A significant takeout cut at the recently concluded 10-day Laurel Park meet in Maryland did not result in any improvement in handle, according to officials of the Maryland Jockey Club, which owns and operates the tracks.

Although MJC officials said that they will not release final handle figures until next week, Lou Raffetto, the chief operating officer of the MJC, said that average daily handle both in-state and out-of-state was down for the meet.

"The end result was that we did not see the kind of increases we had hoped for," Raffetto said.

ETOBICOKE, Ontario - Sky Conqueror looms as a formidable welcoming party for those willing to take him on in Sunday's Gradeo2, $300,000 Nijinsky here at Woodbine. But one newcomer willing to brave an appearance is Cloudy's Knight, who is shipping in from Arlington for a shot at the 1 1/2-mile turf race.

Greeley's Conquest, one of the top 3-year-olds based at Remington Park, came out of his last start with a minor physical setback, according to his trainer, Gary Thomas. The horse ran at Louisiana Downs on Aug. 18, finishing seventh as the favorite in the $100,000 Prelude Stakes.

"He popped a splint," said Thomas. "He'll be out of training about three weeks."

AUBURN, Wash. - It's always nice to see older siblings give their younger brothers and sisters a helping hand, and that happened repeatedly during last weekend's stakes action at Emerald Downs. Horses who distinguished themselves in the $100,000 Washington Oaks, the $100,000 Emerald Distaff, and the Grade 3, $400,000 Longacres Mile boosted the stock of their siblings scheduled to sell in the Washington Thoroughbred Breeders Association's annual summer yearling sale, which will be held at 1 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 4 in the M.J. Alhadeff Sales Pavilion.

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - After Miss Shop got whipped six lengths by Ginger Punch in the Grade 1 Go for Wand at 1 1/8 miles last month, trainer Allen Jerkens wasn't considering stretching her out to 1 1/4 miles in the Grade 1 Personal Ensign.

DEL MAR, Calif. - Thor's Echo, last year's champion sprinter Breeders' Cup Sprint winner, is out of training likely until winter after undergoing surgery earlier this month to have a bone chip removed from a hind ankle, trainer Doug O'Neill said.

Thor's Echo has been sent to Magali Farms near Santa Ynez, Calif., to recover, O'Neill said.

"He was doing unbelievably," O'Neill said. "I breezed him and the next day he had a little filling. The doctor said there is no reason he shouldn't come back to full strength."

ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, Ill. – Arlington Park lost the last of its nine races on Thursday to weather, but dodged the worst of strong thunderstorms that moved through Chicagoland. The storms uprooted trees and damaged buildings while cutting power in some areas of the city and its suburbs. Worst hit were the northern suburbs. Arlington Heights sits northwest of Chicago proper.

Going Ballistic, a stakes winner on dirt and turf who is in peak form on both surfaces right now, will likely make his next start in the Grade 2, $500,000 Super Derby, according to trainer Donnie Von Hemel. The 1 1/8-mile race will be run at Louisiana Downs on Sept. 22.

Going Ballistic will be moving back to dirt following a third-place finish to Shamdinan and Red Giant in the Grade 1 Secretariat, a 1 1/4-mile turf race at Arlington Park on Aug. 11.

VANCOUVER, British Columbia - On the surface, it looks like Star Prospector and Call Me Tomorrow are standouts in the New Westminster Stakes at Hastings on Sunday. After all, they're both stakes winners and they did finish first and second in the B.C. Cup Nursery Stakes. Also, Call Me Tomorrow was well clear of the third-place finisher, Surprisal.

Nonetheless, these are 2-year-olds and a couple of the others have showed enough potential in their few starts to pose a realistic threat to the top two.

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - War Pass ran well enough winning his debut to be considered for the Grade 1 Hopeful here on closing day. But trainer Nick Zito would prefer to bring the 2-year-old along gradually, which is why he has opted to run War Pass in a first-level allowance race here Sunday.

War Pass, a son of Cherokee Run, is one of six maiden winners entered in the six-furlong allowance race, which has a pot of $67,000. It will be run as the third race on the 10-race card.