Larry Jones was expecting a strong bounce-back effort from Kodiak Kowboy. So were the bettors who pounded the 4-year-old down to 3-10 for the $200,000 Donald LeVine Memorial Handicap Saturday at Philadelphia Park.

Kodiak Kowboy ($2.60) delivered, powering to a four-length victory over Cassoulet that helped wipe away the disappointment of a seventh-place finish in the Churchill Downs Stakes in the slop on the Kentucky Derby undercard.

Jones attributed that defeat to a wide trip on the worst part of the track.

Assinibioa Downs management called off the remainder of its eight-race card on Friday night after valet Andy Neufeld suffered a fatal heart attack in the paddock prior to the seventh race.

Neufeld, 44, was married and had two children.

Terrain suffered a fractured sesamoid and condylar fracture in his right front leg during the running of the Iowa Derby late Friday night at Prairie Meadows, and had to be euthanized because of the severe injuries, trainer Al Stall said Saturday morning.

Rachel Alexandra's job in Saturday's Mother Goose at Belmont Park was made a little easier when Florida Oaks winner Don't Forget Gil and Hopeful Image were scratched from the race on Saturday morning.

Rachel Alexandra will now face only two fillies in the Grade 1 race.

Mark Hennig, trainer of Don't Forget Gil, said the New York-bred filly didn't eat up Friday night and had a "high normal" temperature.

"We decided to err on the side of caution, and we took her out," Hennig said.

Hopeful Image was coming off a victory in an optional claiming race.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Now if only someone could turn down the heat. For the second straight Friday night, Churchill Downs hosted an 11-race program that drew a packed house, one lacking most of the widespread problems of the first night but held amid oppressive heat that kept the sweat flowing as steadily as the beer.

Stamina ruled in Friday evening's , as Hightap benefited from a torrid pace and a patient Shaun Bridgmohan ride to beat fellow closer Sweet Relish by three-quarters of a length.

So, it turns out Duke of Mischief is more than just a mud freak.

Besides a narrow win over maiden turf claimers last winter, the only race Duke of Mischief had won coming into the $250,000 Iowa Derby on Friday night at Prairie Meadows was an off-the-turf entry-level route allowance May 30 at Calder. Duke of Mischief went on a slop romp there, winning by more than 11 lengths, but in hindsight, the race looks more like a corner turned than mere mud love.

ELMONT, N.Y. - Friday's final race at Belmont Park was canceled by track officials because of a severe thunderstorm that included rain, lightning, and hail that hit the area right after the eighth race,

The New York-bred allowance race, scheduled for seven furlongs on the turf, became an "all-win" race for the purpose of multiple-race wagers such as the daily double, pick three, pick four and pick six.

AUBURN, Wash. - Tim McCanna doesn't want to talk about rotten luck, losing, or any other misfortune. And why would he? The most successful trainer in Emerald Downs history is having another spectacular summer, winning with 29 percent of his starters.

INGLEWOOD, Calif. - Street Magician's first trip away from the East Coast for the $300,000 Triple Bend Handicap at Hollywood Park next Sunday may not be his only cross-country journey this year.

A strong performance in the Grade 1 Triple Bend could lead to a return west for the Breeders' Cup Sprint at Santa Anita in November, trainer Mike Trombetta said on Friday.

"It's in the back of our minds," he said.