Fair Grounds shipper Mullins Beach ($15.90) broke on top and led virtually all the way in a convincing score in the $100,800 La Voyageuse Stakes, Woodbine's opening-day feature Saturday.

Patrick Husbands rode Mullins Beach, who shrugged off two early challengers during an opening quarter-mile in a wind-assisted 22.24 seconds. She began to draw away in the final furlong, and prevailed by 3 3/4 lengths in a time of 58.59 for the five furlongs. Sans Sousi nosed out favored High Mist for second in the seven-horse field of Ontario-bred 3-year-old fillies.

Dropping in class from the Grade 2 Barbara Fritchie Handicap, Access Fee ($2.40) held a narrow lead heading into the stretch of Saturday's $50,000 Primonetta Stakes at Laurel Park, but settled for a dead heat after dueling to the wire with Cammy's Choice ($3). All Giving was another 1 1/4 lengths back in third in the six-furlong race for fillies and mares, 3 years old and up.

Restless Soul ($7.60) unleashed a strong rally to wear down pacesetting You Lift Me Up as she captured the $75,000 Yerba Buena on Saturday at Golden Gate Fields.

You Lift Me Up, allowed to gallop unchallenged through the early stages of the 1 3/8-mile turf race for fillies and mares, shook off a challenge by favored Caprice as the field rounded the final turn. She led by two lengths in the stretch, but Restless Soul, who settled well off the pace early, was rolling as she rallied three wide.

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. - After five previous chances that included second-place finishes in both the Grade 1 Donn and Grade 2 Gulfstream Park handicaps earlier in the meet, Finallymadeit finally made it into the Gulfstream Park winner's circle on Saturday. And he did so while leaving little doubt as to his superiority, drawing away to a convincing 8 1/4-length victory in the $100,000 Skip Away Handicap.

ARCADIA, Calif. - Dixie Chatter won his first stakes since July in Saturday's $150,000 Arcadia Handicap.

Unlike recent stakes, where he looked like a winner in early stretch and was caught, Dixie Chatter was moving best at the finish of the Grade 2 Arcadia Handicap, run at a mile on turf.

Ridden by Tyler Baze, Dixie Chatter ($9.80) was timed in 1:34.12 and won by three-quarters of a length.

Battered, but not broken - not yet at least - Fairmount Park in downstate Illinois begins a 75-day race meet on Tuesday. The season starts with the black cloud of financial peril hanging overhead, but by meet's end, Fairmount and local horsemen hope things look brighter.

By sometime this summer, Fairmount and the other racetracks in Illinois could get an infusion of millions of dollars worth of casino revenue currently being held in an escrow fund while legal proceedings unfold. The emphasis, however, remains on "could."

ARCADIA, Calif. - The Pamplemousse, the morning-line favorite in Saturday's Grade 1, $750,000 Santa Anita Derby, was scratched from the race Saturday morning after a confab between Dr. Jill Bailey, the track veterinarian, trainer Julio Canani, and Canani's vet, Dr. Helmuth von Bluecher.

According to Bailey, she noticed "a very subtle change in the horse" Saturday morning during a routine prerace exam that is required of all runners. Alex Solis II, a bloodstock agent and co-owner of The Pamplemousse, said The Pamplemousse had heat in a tendon in a front leg.

HOT SPRINGS, Ark. - There are eight early probables for the Grade 2, $1 million Arkansas Derby at Oaklawn Park on Saturday, and all are on the grounds following the Thursday arrival of Danger to Society for trainer Rick Dutrow.

Old Fashioned, the winner of last year's Grade 2 Remsen at Aqueduct, has been based at Oaklawn for much of the meet. He won the Grade 3, $250,000 Southwest here Feb. 16, then came back and ran second in the Grade 2, $300,000 Rebel in his most recent start March 14. He is scheduled to work five furlongs Monday in his final prep for the Arkansas Derby.

LEXINGTON, Ky. - Clouds and cold are not exactly what make for the most ideal opening day at Keeneland. But 14,639 fans braved the final grips of winter's chill Friday to witness what amounted to a fine start to the 15-day spring meet.

The downward spiral continued unabated this winter at Turfway Park, where officials reported substantial decreases in virtually every business category, including all-sources handle, at the winter-spring meet that ended Thursday.