ELMONT, N.Y. - Madame Diva is relatively inexperienced, but her 7 1/2-length maiden victory at Saratoga hints that she may be the most talented filly in Thursday's $65,000 Colonial Minstrel Stakes at Belmont.

Restricted to 3-year-old fillies who have never won an open stakes race, the Colonial Minstrel drew a field of nine, and Madame Diva will be trying to emulate her stablemate Great Intentions, another Mike Hushion-trained filly who dead-heated for the win in a similar overnight stakes last Sunday.

ELMONT, N.Y. - Shadow Cast, the upset winner of the Grade 1 Personal Ensign at Saratoga, suffered a torn tendon in her right foreleg on Tuesday and has been retired, trainer Neil Howard said.

Shadow Cast suffered the injury during a workout over Belmont Park's main track in preparation for Saturday's Grade 1, $750,000 Beldame at Belmont. Shadow Cast was credited with a half-mile move in 49.54 seconds under exercise rider Annie Finney.

The pace of Saturday afternoon's Grade 2, $750,000 Super Derby at Louisiana Downs got quicker on Tuesday after The Daddy flew in with four other hopefuls for the race, and Military Major joined the field for owner George Steinbrenner.

Both horses will be stretching out around two turns for the 1 1/4-mile Super Derby. Military Major worked five furlongs in a bullet 58.40 seconds in his final prep Monday. The Daddy, who won his maiden over six furlongs in 1:09, faced Lost in the Fog last out, and finished fourth to him in the Grade 1 King's Bishop.

The Meadowlands Racetrack opens its 29th Thoroughbred meeting on Friday night, with its two richest races - the $250,000 Pegasus Stakes and $500,000 Meadowlands Cup - to be run the first week and likely to draw horses on course for the Breeders' Cup at Belmont Park on Oct. 29.

The Grade 3 Pegasus, for 3-year-olds at 1 1/8 miles, tops an opening night card that includes three other stakes races. The Grade 2 Meadowlands Cup follows on Oct. 7.

Tuesday, the prospective Pegasus field was at four - Park Avenue Ball, Magna Graduate, Andromeda's Hero, and Network.

ARCADIA, Calif. - Both Apalachee Tiger and Follow the Rainbow scored consecutive victories at Del Mar, and they will try to extend their streaks in Thursday's featured $49,000 allowance race at Santa Anita's Oak Tree meeting.

As far as Bob Baffert is concerned, either can win, since he trains both. But the Baffert duo - who race as separate betting interests because of different ownership - face formidable challenges from Steal Your Thunder, who is dropping out of stakes races at Del Mar, and Aragorn, a European newcomer.

ETOBICOKE, Ontario - Duchess Stakes runner-up Hatpin deserves top billing in Thursday's Woodbine feature, an $80,000 optional claimer at seven furlongs.

Hatpin is in the midst of a productive 3-year-old campaign for trainer Mark Frostad, winning 2 of 7 starts while banking $177,033. After winning a six-furlong allowance on the main track May 15, she won the Alywow Stakes, a 6 1/2-furlong grass race, with authority in June.

ARCADIA, Calif. - The final week of the Del Mar meeting, trainer Dan Hendricks had the choice of running Brother Derek in the Del Mar Futurity or in the I'm Smokin against California-breds two days earlier. Hendricks took what seemed the path of least resistance, running Brother Derek in the I'm Smokin, and he has been angry at himself ever since.

"It didn't work out, and I take the blame," Hendricks said.

POMONA, Calif. - Less produced more this fall at Fairplex Park, where a shortened race meet generated record handle for the Los Angeles County Fair meet, which ended Monday. Fairplex trimmed its meet by a day, racing 16 days with Tuesdays off, and the experiment produced all-time high handle of $113.8 million, a daily average of $7.1 million. The total handle was $4.6 million above the previous high over a 17-day meet in 2003.

SAN MATEO, Calif. - There were lots of reasons why trainer Art Sherman and client Robert Bone liked Ugotadowhatugotado when they claimed her for $25,000 on Sept. 10.

One was that they knew there would be a race for her like Thursday's Bay Meadows feature, a $32,000 claiming sprint for fillies and mares at five furlongs on the turf.

"I thought she came out of a very productive race," Sherman said. "She'll be sitting just off the pace here."

ANDERSON, Ind. - Participants for Saturday's Grade 2, $500,000 Indiana Derby began filing in Tuesday morning as a field of anywhere from eight to 11 horses was expected to enter Wednesday morning for the 1 1/16-mile centerpiece of the Hoosier Park meet.

Scrappy T, the runner-up in the Preakness, was due in Tuesday afternoon on the heels of his five-furlong tune-up in 1:00 at Bowie on Sunday morning. Also on the grounds or expected in during the day were Purim, Southern Africa, and Greater Good. It's Time to Smile was also expected to arrive from his Penn National base Tuesday.