Not exactly earth-shattering, but ...

Though in the absence of Big Brown it lacks significance in the larger three-year-old context, the Travers at this point has great potential to be an interesting horserace even while contributing nothing to the big picture.

The current roster of prospective starters in the Travers lists four Grade 1 winners, five Grade 2 winners, the winner of the Prince of Wales Stakes, second leg of the Canadian Triple Crown and the Grade 3 Withers Stakes, which is underrated by the graded stakes committee. Two started in two legs of the Triple Crown series and six others ran in one leg, including Da’Tara, the Belmont Stakes winner.

The only multiple Grade 1 winner in the group: the sensational filly, Music Note, winner of the Mother Goose, Coaching Club American Oaks and four straight races. Her connections may well pass the challenge of facing colts in the Travers in favor of the Alabama, in which she would likely encounter Proud Spell, who was poorly ridden in the Mother Goose when third to Music Note. His people say both the Alabama and Travers are under consideration and regardless the race in which she runs, her presence lends an intriguing element.

Nick Zito has three Travers prospects – the frontrunning Belmont winner, Cool Coal Man, who has performed below expectations this year but may be on the verge of regaining the form in which he began the season with a victory in the Fountain of Youth Stakes in Florida. The first four from the Jim Dandy – Macho Again, Pyro and Tiz Now Tiz Then and Tale of Ekati– are likely to return in the Travers. Court Vision, another who had generally underachieved this season, returns to dirt after a season’s best effort on grass in the Virginia Derby.

The Harlem Rocker who won the Withers, not so much the one that won the Prince of Wales in his last start in Canada, fits with these and a progressive You and I Forever, who may have broken through with a sharp win in an overnight stakes here on a course over which his dam, You, was a Grade I winner.

This isn’t the raced in which Big Brown belongs anyway. That would come a week later, in the Woodward, where Curlin awaits. It is not anticipated, however, that Big Brown’s connections will take up the challenge in the Woodward, or ever.

A great idea … (How’d that happen?)

Racing is most certainly not a hotbed of promotional enlightenment, but every now and then, a light goes on, this time in California, where the Oak Tree Racing Association announced Friday it will hold horse racing's version of old-timer's day.

On October 18, eight Hall of Fame jockeys will ride in what will be called the Living Legends Race. It will be a sprint race for California-bred allowance horses and run as the fourth race on the card and there will be betting. The horses will all carry 126 pounds, and their mounts will be selected by a blind draw.

Angel Cordero Jr., Jacinto Vasquez, Sandy Hawley, Pat Day, Chris McCarron and Jerry Bailey, Gary Stevens and Julie Krone will ride. The involved jockeys have combined earnings of $1.5 billion and have ridden 49,163 winners.