DEL MAR, Calif. - The lightly raced E Z Warrior risks an unbeaten streak in a difficult spot on Sunday. He starts in the $300,000 Bing Crosby Handicap at Del Mar, which will be a race of firsts for the 3-year-old: His first start in a Grade 1, first start in six months, and first start against older horses.

The race has not been friendly to 3-year-olds in its recent history.

E Z Warrior will be trying to become the second 3-year-old to win the Bing Crosby in the last 30 years. Since Messenger of Song won in 1975, the only 3-year-old winner was King's Blade in 1994.

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - Though he may not be undefeated like his father was at this stage of his career, Ready's Image is developing into just as exciting a juvenile prospect.

Ready's Image, a son of More Than Ready, followed up his dominant victory in the Tremont Stakes on July 1 by rolling to a convincing four-length score in Thursday's Grade 2, $150,000 Sanford Stakes at Saratoga. Tale of Ekati, who got bumped at the start, finished second, a nose ahead of the late-running The Roundhouse.

The two most successful fillies in recent years at Suffolk Downs will square off again Saturday when Ask Queenie and Flirt for Fame go at it in the $45,000 First Episode Stakes.

The two Massachusetts-bred females have been carving up the statebred stakes program for a season and a half, with Ask Queenie coming out on top more often. Flirt for Fame, however, beat Ask Queenie in the mile and 70-yard First Episode last year and is out to defend her title.

FORT ERIE, Ontario - Maurine Scott, who is in her third year as a trainer, is one of the new faces at Fort Erie this year.

In May, Scott, 57, brought four of her 20 horses from her farm in Michigan to the Fort, which, she said, is "only a five-hour drive away."

Two of the horses have yet to race but the other two already have left the maiden ranks. The latest was Queen La Kita, who won on Monday, giving Scott 2 wins from 8 starts at the meet.

Before arriving at Fort Erie, Scott was winless in 16 starts this year, primarily at Hawthorne.

BOSSIER CITY, La. - An unusually wet summer has wreaked havoc on turf racing at Louisiana Downs the last couple of months, but Saturday's allowance feature could help meet the needs of the grass aficionados, if the weather cooperates.

Stakes winner Northern Scene, sixth in the Barksdale Handicap here on June 23, will seek to make amends in the about one-mile race for 3-year-olds and upward. The $31,000 headliner carries no other conditions or restrictions.

A total of 86 horses have been pre-entered in the ninth annual Claiming Crown, the seven-race, $600,000 series that will be run next Saturday, Aug. 4, at Ellis Park in Henderson, Ky.

This will be the first time that Ellis Park has hosted the Claiming Crown, which since its 1999 inaugural had been run annually at Canterbury Park in Minnesota, with one exception, when the event was held in 2002 at Philadelphia Park. Pre-entries were taken Wednesday at Ellis for the Claiming Crown, which is expected to be one of the most notable events in the track's 85-year history.

ETOBICOKE, Ontario - Success has proved elusive for trainer Steve Attard and owner Les Pereira in the three races that make up the triple tiara for Canadian-bred 3-year-old fillies.

But Attard and Pereira will try again here Saturday with Saskawea in the finale of the series, the $250,000 Wonder Where over 1 1/4 miles on turf.

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - All's well that didn't start too well.

Though the 139th Saratoga meet got underway inauspiciously Wednesday when favored Massoud suffered a fatal injury in the stretch of the first race, the rest of opening day went fairly smoothly.

Under glorious conditions, a crowd of 30,052 ushered in the meeting. They wagered an on-track opening-day record $3,825,564, besting last year's ontrack total of $3,789,795 when the attendance was 27,346. Total handle on the 10-race card was $15,282,907, just short of last year's total of $15,533,027.

DEL MAR, Calif. - Dale Romans, among the leading trainers on the Kentucky circuit, has sent a stable to Del Mar for the first time this year. Romans will be out to make a quick impression in California this weekend, with a contender in Friday's second race and a filly capable of an upset in Saturday's $150,000 San Clemente Handicap.

In the Grade 2 San Clemente, Romans will start Mostbeautifulstorm, an allowance-class filly making her stakes debut on turf. She will be an outsider in a field of 10 in the San Clemente, which is run over a mile on turf.

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - It is times like these when trainer Kiaran McLaughlin admits to missing Invasor a little bit more.

On the eve of the post-position draw for Saturday's Grade 1 Whitney Handicap, McLaughlin said it would have been nice to have the defending Whitney winner and Horse of the Year to saddle in the $750,000 race. But after the colt suffered a career-ending injury in a workout last month at Belmont Park, McLaughlin is simply happy the horse can have a second career as a stallion.