After toppling perennial Delaware Park kingpin Scott Lake for that track's trainer's title, Cody Autrey has found a new world to try to conquer. Autrey began setting up shop in barn 6 at Aqueduct this week, hoping to make an impact on New York racing this fall and winter.

Approximately 24 horses were scheduled to arrive at Aqueduct from Delaware on Thursday, with about a dozen more to come in the weeks ahead.

Trainer Steve Specht scored the 1,000th victory of his career Wednesday at Golden Gate Fields when Veillit' scored a $22.80 upset in the fifth race.

The 2-year-old Veillit', owned and bred by Larry and Marianne Williams, defeated Zozensual by two lengths in a $12,500 maiden claimer, covering the one mile in 1:41.15.

Specht, 59, began his career as an assistant to his father, Robert, in Chicago. He came to Northern California in 1986.

OZONE PARK, N.Y. - In more ways than one, Wednesday was a precursor of what lay ahead for the next several months for fans of New York racing.

Sideways rain, that when viewed on television at times looked like snow, pelted the Big A on a raw, windy, and just overall dreary opening day. The weather resulted in a sloppy main track, three races being washed off the turf, and 40 scratches.

Fort Erie Race Track ended its 78-day race meet on Tuesday with a drop in average daily handle and total handle compared with 2008.

The average daily handle on live racing from all sources at the 78-day meet was $721,221, a drop of 9.8 percent from the average of $799,945 in 2008. The daily handle ontrack averaged $60,763, down 10.3 percent, while the off-site average was $660,457, down 12.3 percent.

The average number of runners per race in 2009 was 8.2 compared with 7.7 in 2008, and the purse distribution was down 5.18 percent to $8,636,650.

The West Virginia Racing Commission on Monday deferred a request by Mountaineer Park to drop live racing from its year-round schedule during four winter months, according to commission staff and horsemen's representatives.

Mountaineer submitted the request at the racing commission's Monday meeting. The request asked for 210 live race dates next year, the same number as in 2009, but included no live race cards in November, December, January, or February.

Mountaineer, which subsidizes its purses and racing operations through slot-machine revenue, typically races year-round.

The average all-sources handle during Delaware Park's recently concluded 109-day meet was up 27.1 percent this year compared with last year, according to figures provided by the track.

The average all-sources figure soared from $1.22 million last year for 136 racing days to $1.55 million this year. Total handle increased 1.9 percent to $169.0 million despite the loss of 27 racing days. The 2008 total, $165.8 million, was down 22.1 percent from the 2007 total of $212.8 million, when Delaware ran 135 live racing days, according to state racing commission figures.

Hialeah Park in south Florida has received a permit from the Florida Division of Pari-Mutuel Wagering to hold a 40-day Quarter Horse meet beginning on Nov. 28, according to documents provided by the division.

The meet will restore live racing to Hialeah Park for the first time since 2001, when Hialeah held its last Thoroughbred meet. The track will hold 40 days of Quarter Horse racing through Feb. 2 of next year on a Saturday-through-Tuesday schedule, according to the documents.

STICKNEY, Ill. - Six $100,000 Illinois-bred stakes on Saturday were drawn Wednesday, with plenty of familiar names on the overnight - none more so than Fort Prado. But if all goes according to plan, this will be the final time that Fort Prado's name shows up in the entries.

Eight-year-old Fort Prado is scheduled to make his 59th and last start on Saturday. He was cross-entered in the Buck's Boy, a dirt route, and the Lightning Jet, a dirt sprint, but is much more likely to run in the short race, trainer Chris Block said.

ETOBICOKE, Ontario - It took a long, long time for trainer Kevin Attard's stable to heat up this season at Woodbine.

Attard began the meet 4 for 79.

"I didn't know what to do," said Attard. "We'd had 18 seconds, a lot of them very close.

"When you're very cold you start second-guessing yourself, and think you should do something different. But, you've got to stick to the plan. Sooner or later, it's going to come to you."

Attard's time did come, and the stable headed into the current week with 7 wins from its last 12 entrants.

LEXINGTON, Ky. - Parading, a romping winner of the Ben Ali Stakes over the Polytrack at Keeneland in April, will be coming off three straight Grade 1 synthetic-track races in Southern California when he starts as the likely heavy favorite in a field of 10 in the Grade 2 Fayette Stakes on Saturday, closing day of the 17-day Keeneland fall meet.