SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - Bobby Frankel believes with a little luck Ariege could have won either or both of her turf starts in Southern California. Ariege needed no luck, just her superior skill to win Saturday's $102,500 Madame Jumel on Saratoga's yielding turf.

Making her first start since April 10, Ariege launched a four-wide bid around the turn and then rallied down the center of the inner turf course to win the Madame Jumel by 2 1/4 lengths over Closeout. It was three-quarters of a length to Lickety Lemon.

ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, Ill. - Rene Douglas reached the quarter pole in the Secretariat Stakes, closing in on the leader with a handful of horse named Winchester underneath him. And he had a fitting thought at that moment.

"I didn't want to move too early," Douglas said. "I took a couple looks back, didn't see anybody, and I said, 'Let's go.' It was going to take Secretariat to catch me."

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - Like everybody else up here, trainer James Bond hopes the rain has subsided for a while. Bond would like to run his 5-year-old mare Hostess against the boys in Saturday's Grade 1 Sword Dancer Invitational, but only if the Saratoga turf course is firm.

"If the course is ready, she's ready," Bond said Saturday after Hostess worked five furlongs in 1:00.88 in company with Believeinmenow over the Oklahoma training track.

DEL MAR, Calif. – In the first half of the year, Bahama Mama was campaigned exclusively in turf sprints. For the second half of 2008, the game plan has changed. She is running in two-turn races, and seems to be thriving.

After finishing a game third in the restricted Osunitas Handicap at Del Mar on July 19, Bahama Mama is the likely favorite in an optional claimer over a mile on turf in Monday’s second race at Del Mar.

Since winning a statebred stakes last year as a 2-year-old, Considering has struggled to get on track. Considering should get her confidence back when she meets six other Massachusetts-bred 3-year-old fillies in Sunday's $50,000 Louise Kimball Stakes at Suffolk Downs.

Reversing a trend this year of racetrack purse cuts, Ellis Park is raising purses for overnight races 5 percent, effective Wednesday and continuing through the end of its meet Sept. 1.

In a press release, the track's owner, Ron Geary, attributed the increase in part to the track's new agreement with the Kentucky Benevolent and Protective Association regarding its split of advance deposit wagering. That agreement calls for 6 percent of that wagering to go into purse funds.

The California Horse Racing Board will enact severe penalties for excessive use of four anabolic steroids beginning with races run on Sept. 4, the board announced on Thursday.

The four anabolic steroids - boldenone, nandrolone, stanozolol and testosterone - the only steroids allowed to appear in postrace tests, will be allowed to appear at minute levels. The four steroids have been reclassified as Class 3 violations, from Class 4. Under the new rules, excessive levels of those steroids will result in the loss of a purse and a possible fine and/or suspension for a trainer.

ANCOUVER, British Columbia - Trainer John Snow wasn't completely surprised by the very good effort put in by Blue Sky Holiday in the $50,513 B.C. Cup Distaff last Monday. Blue Sky Holiday was sent off as the longest shot in the five-horse field, but she came very close to pulling off a big upset. It was clearly the most surprising performance by any horse running in the seven stakes races.

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - The final eight races of Friday's card at Saratoga were canceled after heavy rains created unsafe track conditions on the main track and left the turf course unusable.

The decision to cancel was made by New York Racing Association management after it was determined there were washouts between the five-sixteenths pole and the quarter pole. It was announced that it would take at least an hour to fix the track problems, and with a chance for more rain later in the day, the decision was made to cancel.

Eight Hall of Fame jockeys - Jerry Bailey, Angel Cordero Jr., Pat Day, Sandy Hawley, Julie Krone, Chris McCarron, Gary Stevens, and Jacinto Vasquez - will ride in a parimutuel race at Santa Anita's Oak Tree meeting on Oct. 18, the track announced on Friday.

Named the Living Legends Race, the event will be a sprint for allowance horses run on the Saturday preceding the Breeders' Cup at Santa Anita. Mounts will be determined randomly, and each will carry 126 pounds.