CHICAGO - An ongoing dispute involving the Illinois Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association, Television Games Network, Youbet, and Hawthorne Race Course could lead to a blackout of Hawthorne races on TVG and Youbet when Hawthorne's fall racing season begins Friday.

Catlaunch cuts back to a sprint at Thistledown on Friday when he goes in quest of his seventh win of the year from nine starts while facing seven fellow Ohio-bred rivals in the $50,000 Honey Jay Stakes at six furlongs.

BOSSIER CITY, La. - Ponopaan, the solid third-place finisher in the $100,000 Cajun Stakes for trainer Cole Norman in his last start, should rate a strong favorite in Friday's optional claiming feature at Louisiana Downs. The first race on the 10-race card also drew Tee El, who will be putting a two-race winning streak on the line, as well as veteran Cort's P. B., a four-time winner locally who is coming off a troubled fifth-place finish in the Cajun after winning the $75,000 J. Delahoussaye Memorial Stakes at Evangeline Downs earlier in the summer.

ALBANY, Calif. - For trainer Ellen Jackson, the decision was a no-brainer.

After Don Schnell privately purchased the 3-year-old filly Lemon Fresh Tide earlier this summer, he and Jackson opted to run her on the turf. She ran so well that Jackson says she will remain on grass, where she figures to be a strong contender in Friday's Golden Gate Fields feature, a $25,000 claimer for 3-year-old fillies at one mile.

ETOBICOKE, Ontario - Few would be surprised if they ever decided to rename the Woodbine Mile the Drysdale Mile. It would only be appropriate, since trainer Neil Drysdale has won three of the nine runnings of the $1 million turf race, if you include the 1999 edition, in which Hawksley Hill was disqualified and placed fourth because his rider's whip struck a rival in the stretch.

ETOBICOKE, Ontario - Excepting some serious devotees of Southern California racing, it would be surprising if the name Melody Conlon rings a bell.

But Conlon, 53, will be looking to make some serious noise when she sends out Captain Kurt, a 4-year-old gelding owned by John Liviakis, in Sunday's Grade 1, $1 million Woodbine Mile.

Conlon, based at Hollywood Park with a string of 10 horses, will not only be looking for her first stakes win but also will be represented by her first stakes starter in the Woodbine Mile.

AUBURN, Wash. - Coker Road will be trying for two wins in a row on Thursday when he heads a field of six in the Emerald Downs feature, a mile race for older $10,000 claimers.

For just the second time in nine runnings, the Claiming Crown will be held somewhere other than Canterbury Park. Officials at Ellis Park and the Claiming Crown have announced that the Henderson, Ky., track will play host to the event on either the third or fourth weekend of July 2007.

ETOBICOKE, Ontario - Trainer Mark Casse pulled off a one-two shocker here in last Sunday's $163,200 Natalma for 2-year-old fillies, with Sprung springing the upset at 48-1 and Quiet Action completing the $707.20 exactor at 8-1.

On Sunday, Casse will send out another pair of 2-year-olds, this time males, for the $200,000 Summer - which partners with the $1 million Woodbine Mile and the $300,000 Canadian on a powerhouse program.

The Summer and the Natalma are both Grade 3, one-mile turf races, and Casse's candidates for the Summer are Approval Rating and Seaside Links.

Churchill Downs Inc., the owner of Arlington Park, denied two on-line wagering companies, Youbet and AmericaTAB and its affiliates, which include Brisbet, the track's simulcast signal on Tuesday. The move deepened the ongoing dispute between the Illinois Thoroughbred Horsemens' Association, Hawthorne Race Course, Television Games Network (aka TVG), and Youbet.