LEXINGTON, Ky. - At this accelerated rate, Rafael Bejarano will reach 8,000 wins sometime around his 50th birthday.

VANCOUVER, British Columbia - The first thing you notice when you walk into Nick's Spaghetti House on Commercial Drive is all of the win pictures hanging on the wall. Nick and Pauline Felicella, who own the popular Vancouver eatery, are hoping that Spaghetti Mouse will increase their collection with a win in the $100,000 Premier's on Sunday at Hastings.

The Meadowlands canceled it fourth consecutive card on Friday when it announced that the track had called off its Saturday-night program.

Heavy rain for more than a week caused widespread flooding throughout New Jersey and shut down Meadowlands racing because of an uneven racing surface.

The Meadowlands last ran a complete program on Oct. 7. The track managed only one race on Oct. 8, got in three on Tuesday afternoon, and canceled the Wednesday through Saturday programs.

ELMONT, N.Y. - Spite the Devil pulled a 15-1 upset winning last year's $250,000 Empire Classic by a head over the favorite, West Virginia. He won't be nearly as big a price this year, provided he gets to the starting gate.

ARCADIA, Calif. - Island Fashion is in the Breeders' Cup Distaff, We All Love Aleyna is probable for the Breeders' Cup Mile, and A.P. Warrior is doubtful for the Breeders' Cup Juvenile at Belmont Park on Oct. 29, their trainers said Friday.

With the pre-entry deadline looming Monday, owners and trainers are making final decisions this weekend about the participation of their horses on the richest program in American racing.

SAN MATEO, Calif. - Will closing day at Bay Meadows mark the end of a big week for Steppin Charlie?

A 5-year-old gelding, Steppin Charlie won the third leg of the California Marketing Starter Allowance series at 1 3/8 miles Monday. On Sunday, he'll bid for a repeat at the distance against eight rivals in the closing-day feature, a $25,000 optional claimer.

His trainer, Alex Paszkeicz, does not usually bring his runners back this quickly; he is 1 for 7 when returning in one week.

Hollywood Park has made only minor changes to the stakes schedule for the upcoming fall meeting, which runs from Nov. 9 to Dec. 19. It's the first meeting since the Bay Meadows Land Company bought the track from Churchill Downs Inc. earlier this year.

Hollywood Park will run 20 stakes, including six Grade 1 races. The meeting is one week shorter than last year, but the same stakes are being offered.

Four Grade 1 stakes will be run over Hollywood's newly renovated turf course.

The purse for Sunland Park's richest race, the WinStar Derby, has been increased to $600,000 for its fourth running on April 1. Last year, the 1 1/8-mile race was worth $500,000. The purse boost is one of the most notable changes to Sunland's stakes schedule, which comprises 51 races for Thoroughbreds and Quarter Horses at the New Mexico track, located near El Paso, Texas.

STICKNEY, Ill. - Hawthorne's main track has undergone a change for the better in the last few racing days, going from a dry, tiring surface that was difficult for many horses to handle, to something much more recognizable. By Friday afternoon, in fact, the Hawthorne dirt was downright speedy, with horses in sprint races consistently clocking half-mile fractions in less than 45 seconds.

MIAMI - Flying Circle, who has proven at least up to this point in her career to be a better sprinter than router, shortens up to six furlongs and returns to the main track to head a well-matched field of eight 3-year-old fillies in Sunday's $40,000 Lady Sonata Stakes.