ETOBICOKE, Ontario - Racing on Woodbine's new synthetic Polytrack racing surface, which remains under construction, is now scheduled to begin on Aug. 30.

Woodbine's original goal, announced this spring, was to have the new surface ready for racing by the end of August, but that had been pushed up to Aug. 23, as reflected by the most recent condition book.

"When we established that date, we were actually running ahead of schedule," said Jim Ormiston, Woodbine's executive vice president and chief operating officer, on Wednesday. "Now, we're back on schedule.

VANCOUVER, British Columbia - The Grade 3, $250,000 British Columbia Derby on Aug. 24 is just over a month away, and the connections of some of the top local 3-year-olds are trying to figure out the best way to get their horses to the derby in peak condition.

Trainer Harold Barroby has two derby hopefuls in Mighty Cahill and Seven Secrets, and the veteran trainer has mapped out two different itineraries for them.

Mighty Cahill is heading to Alberta to run in the $300,000 Canadian Derby Aug. 26.

ETOBICOKE, Ontario - Sir Blitz finally got a chance to run on his preferred surface for the first time this year after his first three scheduled turf starts were washed over to the dirt here at Woodbine.

The bad news was that grass opportunity came in a tough spot, the 6 1/2-furlong prep for the Play the King on Aug. 5, and Sir Blitz was beaten 4 3/4 lengths while ending sixth in a field of 11.

WINNIPEG, Manitoba - Sure bets at a racetrack are difficult to find, but Wild to Go finishing second appears to be a lock. Wild to Go, trained by Martin Drexler, has finished in the runner-up spot in all six of starts here at Assiniboia Downs this year.

On Friday, Wild to Go will face four rivals as he makes his seventh consecutive first-level allowance start.

Special Breeze and Second Story Boy bring in streaks of their own.

The $600,000 WinStar Derby will be run March 18, 2007, about two weeks earlier than it was this year, and be part of a $500,000 bonus series. The WinStar Derby is the richest race of the Sunland Park meet, which opens Dec. 15 for 79 days of Thoroughbred and Quarter Horse racing. The meet runs through April 29.

DEL MAR, Calif. - The 3-year-old colt Paddy Murphy has turned things around since he returned from a four-month layoff.

From December to February, Paddy Murphy had one victory in four starts, and his trainer, Paddy Gallagher, was not pleased with his progress.

"We backed off to see if he'd get stronger," Gallagher said.

DEL MAR, Calif. - The spotlight takes a while to find John Shirreffs, so careful is the trainer to avoid it. When he wins a race, Shirreffs stands off to the side while the winner's circle photos are taken, enjoying the spectacle. The only time he has made an exception in recent years was when Giacomo won last year's Kentucky Derby, which thrust Shirreffs front and center.

DEL MAR, Calif. - When reviewers gather to critique the most terrifying pictures of the summer of 2006, the debate could be between "Snakes on a Plane" and We All Love Aleyna's trip in the Wickerr Handicap at Del Mar on July 29.

Go ahead and watch it, if you dare.

was in a box the whole race, then got sawed off at the furlong pole when attempting a last-gasp bid for daylight. He wound up sixth of eight, but might have been right there with any luck.

DEL MAR, Calif. - Perfect Drift races every year through the fall, gets a nice vacation over the winter, and returns at Keeneland in the spring. He has had the same schedule for the last four years, and it has worked gloriously, because Perfect Drift has earned $4,530,483 while winning 11 of 39 starts, including stakes at ages 3, 4, and 6. Now 7, Perfect Drift is making his third straight summer visit to Del Mar, where on Sunday he will compete in the Grade 1, $1 million Pacific Classic, a race in which he has finished second the past two years.

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - Ordinarily, a sixth-place finish, beaten 5 1/4 lengths would be deemed a disappointment for a horse that had won his previous two starts. But for Chace City, it had to be considered an accomplishment when he finished sixth in last month's Bashford Manor Stakes at Churchill Downs.

After a horrendous start in which he leapt twice after being bothered at the break, Chace City made up a ton of ground before running down the stretch on his wrong lead while finishing 5 1/4 lengths behind the winner, Circular Quay.