Etc. . . .

Australian speedster Choisir will attempt to win his third British sprint stakes in a row Thursday in the six-furlong July Cup at Newmarket. Choisir, who garnered Royal Ascot victories in the Group 2 King's Stand Stakes and the Group 1 Golden Jubilee Stakes, will face 17 rivals in the Group 1 July Cup, among them the Golden Jubilee runner-up, Airwave. . . . A $75,000 Exploit-Debonairess juvenile filly topped Tuesday's Fasig-Tipton Midlantic auction of 2-year-olds and horses in training in Timonium, Md. The auction, which had a smaller catalog this year, saw declines across the board from 2002, as 90 lots sold for $1,201,500 (down 25 percent), yielding an average price of $13,350 (down 11 percent). . . . Jockey Jose Flores won the 3,000th race of his career when Erronous ($22.40) went wire to wire in Tuesday's fifth race at Philadelphia Park. Flores, 42, rode his first winner 23 years ago in his native Peru. . . . With a 60 percent increase in advance deposit wagering and 14 percent increase in out-of-state wagering, the just-ended two-week Alameda County Fair meeting showed a 1.5 percent increase in handle over 2002. The total of $34.5 million, including $2.4 million from advance deposit wagering, was the second highest in the fair's history, despite decreases of 10 percent ontrack and 6 percent in the northern California satellite network. . . . The final five races of Monday's 10-race Prairie Meadows card were canceled after a storm of heavy rain, hail, and lightning hit.