AUBURN, Wash. – Scrambling to stay relevant in Northwest racing, Portland Meadows will abandon its traditional winter meeting in 2012 in favor of a summer/fall schedule that will place it in direct competition with Emerald Downs.

VANCOUVER, British Columbia – Trainer Greg Tracy was weighing his considerable options after Claresmiezie put on an impressive display of speed in the $50,000 Lassie Stakes at Hastings last Saturday.

With Pedro Alvarado aboard, Claresmiezie broke on top and widened her margin to 12 lengths at the top of the stretch in the 6 1/2-furlong sprint for 2-year-old fillies. She set fast fractions of 22.48 seconds and 45.04 on her way to a final time of 1:17. Compare that to the 1:18.94 that Herescomelucky posted in the New Westminster for 2-year-olds Sunday.

ETOBICOKE, Ontario – Alpha Bettor suffered the toughest of beats in the Victoria Park Stakes, dropping a nose decision after looking like a winner in the shadow of the wire.

But trainer Danny Vella will be hoping for a happier ending on Saturday when he sends out Alpha Bettor here at Woodbine in the $150,000 Toronto Cup, an open race for 3-year-olds at 1 1/8 miles on the turf course.

Alpha Bettor was making his stakes debut in the Victoria Park, which was run over 1 1/8 miles of Polytrack, and will be making his turf debut in the Toronto Cup.

ETOBICOKE, Ontario – Nanaimo will seek his third consecutive win in Ontario-sired company Friday at Woodbine in the sixth race, and may be difficult to deny if he stays in the zone.

Nanaimo didn’t show much last year at 2, but the son of Philanthropist is bred to be a late bloomer, and has come around nicely this year.

OCEANPORT, N.J. – Trainer Luis Carvajal Jr. came to aid of the Monmouth Park race office when he entered Dabnabit in the Mr. Prospector Stakes on July 4.

Carvajal hopes that good deed is rewarded on Friday in the feature race, a third-level optional $65,000 claimer where Dabnabit faces eight rivals in a six furlong sprint that includes such very familiar local names as Joey P. and Mannington.

War of the Ranges is the one to catch in a $10,000 claiming race for 3-year-olds and up that will serve as Friday’s feature at Northlands Park. The 1 1/16-mile race drew eight horses.

INGLEWOOD, Calif. – The entry of Wild Rose for an optional claimer at Hollywood Park on Friday evening has changed travel plans for all of trainer Jack Carava’s runners this week.

Carava intended to send his 32-horse stable to Del Mar on Tuesday, but after Wild Rose was entered he decided to wait until this weekend before shipping the stable. There is a very good chance the delay will be worthwhile.

VANCOUVER, British Columbia – Joey’s Jewel will try to win her fourth race from five starts this year when she runs in a $25,000 claiming race restricted to British Columbia-bred 3-year-old fillies at Hastings on Friday. The 6 1/2-furlong sprint drew seven horses and appears to be a wide-open event.

ELMONT, N.Y. – Whether it was the mud, the competition, or something else, last month’s Grade 1 Acorn Stakes proved not to be the ideal spot for either Victoria’s Wildcat or Savvy Supreme.

Friday, those two fillies will meet again while cutting back in distance and class in the $60,000 Sometime Thing Stakes at Belmont Park. Originally scheduled for last Sunday, the Sometime Thing finally got enough entries to be carded on Friday’s nine-race twilight racing program that begins at 3 p.m. Eastern.

Delaware Park-based trainer Tim Ritchey shipped in a sharp filly to score as the odds-on favorite in last year’s Daylily Stakes and appears capable of repeating the feat in Friday night’s running of the $75,000 Daylily for female sprinters at Penn National Race Course.