April 30, 2026 at 8:41 pm A perfect weather forecast — mid 70s and sunny — will provide the backdrop Saturday as live racing returns to Emerald Downs with first post at 1:50 p.m. Opening day coincides with the 152nd Kentucky Derby in which Washington native and former Emerald Downs trainer Mark Glatt saddles Santa Anita Derby winner So Happy. Post time for the Kentucky Derby is 3:57 p.m. Emerald Downs’ 51-day meet continues through Sept. 7, with live racing Saturdays and Sundays in May with Friday night racing added in June. Opening week, however, features Saturday racing only, with a six-race card topped by a $23,000 purse for older $25,000 claimers at six furlongs. Emerald Downs’ director of racing Bret Anderson said nearly 800 horses are expected by mid-May, including the usual reinforcements from Turf Paradise in Phoenix. Also, a slew of Canadian trainers — Steve Henson, Mark Cloutier, Patty Leaney, Robbie Gilker, Ian Jewell — have teams of horses this season at Emerald Downs.…