OCEANPORT, N.J. - Lake Belmar will make his grass debut Saturday in the $65,000 Continental Mile, the first 2-year-old turf race of the season at Monmouth Park.
The race attracted a full-field of 10, with The River Mon on the also-eligible list.
The Continental Mile and the $70,000 Miss Woodford for 3-year-old fillies are the supporting stakes on the Iselin Day undercard.
FORT ERIE, Ontario - With slots revenue down some 25 percent this year, Fort Erie racing for 2007 is in for a revamp.
Approximately 75 percent of the purse account is bankrolled by the 1,200 slot machines in the adjoining casino.
In 2005, the $13 million in the purse account translated to a daily purse distribution of just under $130,000. This year, with approximately $9.5 million slated for purses, the daily distribution has dropped to $120,000.
SASKATOON, Saskatchewan - Excessively Sweet headlines Saturday's Heritage Day card at Marquis Downs and should rate as the heaviest favorite in the day's stakes races, which are restricted to Saskatchewan-breds, here.
There are four $10,000 stakes races in all - one for each gender at ages 2 and 3 - and Excessively Sweet headlines the Parkland Heritage for 3-year-old fillies.
The baby races will be run over 6 1/2 furlongs, while the 3-year olds will compete over 1 1/16 miles.
WINNIPEG, Manitoba - Stablemates Resurgent and Brinello will battle each other in Saturday's $40,000 Agassiz Stakes, the feature race here at Assiniboia Downs.
The Agassiz, a one-mile race for Manitoba-bred 3-year-olds and up, has a field of only five.
Trained by Carl Anderson, Resurgent and Brinello have faced each other five times in their careers.
Resurgent won three of their four meetings last year, including victories in restricted two stakes.
Truth by Ruth has a nice closing kick, and her trainer, Danny Pish, hopes to see it Saturday night, when she starts in the $65,000 Margarita Breeders' Cup at Retama Park.
A 1 1/16-mile turf race, the Margarita drew seven fillies and mares.
Truth by Ruth should start as one of the top choices on the strength of a summer campaign in which she held her own against stakes winners Rue des Reves, My Misty Princess, Comalagold, and Candy Ball in high-end allowances at Lone Star Park.
Super Call and Thoughtuwasatoad should vie for favoritism in Saturday's $15,000-added Van Berg Derby at Columbus, but there are no tossouts in the field of six.
For 3-year-olds, the Van Berg Derby is run at a mile and 70 yards.
A stakes winner last year, Thoughtuwasatoad tuned up for the Van Berg Derby in a 6 1/2-furlong second-level allowance prep here last Saturday, when he was second, beaten four lengths. Thoughtuwasatoad made a bid into the far turn, but could not sustain the effort.
Charedi's Peak will try for her third straight win when she faces eight 3-year-old fillies in the $50,000 Ann Arbor Stakes. Contested at one mile, the Ann Arbor is the eighth race on the card, part of Great Lakes Downs's Fan Appreciation Weekend. First post is 6:30 p.m.
