When the Big Fresno Fair was scheduled to run without competition from another Northern California track for the first time, fair officials were hopeful they would reap a number of benefits. But given the state of the economy in the formerly lush but now drought-stricken San Joaquin Valley, they weren't sure exactly what to expect.

Arguably the toughest aspect of Quarter Horse racing is the constant requirement to participate in time trials for major races. Win an important stakes, congratulations. If you want to qualify for another, go run in the next set of trials. There are no free passes to major stakes for the owners of leading 2- and 3-year-olds.

This weekend at Los Alamitos, the programs are full of trials. Friday's program includes trials for the $1 million Super Derby on Nov. 7. Saturday's card is dominated by trials for the Golden State Million Futurity on Oct. 30.

ETOBICOKE, Ontario - English invaders Rainbow View and Look Here, winners of Grade 1 stakes with hopes of heading on to California for the Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Turf, will be the hot items in Saturday's E.P. Taylor Stakes.

But another pair from across the pond have shipped in well under the radar for Saturday's Grade 1, $1 million E.P. Taylor for fillies and mares over 1 1/4 miles of turf.

Eastern Aria, trained by Mark Johnston, and Lahaleeb, trained by Mick Channon, both have been set at 12-1 on the morning line for the eight-horse E.P. Taylor field.

ETOBICOKE, Ontario - Jukebox Jury, coming off a nose win in the Group 1 Preis Von Europa in Germany, has been made the 3-1 morning-line favorite in the eight-horse field for Saturday's Grade 1, $2 million Canadian International.

Post positions for the Canadian International, a 1 1/2-mile turf race for 3-year-olds and upward that carries Win and You're In status for the Breeders' Cup Turf, were announced at a ceremonial draw in the trackside tent here Wednesday.

MIAMI - The racetrack was dry, cuppy and very much on the slow side here on Saturday morning, with horses kicking up dust as they struggled to make their way down the stretch completing workouts. And that was right after the renovation break at 7:30 a.m.

Northlands Park in Edmonton, Alberta, had an average daily all-sources live handle of $239,515 this year, down by 16 percent from roughly $288,000 last year, according to Jonathan Huntington, the track's racing marketing manager.

LEXINGTON, Ky. - A win or second-place effort in your final Breeders' Cup prep is reason enough to move on to the big event. But when you run fifth, well . . .

Beautician was fifth in the at Saratoga in prior starts.

Beautician somehow found varying degrees of trouble four or five times when she was beaten 3 1/2 lengths by the victorious Negligee in the Alcibiades. Negligee and the respective two-three finishers, She Be Wild and Amen Hallelujah, also are being pointed to the Breeders' Cup.

ARCADIA, Calif. - The Oak Tree at Santa Anita meeting showed a modest gain in attendance but a sharp drop in handle through Sunday, the first two weeks of the six-week meeting.

Average ontrack attendance was up 2 percent, according to Oak Tree executive vice-president Sherwood Chillingworth. Average handle figures had fallen 15 percent ontrack, 5 percent through the California intertrack system, 11 percent at out-of-state simulcasting locations, and 6 percent through account wagering systems, he said.

ETOBICOKE, Ontario - There will be a definite sense of familiarity in Saturday's Grade 1, $2 million Canadian International.

The race, run at 1 1/2 miles on turf, bears an eerie similarity to last year's running, with top-three finishers Marsh Side, Spice Route, and Champs Elysees in the lineup.

Marsh Side, Just as Well, Quijano, and Champs Elysees are swinging back after finishing first through fourth in the Grade 1, $750,000 Northern Dancer over 1 1/2 miles on firm turf here Sept. 20.

The Northern Dancer finish, however, did not stand.

ETOBICOKE, Ontario - Marsh Side, who will be looking to become the first back-to-back winner in the modern history of the Canadian International, tuned up for Saturday's $2 million race with a five-furlong breeze here Tuesday morning.

The Grade 1 Canadian International, a 1 1/2-mile turf race for 3-year-olds and upward, will headline a program which also includes the Grade 1, $1 million E.P. Taylor for fillies and mares at 1 1/4 miles on turf and the Grade 2, $500,000 Neartic over six furlongs on the same course.