ARCADIA, Calif. - Taking advantage of a wet-fast track, Awesome Lady scored the most important win of her career in Saturday's $112,600 at Santa Anita, a race originally scheduled for turf.

Ridden by Tyler Baze, Awesome Lady was always close to the pace. She rallied along the rail to engage early pacesetter Guidebook at the half-mile pole, took the lead on the turn, and pulled clear to win by 3 1/2 lengths. Baze and Awesome Lady were in control of the race for the final quarter-mile. Awesome Lady ($13.20) finished 6 1/2 furlongs in 1:16.77.

OZONE PARK, N.Y. - Navesink River was equally as dominant in Saturday's $83,100 as he was in the prep race for it 24 days ago, galloping to a 5 1/2-length score in the 1 5/8-mile race before a crowd of 3,552 at soggy Aqueduct.

India Halo, the only mare in the field of nine, finished second, four lengths ahead of Chilly Rooster. Completing the order of finish were Nohasslatdcastle, Potri Cacho, We Can Seek, El Provinciano, Loving, and Decourcey.

CHICAGO - If the human element of the equine racing drama is your thing, then closing day at Hawthorne on Monday holds just a little bit more intrigue than might otherwise be the case.

SAN MATEO, Calif. - A pair of $40,000 starter allowance races top Monday's holiday card at Bay Meadows.

The $60,000 Bay Meadows Mile, scheduled Monday as a prep for 3-year-olds pointing to the Grade 3, $250,000 El Camino Real Derby on Jan. 29, drew only three nominees and was canceled.

Both of the starter races are for runners 4 years old and up at 1 1/16 miles. Fillies and mares will run in race 1 on the card, with males going in race 2.

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. - As construction crews work overtime trying to ready the new state-of-the-art Gulfstream Park grandstand for the opening of the 2006 season on Wednesday, track president Scott Savin has the following advice for patrons: "Go to Calder!"

BOSSIER CITY, La. - It was not as easy as her $2.60 payoff indicates, but heavily favored Tortuga Flats outfinished a stubborn Hottamolly in a spirited stretch drive to win the filly division of the Louisiana Futurity on Saturday at the Fair Grounds meeting at Louisiana Downs. Leesa Lee finished third followed by Lexi's Luck.

ARCADIA, Calif. - A gloomy weather forecast complicates the resumption of turf stakes Sunday at Santa Anita. The uncertainty surrounding the Grade 2 reflects the ambiguity of the lineup.

Grade 2 winners Badge of Silver and Choctaw Nation have never raced on grass. South American Group 1 winner Don Incauto will run for the first time since an illness last spring nearly killed him. Grade 1-placed Whilly fits on class, but his chances decrease on soft going. Rain is predicted.

MIAMI - Yankee Master came to Calder last month undefeated and seemingly unbeatable, but could not quite live up to expectations, finishing second as the odds-on favorite in the Kris S. Stakes. Sunday, Barbaro will find himself in a similar position when he puts his unblemished record on the line in the $100,000 Tropical Park Derby, where his stiffest challenge is likely to come from Yankee Master.

BOSSIER CITY, La. - When you think Sugar Bowl Stakes at Fair Grounds, the image is of some very fast 2-year-olds battling it out on New Years Eve. This year's edition will still feature plenty of speed, but this time the combatants will be making their first starts as 3-year-olds.

The race has been moved to Sunday, New Year's Day, to accommodate a stakes schedule revamped in the wake of Hurricane Katrina and the meet being moved here to Louisiana Downs.

SAN MATEO, Calif. - Don Warren finds himself in a spot many California trainers have found themselves in of late.

He has a talented entrant in Sunday's $75,000 Bay Meadows Cotillion Handicap at 1 1/16 miles. But he has to overcome the Jerry Hollendorfer factor.

Hollendorfer, northern California's leading trainer, has been unbeatable in stakes of late. He won the final four stakes offered at Golden Gate Fields and won the opening-day stakes here.