ALBANY, Calif. - Trainers and Golden Gate Fields racing secretary Sean Greely are watching the weather closely, with the Grade 3, $150,000 Golden Gate Fields Handicap Saturday scheduled for 1 1/8 miles on the turf.

The turf course has not been used since Feb. 25 because of inclement weather. Through Wednesday, 19 races carded for the turf since then have been switched to the main track. Wednesday's two scheduled turf races were switched, and Friday's scheduled races are likely to be switched to preserve the course for Saturday's race.

With national stars Round Pond and Happy Ticket dominant in the filly and mare division at Oaklawn Park, other fillies and mares in the region are being forced to shop around in the quest for black type. The result is a strong contingent shipping from Hot Springs, Ark., to Evangeline Downs to run in Friday night's $75,000 Goddess Stakes.

The one-mile race drew a field of seven horses, four of whom made their last start at Oaklawn.

CHICAGO - In Perfect Harmony, trainer Alvin Sider has come up with what seems to be a stakes-class Louisiana-bred 3-year-old. Problem is, Sider and Perfect Harm-ony are stabled at Hawthorne Race Course in Chicago, where Perfect Harmony won an entry-level route allowance last Friday by almost 10 lengths. But Sider is taking steps to correct that geographical issue.

"I'm going to Louisiana," Sider said Tuesday afternoon. "I'm staying here another week, and then I'm going down there."

Recent maiden-race winners should have an edge when the New Mexico futurity season starts on Friday afternoon in the eight trials to the Grade 1, $233,000 West Texas Futurity at Sunland Park.

There are 72 2-year-olds in the trials. Those with the 10 fastest times will qualify for the 300-yard finals on April 9.

In last year's West Texas Futurity, Leading Spirit raced to his first of three Grade 1 futurity wins on his way to being named 2005 champion 2-year-old gelding. He also won the Ruidoso Futurity and the Rainbow Futurity, both at Ruidoso Downs.

The 25-cent Fortune 6 wager was hit on Tuesday and paid $179,020.40 to the single winning ticket holder. The Fortune 6 jackpot had gone unhit for over a month, and the winning ticket was purchased at Oaklawn Park.

The Fortune 6 is a pick six wager that requires a single winning ticket in order for the carryover to be paid out. On days when multiple ticket holders have six winners or no ticket has six winners, 40 percent of that day's pool is paid to those tickets with the most winners and the other 60 percent is added to the carryover.

Arapahoe Park in Aurora, Co., will conduct 18 Thoroughbred stakes worth a cumulative $465,000 during its upcoming meet. The track's 39-date season will run from June 10 through Sept. 4.

The $40,000-added Gold Rush Futurity for 2-year-olds at six furlongs highlights the stakes program. It will be run on Sept. 4. Past winners of the race include millionaire Maysville Slew.

Another race of interest is the $25,000 Colorado Derby at 1 1/16 miles. It will be run on July 23.

Delta Downs opened its backstretch to Quarter Horses on Wednesday, after 20 barns were rebuilt following damage caused by Hurricane Rita last September. Training races for nominees to upcoming futurities at the track will be held on Friday and Saturday. Delta's meet for Quarter Horses will run for 52 days, beginning April 13.

Don Manuel stamped himself as the fastest horse at Fairmount Park, at least up to two furlongs, when he won the $11,328 Quick Step allowance last Friday. Making his first start since being claimed for $8,000 last September by trainer John Witthauer, Don Manuel broke on top and cruised to a 2 1/4-length victory, tying the track record of 20.80 seconds. The victory capped a three-win evening for jockey Rafael Hernandez.

Waupaca, who shipped in and won a March 4 turf allowance at Sam Houston Race Park, will return to Sam Houston next month for the Grade 3, $200,000 Connally Breeders' Cup Turf, said his trainer, Donnie Von Hemel. A 1 1/8-mile race, the Connally will be run on April 8.

Von Hemel said Waupaca, who is based at Oaklawn Park, will be ridden by E.J. Perrodin, who is a multiple winner of the Connally.

Arguably the two most prominent trainers in the recent history of the Lane's End Stakes will be well represented again Saturday when Nick Zito and Todd Pletcher both have horses among a large field expected for the Turfway Park showcase.

Zito informed Turfway racing officials Wednesday that he plans to run Hemingway's Key and Superfly in the $500,000 Lane's End, while Pletcher already had confirmed Tahoe Warrior for the Grade 2 race. Entries were to be drawn Thursday at the Florence, Ky., track.