Racing is fun again for Joe Orseno, especially with horses like Slam Bammy in his barn.

Fresh from two strong allowance wins, Slam Bammy steps up Saturday to run in the $60,000 Rutgers University Stakes, the closing-night feature at The Meadowlands Racetrack. The final 11-race card gets underway at 7:30 p.m.

Orseno has been in rebuilding mode since his split from Frank Stronach in 2002, but he said he feels the stable has finally turned the corner.

"This is the first year since then that I've had 2-year-olds that I picked out," Orseno said.

Riley Beaver is halfway to earning a $30,000 bonus after winning last Saturday's $12,000 OTBA Sales Stakes at Portland Meadows. Granted, he completed the easier part of the journey in the Sales Stakes, a restricted race that drew a largely undistinguished field of seven graduates of Oregon Thoroughbred Breeders Association sales. To pocket the bonus, which is funded by an annual auction of breeding seasons to Oregon-based stallions, Riley Beaver will need to defeat much tougher foes in the $40,000 Os West Oregon Futurity at a mile on Oregon Championship Day, Dec. 17.

VANCOUVER, British Columbia - Brian O'Connell says he's having his best year as a trainer, and it could get even better Saturday when he sends the $1,000 purchase He's Good to Go in the final leg of the $40,000 Pacific Customs Broker Starter Handicap Series.

O'Connell has only a few horses in his barn, and from 25 starts at the meet he's won 6 races.

"I probably had a few better years with Dad," he said wryly. "But I was drinking back then, so I can't really remember."

Five of the eight entered in Saturday night's $125,000 Mountaineer Mile for older horses have similar running styles, which could create quite a crowd scrambling for position during the short run into the first turn.

Those who do their best running on the lead include graded stakes winners Presidentialaffair and Cherokee's Boy, horse-for-the-course Discreet Hero, the sharp Finger Lakes shipper Seattle Schifty, and stretch-out sprinter Cherokee Prince.

Fillies don't beat colts in stakes races as long as 1 1/8 miles very often, but Promenade Girl has a big shot to do just that in the $75,000 Northern Dancer Stakes at Laurel Park.

Unbeaten in two starts since she was stretched out beyond six furlongs, Promenade Girl brings the two best recent Beyer Speed Figures into the Northern Dancer.

The nine-furlong race, restricted to Maryland-bred 3-year-olds, drew a field of eight.

Silver Axe, who came within a head of winning a Grade 2 stakes this summer, adds a touch of class to the $55,000 Shecky Greene, the feature on the next-to-last day of Delaware Park's season.

The 1 1/16-mile overnight stakes drew a field of 11 older horses.

The 8-year-old Silver Axe, based in Kentucky with trainer Tom Amoss, rallied from 15 lengths behind and passed seven horses to just fall short against Lord of the Game in the Grade 2 Cornhusker Breeders' Cup Handicap at Prairie Meadows in July.

King Cohl and Cross Creek Rosie, both of whom have won 3 of 4 lifetime starts, will be short-priced favorites in the two divisions of the West Virginia Futurity at Charles Town.

Each of the seven-furlong races for 2-year-olds carries a purse of $25,000.

The Kentucky-based colt King Cohl is 2 for 2 shipping to Charles Town, including a 5 1/4-length win in the 6 1/2-furlong Vincent Moscarelli on the West Virginia Breeders Classic card last month.

The Penguin will be making some changes on Saturday night when she goes for her fourth win of the Remington Park meet in the $40,000 Lady's Secret. She will be moving back to dirt, cutting back from two turns to one turn, and returning to racing with her elders.

The Penguin has fared well on all accounts in the past, winning the $40,000 Oklahoma Classics Day Distaff the last time she raced against older rivals on the main track Sept. 24. She is also a sprint winner at the meet, drawing clear by 10 3/4 lengths in a 5 1/2-furlong maiden race Aug. 8.

Defending champion Count on My Word is the 122-pound highweight in a field of eight Ohio-accredited colts and geldings in $40,000 Ruff/Kirchberg Memorial Handicap at Beulah Park.

Count on My Word, a 6-year-old gelded son of Full Count trained by Bobby Ranwick Jr., is the most accomplished member of the field in terms of both wins (seven) and earnings ($152,160). Count on My Word enters the 1 1/4-mile Ruff/Kirchberg off his first victory of the season, a half-length score in open allowance company at Thistledown on Oct. 19.

PHOENIX - The lack of turf racing in Southern California for the next month and a half has left horsemen there looking for alternatives for their grass runners. One option is to look east, to Phoenix. So it's not surprising to see that 6 of the 10 fillies and mares in Saturday's $40,000 Chandler Handicap, a 7 1/2-furlong turf race, made their last start in California.