Historical clue formulations

• Puts in the oven — 2025-02-22
• Warms up — 2025-02-03
• Puts on the back burner, say — 2024-11-22
• Some races — 2022-09-21
• Intensifies, with "up" — 2021-11-11
• Preliminary races — 2020-02-25
• Track meet divisions — 2019-08-11
• Sticks in the oven — 2014-08-11
• Qualifiers — 2013-01-06
• Early races — 2012-12-20
• Track meet events — 2010-08-15
• Qualifying races — 2008-06-01
• Meet preliminaries — 2008-03-21
• Puts on the burner — 2005-03-01
• Track and field events — 1997-07-20
• Prelims — 1995-03-31
• Trial rounds — 1994-07-06
• Preliminary races — 1994-03-27