A Snowy Cartel is the most accomplished of the 109 juveniles set to run in Friday night's trials for the Grade 1, $346,700-estimated Sam Houston Futurity for Quarter Horses. She goes in the 12th race, which is the last of the 11 trials being run on a program that starts at 7 p.m. Central. Each trial race will be 350 yards, which is the distance of the Sam Houston Futurity. The finale is July 2.

A celebration of the life of Ray Koenig will be held Saturday at River Downs in the tent at the end of the grandstand. Koenig, a popular horse owner and breeder who also owned the printing business that has serviced River Downs for many years, died April 15. Koenig was often seen in the River Downs press box, some days watching his horses run and on other days just playing the ponies.

Originally from Chicago, the Koeing's moved to Cincinnati and started his printing business. Koenig raised four daughters, Lisa, Marcia, Paula, and Susan, with his wife of 53 years, Doris.

Tom McCarthy and his one-horse stable, General Quarters, will show up at Arlington Park sooner rather than later, if all goes well in the next three weeks or so. McCarthy, who owns and trains General Quarters, has long been pointing the 4-year-old to the Arlington Million, and General Quarters will prep for the Million in the Arlington Handicap on July 17, McCarthy said Monday evening.

On June 7, Prairie Meadows increased purses in overnight races for the remainder of the meet. Claiming races were increased $1,500, and allowances races were increased $2,500.

Racing secretary Dan Doocy said the purse increase was necessary to prevent carrying over an underpayment at the end of the meet. The purse increase seems to have caused increased activity at the claims box. There have been 13 claims since the increase over last six racing days, compared with 47 claims from the 28 racing days before the increase.

ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, Ill. - Each year in Chicago there are 18 stakes races worth $100,000 each for Illinois-breds, with an Illinois Day at Hawthorne's spring and fall meets, and one at Arlington in June.

Suffice it to say that success in this generous statebred stakes program is the province of the few.

If you look at the jockey/trainer standings at Presque Isle Downs you might think you are at Tampa Bay Downs north. The trainer standings show Jamie Ness with 26 wins and a huge lead. Ness tied with Kathleen O'Connell for the training title at Tampa Bay this spring with 51 wins. Dale Bennett was third in the Tampa Bay standings and going into Wednesday's card was second to Ness with nine victories.

Mr. Windjammer, the only locally based horse to win more than one stakes at Finger Lakes last season, was named the track's 2009 horse of the year at the annual Finger Lakes Horsemen's Benevolent and Protective Association awards dinner on Tuesday.

A 5-year-old New York-bred owned by Stonegate Racing Stables and trained by Jonathan Buckley, Mr. Windjammer won the $50,000 George Barker Handicap and the $50,000 Leon Reed Handicap.

After the voting was completed, Mr. Windjammer scored a repeat victory in this year's running of the Barker on Memorial Day.

There were few surprises in the trials for the two divisions of the $100,000-added D.S. "Shine" Futurity held here last week. The finals for the meeting's two marquee races for 2-year-olds will be held July 3 on Louisiana Showcase Night when the state's best will be featured in 10 stakes races worth close to $1 million

The colt and gelding trials last Saturday were especially formful as odds-on favorites accounted for all three qualifiers. There was also little substitute for experience as seven of the eight runners who had previously started moved on to the finals.

VANCOUVER, British Columbia - Concert Music remained undefeated in five career starts with a convincing win over Kaweah Princess in last Saturday's $50,000 Senate Appointee at Hastings.

Similar to all of her races, she raced close to the pace and then kicked it into another gear at the quarter pole. The difference this time was that they were walking up front and Fernando Perez had a big hold of her while she was tracking the leaders through a 47.15-second half-mile. Her trainer, John Snow, was a little concerned about how the race was unfolding.

In response to positive fan reaction last year, Penn National will present two cards this season that contain steeplechase events.

Friday night's first two races on a nine-race card that begins at 6:30 p.m. Eastern will be contested at 2 1/16 miles over hurdles. Bill Gallo, racing secretary for the National Steeplechase Association, also has scheduled steeplechase races at Penn National for

July 2.