ARCADIA, Calif. - The mile turf allowance that is the seventh-race feature Friday at Santa Anita presents a dilemma for handicappers. None of the five starters will race under optimum conditions.

may be favored despite never having raced beyond a sprint. Scheffer moves up in class after a neck victory in a two-other-than allowance. If the win was as good as the 1:32.93 clocking, then the horse he beat by a neck, Masterpiece, will have run well Wednesday. Masterpiece was the 6-5 program favorite in Wednesday's race 7.

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. - Celestial Legend looks to extend her unbeaten streak to three Friday night in the $50,000 Holly Stakes at The Meadowlands Racetrack.

A six-furlong race for 2-year-old fillies, the Holly was originally scheduled for Oct. 22. It replaces the two $60,000 stakes slated for Friday: the Alysheba and the John Henry

The race office will try to gather enough entries to run the Alysheba on Saturday. The John Henry on the turf will be rescheduled next week, assuming the course dries out from recent heavy rain.

ALBANY, Calif. - Clare Pears, who assists and gallops horses for trainer Jedd Josephson, believes she knows why Lover Marshal has become such a consistent runner for the barn - not that she'll share the information.

"That's our secret," she said.

has earned a paycheck in all seven starts since being claimed by Josephson for $16,000 last Jan. 15. He should make it 8 for 8 - and win his second straight race - in Friday's Golden Gate Fields feature, a $32,000 claimer at 1 1/16 miles on the turf.

ELMONT, N.Y. - Following two decisive wins to begin his career, it would not have been surprising to see Southern Express in the entries for the Breeders' Cup Juvenile. But trainer Tim Ritchey decided to take a more conservative route.

Thus, Southern Success will run in Friday's Grade 3, $100,00 Nashua Stakes at Belmont Park. The Nashua, a one-turn mile race for 2-year-olds, drew a solid field of 10, including Bear Character and Diabolical, two horses that were pre-entered for the BC Juvenile but who did not crack the 14-horse field.

LEXINGTON, Ky. - Todd Pletcher will be very busy Friday at Belmont Park when he gets ready for the Breeders' Cup the following afternoon, but he should have a couple of minutes to peek at a simulcast monitor to see whether his powerhouse stable will bag yet another stakes win at Keeneland.

EDMONTON, Alberta - Awesome Devil drops in for a $17,500 claiming price Friday in search of his first victory of the season on Northlands Park's penultimate card of 2005.

A homebred 4-year-old trained by Garry Marks for Jeannine and John Richardson, Awesome Devil missed by a nose two starts ago against $22,000 claimers at Friday's one-mile distance. Awesome Devil drew the rail in a field of nine with Mike Iammarino aboard.

Sam Houston Race Park is positioned for a fast start to its 82-date meet, which begins Friday night and runs through April 9. Reasons for optimism include: The Breeders' Cup is Saturday; the meet will not be in competition with neighboring Delta Downs until at least Dec. 1; and its barn area is oversubscribed.

Throw into the mix the return of the 10-cent superfecta, which Sam Houston pioneered for Thorough-breds in February; a new 50-cent pick four; and a reduced, 12 percent takeout on rolling pick threes, and there is reason for the Houston track to spring from the gate.

All-sources daily handle on live races at the recently concluded Bay Meadows meet declined 2.4 percent, with a drop in out-of-state wagering offsetting an increase within the state.

The average daily all-sources handle on live races at this year's 33-day Bay Meadows meet, which ended Oct. 16, fell to $3,604,151 this year, down from $3,691,566 at 2004's 49-day meet.

Average daily ontrack handle on Bay Meadows races was up 2.3 percent, reaching $472,046 this year, compared with $461,529 in 2004.

Trainer Bret Calhoun comes into the Sam Houston Race Park meet rolling. A race he won Tuesday night at Remington Park gave him 156 for the year, tying his personal best, and pushed him to seventh place in wins among all trainers in North America.

For the Sam Houston meet, Calhoun will have a full barn. He also has divisions at Remington, where he leads the standings, and Hawthorne, where he is tied for second leading trainer. Calhoun has won races at a 24 percent clip in 2005 and over the next two months figures to crush his record for wins in a year, which was set in 2003.

Year-end championship honors in three divisions will be strongly influenced by three of the five Grade 1 stakes to be held at Los Alamitos on Nov. 5 during the MBNA America Challenge Championships.

The pre-entered aged gelding Catchmeinyourdreams, aged mare Mini Rock, and distance horse Prankster CF would enhance their championship credentials with winning performances.