SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - At the eighth pole of Saturday's $600,000 Alabama, Proud Spell had put away Little Belle and braced for the oncoming charge of Music Note.

At that point, the duel for supremacy in the 3-year-old filly division was on. But somewhere in the spacious Saratoga grandstand, Larry Jones, trainer of Proud Spell, was smiling because he knew what made his filly special.

"This filly of ours had never been passed down the stretch the entire time we've had her,'' Jones said.

MIAMI - Big Drama used his abundant speed to upset Saturday's $100,000 Dr. Fager Stakes, posting a three-length victory over Bee Cee Cee in the first leg of the open division of Calder's Florida Stallion Stakes. You Luckie Mann finished a troubled third as the 3-5 favorite.

OCEANPORT, N.J. - Honest Man beat 3-2 favorite Grasshopper by 2 3/4 lengths to capture the $300,000 Philip H. Iselin Stakes at Monmouth Park.

With the victory, trainer Larry Jones and jockey Terry Thompson teamed up to win a Grade 3 stakes at Monmouth for a second straight Saturday.

One week ago, they connected with Maren's Meadow in the Monmouth Oaks. This time, they scored with an improving 4-year-old colt who is now 6 for 10 in his blossoming career.

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - Trainer Barclay Tagg knew that Tale of Ekati was going into the Jim Dandy a bit short, so it came as no surprise to him when the horse tired to fourth despite making the lead turning for home.

But with that race under his belt and a strong six-furlong move over the track on Saturday, Tagg is feeling better about things entering Saturday's $1 million Travers Stakes at Saratoga.

ETOBICOKE, Ontario - The Play the King, the major local prep for the $1 million Woodbine Mile, will be run here next Saturday.

Locally based horses eyeing the $200,000 Play the King, a Grade 2 turf race at seven furlongs, include Royal Oath, Le Cinquieme Essai, Mulmur, Just Rushing, Wollemi Pine, Unusual Suspect, and Disfunction.

But the Play the King is in a curious position on the schedule as it will be run just two weeks prior to the Grade 1 Woodbine Mile, a turf race for 3-year-olds and upward.

The purse of the $182,600 El Primero Del Ano Derby for Quarter Horses at Los Alamitos on April 11 was ordered redistributed earlier this month after race winner Fighter on Fire tested in excess of the permitted level of clenbuterol, according to a statement released by the racing board.

Trainer Adan Farias has been fined $5,000 and suspended for 30 days - from Saturday through Sept. 14 - for the infraction.

Greeley's Conquest is emerging as one of the Southwest region's top sprinters. His ascent started at Louisiana Downs in June, when he won the $50,000 Temperence Hill with a late rush, at a surprising 22-1.

Greeley's Conquest then traveled to Iowa for his next start, and won the $75,000 Prairie Meadows Sprint by 4 1/4 lengths. It was a powerful performance for the horse, who covered six furlongs in a blazing 1:08.20 to earn a career-best Beyer Speed Figure of 102.

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - Final Travers preparations for Jim Dandy winner Macho Again didn't exactly go as planned Friday morning.

Expected to breeze an easy half-mile over the Oklahoma training track, Macho Again's work was canceled when the horse developed gas following his Lasix shot. Trainer Dallas Stewart walked the horse for an hour in the shed row, and, after being examined by Dr. James Hunt, Macho Again was given clearance to train.

OCEANPORT, N.J. - Beau Dare, the reigning queen of the filly and mare turf sprinters at Monmouth Park, is the one to beat Sunday in the $60,000 Incredible Revenge Stakes.

A 5-year-old trained by Bruce Levine, Beau Dare goes for the natural hat trick: three consecutive stakes wins here at 5 1/2 furlongs on the grass. She won the Candy Eclair in June and the Klassy Briefcase last month.

Stewart Elliott, aboard for the last two, has the return call.

The Grade 2 Meadowlands Cup has had its purse reduced from $500,000 to $350,000 and the Grade 3 Pegasus from $250,000 to $200,000 for the meet at the Meadowlands Racetrack that starts Sept. 30.

The Meadowlands Cup took a double hit. It lost $100,000 due to reductions in the Breeders' Cup Stakes program. The Cup and the Pegasus each lost $50,000 in stakes money that was reallocated to Monmouth's Salvator Mile.

The Salvator purse was doubled this year to $300,000 as it became a Breeders' Cup Challenge Win and You're In stakes for the Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile.