Rachel Alexandra arrived by van at the Fair Grounds late Friday afternoon, joining the rest of Steve Asmussen's string in New Orleans. Rachel Alexandra had been headquartered in Assmussen's barn at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Ky.

Rachel Alexandra began jogging at Churchill Downs last week after being given a rest following her victory in the Sept. 5 Woodward at Saratoga. Asmussen said that he has no immediate plans to work Rachel Alexandra.

"Nothing's scheduled," he said. "She won't work for a long time. She's only galloped four miles since she has been under tack."

Euroears has started a new winning streak.

The brilliantly fast 5-year-old chestnut horse won his first six starts - four of them at Fair Grounds - before injury derailed a career that had not yet found a ceiling. Euroears lost his first race back after a long layoff, then lost two more when a second surgery was required to repair the original repairs made on his injured leg. But Euroears got back to his winning ways last month at Hoosier Park, and made it two in a row with a comfortable victory Thursday in the at Fair Grounds.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - You might say there were a few no-shows Thursday at Churchill Downs for the Falls City Handicap, which was won in a mild upset by the Canadian invader, Serenading.

Swift Temper was scratched early in the day from the . Then the 1-2 favorite, Unbridled Belle, just didn't show her usual stuff on the racetrack, breaking sluggishly under Ramon Dominguez, bidding toward the lead at the quarter-pole, then flattening out to be a well-beaten third.

Blue Ribbon Downs will be shuttered following its 12-race card on Saturday, but horsemen are hopeful racing might someday return to the Sallisaw, Okla., track, which in nearly 50 years of operation has showcased such world champion Quarter Horses as Easy Jet, Gold Coast Express, and Laico Bird.

ETOBICOKE, Ontario - Trainer Lorna Perkins has sent out an even dozen winners this year, split evenly between Woodbine and Fort Erie.

And, Perkins would like nothing better than to notch lucky No. 13 with Freudian Fetish, an Ontario-bred filly who will be making her stakes debut in Sunday's $125,000 Ontario Lassie.

"They really didn't write any other races she could run in," said Perkins, whose filly finished third in her first try against winners in a first-level allowance last time out. "But, she ran well enough in that last to give her a shot going long again."

OZONE PARK, N.Y. - It took owner Lou Cacchio 3 1/2 hours Thursday to drive from Bensalem, Pa., to Aqueduct. Fighting Thanksgiving Day traffic proved well worth the effort.

Cacchio arrived at Aqueduct with 14 minutes to post for the , got his dark blue and metallic gold silks to jockey Jose Lezcano just in time, then settled back to watch his horse Cherokee Country rally from well off the pace to win the Grade 3 Fall Highweight by one-half length. Greenspring, making his stakes debut, got up for second, 1 1/4 lengths ahead of pacesetting longshot Hatfield.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Yes, there are the Kentucky Jockey Club and Golden Rod stakes, but there could be more hidden gems to be uncovered from the balance of the "Stars of Tomorrow" card Saturday at Churchill Downs.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Swift Temper was scratched this morning from the Thanksgiving Day feature at Churchill Downs, the Grade 2 Falls City Handicap, further depleting what already had been a thin race and leaving Unbridled Belle a huge favorite.

Mark Stanley, owner of Swift Temper, said the 5-year-old mare had been diagnosed with a fractured splint bone and "most likely" will be retired. "It's a shame, because we were all really looking forward to seeing her go out the right way today," said Stanley.

Thoroughbred racing returns to Sam Houston Race Park for the first time in 18 months on Friday night, and those who have not been to the track since Hurricane Ike foiled the 2008-2009 season are in for a host of changes. From a new state-of-the-art tote board to a new grandstand roof and a new date for its biggest race, the Grade 3, $200,000 Connally Turf Cup, there is a fresh look to racing in Houston.

"I think people will see a lot of physical changes and hopefully view them as improvements to the facility," said Andrea Young, president of Sam Houston.

A total of 166 broodmares, yearlings, weanlings, and stallion seasons have been cataloged for the Canadian Thoroughbred Horse Society's annual winter mixed sale at the Woodbine Sales Pavilion on Saturday.

Major consignors to the sale include agents Ascot Stud, Cara Bloodstock, Gardiner Farm, Beth Hancock, Hill 'n' Dale Sales Agency, Richard Hogan and Rancho Park Management, along with Sam-Son Farm.