VANCOUVER, British Columbia - Feu Express, fresh off a win in the $66,000 CTHS Sales Stakes on Sept. 10, figures to be favored over four other 2-year-olds in the feature race at Hastings on Friday. The $50,000 optional race at 6 1/2 furlongs also drew Mighty Cahill, who won his debut by 11 1/4 lengths.

AUBURN, Wash. - Two-year-olds will take center stage at Emerald Downs on Friday when half of the eight-race card, including the feature, will be devoted to juveniles .

The seventh-race feature at 5 1/2 furlongs will match six 2-year-old fillies, each eligible to be claimed for $30,000 to $25,000.

ELMONT, N.Y. - Funny Cide's troubled 5-year-old season is over.

A recurring back problem has forced trainer Barclay Tagg to pull Funny Cide out of training for a minimum of 30 days. He will be pointed to a 6-year-old campaign.

MIAMI - Shady Woman has flirted with stakes success the past two seasons but despite some big efforts is still without a stakes victory on her resume. That situation could finally be rectified Friday when Shady Woman takes on six rivals, including the red-hot Mystical Beauty, in Calder's $40,000 Cinnamon Girl Stakes.

STICKNEY, Ill. - Driving without traffic by expressway it is 33 minutes from Arlington Park to Hawthorne Race Course. Aesthetically, they're about a light year apart. Grape arbors and suburban streets ring Arlington. One local highlight last spring at Hawthorne was a sunken barge being dredged up from an industrial shipping canal that lies a couple hundred yards from the track.

Back in 2003, four groups were bidding to open a racetrack in rural southeastern New Mexico. On Friday, that track will become a reality when Zia Park in Hobbs opens its inaugural 44-date meet for Thoroughbreds and Quarter Horses.

Zia, a racino built at a cost of $45 million to $50 million, has been operating a slots parlor since November. The track is the fifth to open in the state, joining Ruidoso Downs, Sunland Park, Sun Ray Park, and The Downs at Albuquerque.

STICKNEY, Ill. - Saturday's should provide a perfect prep for Perfect Drift, who will go on to the Oct. 29 Breeders' Cup Classic if plans hold. The timing of the Gold Cup, four weeks out from the big one, is ideal, and Perfect Drift shouldn't have to produce a gut-wrenching effort to win or at least run creditably on Saturday.

Eight older horses, including two-time race winner Rochester, have been entered to square off Saturday in the $200,000 , the annual showcase race at Kentucky Downs.

The KC Turf, a Grade 3 race at 1 1/2 miles, shapes up as a competitive race with no apparent standout. Habaneros and Pellegrino, both in from Southern California, and the locally based Silverfoot all could vie for favoritism.

SAN MATEO, Calif. - Five talented older runners will meet in Friday's feature at Bay Meadows, a $40,000 claimer at one mile.

The race marks the return of 9-year-old stakes winner . Although both he and his 7-year-old stablemate, Cappucino Kid, have won nearly $700,000 between them, they have their work cut out for them.

, who won two straight at this distance at Del Mar, seems the one to beat as he moves into the barn of trainer John Martin. He can set sprinter-style fractions and appears able to carry his speed the distance.

BOSSIER CITY, La. - Friday's optional claiming feature at Louisiana Downs is loaded with options for bettors. There are several entrants sporting near-misses in their last starts, as well as some maiden winners and veteran claiming performers. As a result, the public will likely have a difficult time determining a favorite in the six-furlong race.