Officials at Finger Lakes have reached an agreement with the connections of Funny Cide to raise the purse of the Wadsworth Memorial Handicap from $50,000 to $100,000 in order to lure the 2003 Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner to the western New York facility.

Viva Pataca handed Vengeance of Rain a second successive thrashing in the Group 1, $1 million Hong Kong Champions & Chater Cup at Sha Tin on Sunday to establish himself as Hong Kong's leading racehorse. Viva Pataca was repeating his victory over Vengeance of Rain in the Group 1 Queen Elizabeth II Cup. Trained by John Moore and ridden by Michael Kinane, the winner covered the 1 1/2 miles in 2:24.60 on good to firm ground as the 3-2 favorite.

OCEANPORT, N.J. - Chris DeCarlo is off to a sensational start at Monmouth Park, making the most of limited opportunities.

Joe Bravo, not surprisingly, leads the jockey standings through the first 10 days of the meet. "Jersey Joe" is setting the pace with 19 wins from 67 mounts.

DeCarlo is sitting second, with 14 victories from only 32 mounts - bagging winners at a 43 percent clip. It certainly helps that Todd Pletcher, DeCarlo's main Monmouth client, came out firing.

Pletcher leads the trainer standings with nine wins, all ridden by DeCarlo.

ETOBICOKE, Ontario - Saskawea and Suva both turned in sizzling six-furlong works here last weekend in preparation for Sunday's $500,000 Woodbine Oaks.

Saskawea, with regular rider Justin Stein in the irons, was caught in 1:11.60 on Saturday, while Suva, under jockey Gerry Olguin, went in 1:11.40 on Sunday.

Saskawea and Suva are slated to be among the field of 10 expected to be entered Thursday for the Woodbine Oaks, a 1 1/8-mile race for Canadian-bred 3-year-old fillies.

ELMONT, N.Y. - Participating in Saturday's Belmont Stakes is a homecoming of sorts for Florida-based trainer Bill Kaplan.

Kaplan, who will saddle Imawildandcrazyguy in the Belmont, is a native of Brooklyn and spent the first 30 years of his life in New York. He attended Midwood High School in Brooklyn and went to college at Long Island University, graduating with a degree in accounting. He eventually went to work in Manhattan for the accounting firm Arthur Andersen.

ALBANY, Calif. - In an era of early retirement and a rush to the breeding shed, Boss Ego is an anomaly.

Though a full horse and a stakes winner, Boss Ego was still running - and winning - this year at age 11. But his career on the racetrack came to an end after he finished seventh in a $16,000 claimer on March 17 at Golden Gate. His final victory, the 14th of his career, came Feb. 15 in a $10,000 claimer at Bay Meadows.

INGLEWOOD, Calif. - On the Acorn, the winner of major turf stakes in his last two starts, may meet his match in Saturday's $300,000 Charles Whittingham Handicap. It may not be the competition, however, that prevents him from continuing his winning streak.

On the Acorn is expected to face a tough group in the Grade 1 Whittingham, including Lava Man, the top older horse in California. A bigger concern for trainer Mike Mitchell is the race distance of 1 1/4 miles on turf.

ETOBICOKE, Ontario - It has been 15 years since a winner of the Plate Trial came back to win the Queen's Plate here at Woodbine, and the vanquished include favorites such as A Bit O'Gold and Win City.

But, in a season that has already seen Street Sense end the so-called Breeders' Cup Juvenile jinx by winning the Kentucky Derby, Plate Trial winner Jiggs Coz is in a strong position to end the local trend in the $1 million Queen's Plate on June 24.

ELMONT, N.Y. - Jockey Kent Desormeaux rode the winners of both divisions of Sunday's New York Stallion Stakes, first guiding Laurentide Ice to a four-length score in the Cupecoy's Joy for fillies and then coming back to ride Dr. V's Magic to a three-length win in the Spectacular Bid for colts and geldings.

Both races, restricted to 3-year-old progeny of New York-based stallions, were worth $75,000 and run at one mile over Belmont's main track.

AUBURN, Wash. - Call on Carson ($4.40) stalked the pace of arch-rival Immigration from the inside, came out at midstretch, and got up in the closing strides to prevail by half a length in Sunday's $60,000 Pepsi-Cola Handicap at Emerald Downs. Immigration held second by 4 1/4 lengths over Wild Cycle in the field of six 3-year-olds.

Call on Carson, a son of Lord Carson, got the 6 1/2 furlongs in 1:15 under Mick Ruis and earned $24,750 for owners Bruce Cudahy, Rob Sutherland, and Janet Schimke-Crist.