GRAND PRAIRIE, Texas - Miss Mary Pat put in a determined stretch bid to overtake Waterloo Slew and win the $65,000 Silver Spur Breeders' Cup by a half-length at Lone Star Park on Saturday.

"She's got a lot of grit and guts to her," said Quincy Hamilton, who rode Miss Mary Pat. "She's a nice filly."

The win was the third straight for Miss Mary Pat, a 2-year-old who earlier in the meet won a trial race and its finale, the $111,000 fillies division of the Texas Thoroughbred Association Sales Futurity.

DEL MAR, Calif. - One extra furlong is one reason why the top turf milers in California - Aragorn and Silent Name - might be considered vulnerable Sunday in the Grade 1 Eddie Read Handicap at Del Mar.

A solid field of seven entered the $400,000 Read, including last year's one-two finishers are expected to be the top betting choices.

The distance is a concern, admitted Silent Name's trainer, Gary Mandella. "I wouldn't do it except that he's gotten very relaxed [in workouts]," he said. "Now is the time to try."

DEL MAR, Calif. - The eighth race at Santa Anita on April 21 was a sleepy maiden claimer for California-bred 3-year-old fillies. At least that's the way it seemed at the time.

It turns out a claim from that race may be the highlight of trainer Rafael Becerra's season. Acting on behalf of a partnership, he claimed the winner, Getback Time, for $40,000. She has not lost since.

DEL MAR, Calif. - Seven horses were vanned off in the first two days of racing at Del Mar and an eighth was injured while galloping Friday, causing concern among horsemen and prompting track officials to call a meeting on Saturday to discuss the track surface.

Two of the seven horses vanned off on Wednesday and Thursday were euthanized as a result of injuries: Blazing Sunset, who was pulled up in the stretch of a division of the Oceanside Stakes on turf Wednesday, and Ugotadowhatugotado, who was pulled up on the backstretch of a $16,000 dirt claimer on Thursday.

ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, Ill. - Is an Arlington Park one-turn mile an extended sprint or a truncated route? The answer probably depends on the specifics of a given race, and there are both fast sprinters and slower-paced route horses in the one-mile Sweetest Chant Stakes on Sunday at Arlington.

A prep for the nine-furlong Arlington Oaks on Aug. 19, the Sweetest Chant drew six horses, three of whom are obvious win contenders: High Heritage, Rolling Sea, and Coolwind. The other three - Bootery, Tactical Warning, and Just Ducky - need a quantum leap in form to win.

VANCOUVER, British Columbia - Trainer Steve Henson is planning to be very busy on B.C. Cup Day on Aug. 7. Henson could have a horse for every one of the seven stakes races that make up the bulk of what has become the biggest day of racing at Hastings.

"It's still a couple of weeks away, but if things work out, I should have one for every race," he said.

A. V. Flynn hadn't even cooled out following her track-record victory in her debut in a $25,000 maiden claiming race at Pleasanton on June 28 when trainer Steve Miyadi's phone began to ring with offers to purchase her.

The 2-year-old filly is still in Miyadi's barn, and the offers may go up Sunday if she can win the $50,000 Mick Freese Solano County Juvenile Filly Stakes at 5 1/2 furlongs at the Solano County Fair.

VANCOUVER, British Columbia - With scores going low in the first two rounds of the British Open, almost par just isn't going to cut it. At Hastings, though, Almost Par, a 3-year-old gelding trained by Barb Heads, just might be good enough to win the featured race Sunday. The $75,000 optional claiming race at 1 1/16 miles drew seven 3-year-olds and goes as the eighth race.

EDMONTON, Alberta - Bethune tops an optional claiming field of six 3-year-olds in Northlands Park's one-mile feature on Sunday, and he appears ready to fulfill expectations after an impressive early-season start and then a poor stakes effort.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Shermanesque, the Fusaichi Pegasus colt who led into deep stretch in the July 8 Bashford Manor Stakes at Churchill Downs before being overtaken by a torrid inside run from Circular Quay, will miss the Sanford Stakes on Thursday at Saratoga because of a recent setback but should be able to race by mid-meet, said trainer Tony Reinstedler.

"He had a stone bruise and kind of scared me, but everything's fine now, and he's back in training," said Reinstedler, who already is in Saratoga with eight horses he had shipped this week from Churchill.