GROVE CITY, Ohio - Beulah Park begins a shortened 48-day fall meeting Friday afternoon with the hope that racing's prospects in the state may take a turn for the better before the conclusion of the season Dec. 22.

ALBANY, Calif. - It was a fun weekend on the track for trainer Greg Gilchrist, owner Harry Aleo, and jockey Russell Baze, even though it started with a narrow nose defeat for Vicarino. By the time the weekend was over, Smokey Stover had pretty much punched his ticket to compete in the Grade 1 Malibu Stakes on Dec. 26 at Santa Anita, and Quite a Rush gave the trio, well, quite a rush with her impressive maiden victory.

LEXINGTON, Ky. - It is cause for celebration in any other year, this reopening of Keeneland as the leaves begin to turn. But in the wake of a massive renovation that was undertaken and completed since racing was last held here in late April, the excitement surrounding the Friday opening of the fall meet at Keeneland is almost boundless.

PHOENIX - After a hugely successful 50th anniversary meeting last year, Turf Paradise opens its 51st season Friday with a nine-race card highlighted by the $24,000 Bienvenidos at a mile on the main track.

NORTH RANDALL, Ohio - Ohio-bred divisional honors will be on the line Friday when Thistledown serves as the site for this year's Best of Ohio, a series of five statebred stakes which rotates among the state's three Thoroughbred tracks. The combined value of the Best of Ohio stakes is $425,000.

Shadwell Turf Mile Stakes (Grade 1)
1 Mile (Turf)
3-year-olds and upward
Purse $600,000. To be run as Race 9 at Keeneland on Saturday

1. Silent Name - V. Espinoza - 126 lbs.
2. Miesque's Approval - E. Castro - 126 lbs.
3. Aussie Rules - G. Gomez - 123 lbs.
4. Remarkable News - R. Douglas - 126 lbs.
5. Hendrix - D. Flores - 126 lbs.
6. Cosmonaut - J. Leparoux - 126 lbs.
7. Old Dodge - R. Albarado - 126 lbs.
8. British Blue - C. Mejia - 126 lbs.
9. Three Valleys - R. Bejarano - 126 lbs.

BOSSIER CITY, La. - There is plenty to choose from in Friday's feature, as a full field of 12 line up and go seven furlongs in an optional claimer. Some are looking for their fourth wins while others have been entered for the $50,000 tag.

Lane's End Breeders' Futurity (Grade 1)
1 1/16 Miles (Polytrack)
2-year-olds
Purse $500,000. To be run as Race 8 at Keeneland on Saturday.

1. Circular Quay - G. Gomez
2. Great Hunter - V. Espinoza
3. French Transition - J. Leparoux
4. Teuflesberg - W. Martinez
5. Birdbirdistheword - R. Albarado
6. Passport - C. Lanerie
7. Street Sense - C. Borel
8. Bold Start - L. Melancon

All runners carry 121 lbs.

Birdbirdistheword has stepped up his game with more distance, as evidenced by his win last month in the $100,000 Juvenile at Louisiana Downs. Now, he will step up in class.

Trainer Ken McPeek said on Tuesday that Birdbirdistheword will run in Saturday's Grade 1, $500,000 Breeders' Futurity at Keeneland.

Birdbirdistheword ran a career race in the Juvenile, when he stalked the pace en route to a half-length win over stakes winner Going Ballistic. Birdbirdistheword earned a career-best Beyer Figure of 82 in the 1 1/16-mile turf race.

ETOBICOKE, Ontario - Thursday's Woodbine feature, a prep for the Grade 2 Nearctic Stakes on Oct. 22, is hard to fathom. The most accomplished runner in the six-furlong turf allowance, Are You Serious, is a dirt specialist, and the best grass runners in the lineup are winless on the turf this year.