◗ The fifth race is a $120,000 maiden-special at a mile for fillies and mares in which 3-year-olds factor prominently. Excellent Question and Twin Mischief were third and fifth, respectively, behind a next-out winner in a May maiden race. Both encountered trouble, as Excellent Question was wide and Twin Mischief was bumped. ◗ In race 9, a nine-furlong, $120,000 allowance, Empirestrikesfast gets class relief. After a sharp debut win at 1 1/16 miles, the sophomore was seventh in the Grade 3 Lexington. Equine-safety initiatives that Churchill announced shortly before shifting this meet are still in effect at Ellis. Management will prohibit horses who have been beaten 12 or more lengths in five consecutive races from running until approved by the medical director. They also will limit horses to four races within an eight-week span. Churchill also has paused payments made to every runner in a race, regardless of finish position, limiting payments to top-five finishers. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.