AUBURN, Wash. - Trainer Aubrey Villyard said that Wild Cycle and Pirates Deputy, the one-two finishers in Saturday's $65,000 WTBA Lads Stakes for 2-year-old colts and geldings, will both be pointed toward the $100,000 Gottstein Futurity at 1 1/16 miles on Sept. 30.

Evangeline Downs in Opelousas, La., reported a double-digit gain in average daily handle during its 92-date Thoroughbred meet that closed Monday. The track handled an average of $1.5 million a night on its live races, an increase of 32 percent over the corresponding 2005 season.

Several factors led to the spike in betting. An all-time handle record was set July 1, when $2,182,506 was wagered on the Louisiana Legends card, a program of stakes. The average field size this meet was nearly 10 starters, one of the highest in North America.

Canterbury Park in Shakopee, Minn., concluded its 2006 meeting on Labor Day with gains in attendance, total and average daily handle, and offtrack wagering on the track's live races. Ontrack handle at the meet was down.

The 2006 meeting was shortened to 68 days as a result of a weather-related cancellation but still attracted 359,567 fans for an average daily attendance of 5,288, a 3 percent gain over 2005.

Handle from all sources averaged $531,219, a gain of 13.7 percent from 2005 when wagering averaged $467,210.

The final 31 of the 336 races that constituted Saratoga 2006 included four Grade 1's, the only double-carryover of the meeting, a jockeys' race that technically went down to the final day, seven trainers getting their first and only winner at the stand, and plenty of chances for the likes of me to get even.

SATURDAY, September 2

Jockey Jorge Collazo Sr. has been $500 by the River Downs stewards after committing a serious error in judgment during the last race of the meet Monday.

Cherokee Prince, a 6-year-old gelding who made his first 17 starts on dirt, is well on his way to making a new career for himself on turf.

Taking advantage of the rails being set out 21 feet, favoring speed horses, Cherokee Prince ($25.20) set an uncontested modest pace of 48.26 seconds and 1:12.31 for six furlongs en route to a 2 3/4-length win in the $75,000 Labor Day Stakes.

It was Cherokee Prince's third win in six grass starts, and his second stakes.

Tortuga Straits ($3.20) kept his career record perfect, winning the $100,000 Lafayette Stakes in front-running fashion at Evangeline Downs. Sentry lodged a bid turning into the stretch of the closing-night feature for 2-year-olds before settling for second. L'Grande d'Oro also loomed prominently exiting the turn but flattened out and finished third.

Raise the Bluff rallied from ninth position in a field of 12 to win Monday's $100,000 Emerald Breeders' Cup Derby by a length over Zillah's Knight. Exclusive Eagle, the 3-1 favorite, finished another neck back in third.

Raise the Bluff, who was ridden by Nate Chaves, completed the 1 1/8 miles in 1:49.80 and returned $15.40. It was the fourth win from 10 starts for Raise the Bluff, a son of Pine Bluff who is trained by Junior Coffey. He earned $55,000 for his owner, Ron Crockett, Inc., and boosted his career earnings to $148,051.

Trainer Paul Jones and jockey Cody Jensen won the Grade 1, $1.9 million for the second straight year when their No Secrets Here took to a rain-soaked track and scored in stakes-record time Monday afternoon at Ruidoso Downs.

In 2005, Teller Cartel won his maiden in the All American Futurity for Jones and Jensen.

"There's a lot more expectations this year," said Jensen. "This year, we knew we had a good enough horse to win it if we got the right trip, and thank God we did."

Point Ashley carried jockey Victor Espinoza to a record-setting seventh win on Monday's card at Del Mar when she won the Grade 1, $250,000 in a runaway.

Point Ashley ($5.20), the favorite of eight 2-year-old fillies, roared home 2 1/2 lengths best over Untouched Talent, who got up to nose out She's Included and Outofthepast in a three-way battle for second. Point Ashley completed seven furlongs on the fast main track in 1:23.34.