SASKATOON, Saskatchewan - Friday night's eight-race card kicks off the 30-day Marquis Downs meet, and horsemen will be competing for increased purses at almost every level of competition.

There are 22 stakes races on the schedule, and the purse pool going to the top runners is up by 11 percent versus last year. Aside from maiden races for 3-year-olds and up, which remain at their 2007 level of $3,000, purses are up a minimum of 6 percent for the lower claimers while the top claimers run for 19 percent more.

INGLEWOOD, Calif. - In hindsight, the Preakness Stakes was not the ideal race for California-based longshots Gayego, Yankee Bravo, or Tres Borrachos. But who knows? Under different conditions, maybe they would have fared better than up the track.

Gayego (11th), Yankee Bravo (10th), and Tres Borrachos (ninth) returned to Los Angeles on Sunday, on the same flight out of Baltimore. All three are stabled at Hollywood Park; all three returned from Pimlico with alibis other than Big Brown.

GRAND PRAIRIE, Texas – Wind Water was moved into the Southwest region for the sprint stakes program and he accomplished his first goal at Lone Star Park on Friday night when he overcame a stumble at the start to win the $50,000 Ford Express by a head over Sing Baby Sing. It was another 4 1/4 lengths back in third to Orphan Brigade.

ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, Ill. - Bennie Stutts is a longtime Thoroughbred trainer, but his roots in the sport go deeper than his own career.

"My dad was a trainer, too," Stutts said. "I was born in New Orleans, and we went from track to track. I grew up living that gypsy lifestyle."

Stutts, 70, long ago settled into the Florida circuit, raising his children with a greater measure of geographic stability. But for a little while, Stutts has gone back to that gypsy lifestyle.

GRAND PRAIRIE, Texas - Jockey Garrett Gomez swept into Lone Star Park on Memorial Day a year ago and won the three graded stakes run on the Lone Star Million Day program. He is positioned to have another big day here Monday. Gomez is booked to ride two starting highweights - Giant Gizmo in the Grade 3, $400,000 Lone Star Park Handicap and Costume in the Grade 3, $200,000 Ouija Board Distaff - as well as probable favorite Boss Lafitte in the $100,000 USA.

The Louisiana Horsemen's Benevolent and Protective Association has reached an agreement with Youbet.com to offer wagering on the signal from Louisiana Downs, the head of the association said Tuesday.

The agreement ends a complete blackout of the Louisiana Downs signal on national account-wagering platforms. The Louisiana HBPA had previously withheld its consent to send the signal to Youbet.com unless the platform and its competitors agreed to provide one-third of the revenue from the bets to purses.

MIAMI - Marty Wolfson has such a fear of flying it usually prevents him from accompanying his horses when they leave south Florida for stakes engagements out of town. So it spoke volumes when the veteran trainer boarded a plane for Baltimore early last Friday morning to saddle Shes All Eltish later that afternoon in Pimlico's Black-Eyed Susan.

Hollywood Park showed declines in average attendance and handle through Saturday's program, the 19th day of the 60-day spring-summer meeting.

INGLEWOOD, Calif. - In the last decade, trainer Julio Canani has used the Grade 1 Shoemaker Mile as an almost annual springtime payday. He won the 1999 and 2000 runnings with Silic and the 2002 race with Ladies Din. Canani was second in 2003 with Special Ring and again in 2006 with Charmo.

"I've run in it a few times," Canani said, with a laugh.

Silic and Ladies Din were top class turf milers. Canani may have another such horse to unveil for Monday's Shoemaker in Hyperbaric, a lightly raced 5-year-old gelding.

Private Dreams took command at the start and widened her lead at every pole to score a commanding 5 3/4-length victory in the $50,000 Hastings Park Handicap at Emerald Downs.

Sent off as the third choice in a field of eight older fillies and mares, Private Dreams, trained by Jerry Hollendorfer, paid $10.80 to win after covering six furlongs in a stakes-record 1:08.60 under rider Leslie Mawing. Beaulena, the longest shot on the board at 39-1, edged 3-2 favorite Reba Is Tops for second.