OZONE PARK, N.Y. - A fast pace set things up perfectly for Bending Strings to win Saturday's $150,000 First Flight Handicap at Aqueduct by 5 3/4 lengths over Smokey Glacken.

Ridden by Shaun Bridgmohan, Bending Strings, a slight 2-1 favorite over Smokey Glacken, raced fifth down the backstretch of the seven-furlong First Flight. Smokey Glacken, Schedule, and Sensibly Chic, battled through swift early fractions. After a half-mile in 44.65 seconds, Bending Strings made a wide sweeping move around the turn and gained the lead in upper stretch.

LEXINGTON, Ky. - Owner Will Farish and trainer Neil Howard did not have a starter in this year's Breeders' Cup, but they still had a good day Saturday. Their older horses Midway Road and Alumni Hall finished first and third in the Grade 3, $161,250 on closing day of the Keeneland fall meet.

A pair of 2-year-olds who ran well on Maryland Million Day swept the co-features at Pimlico on Saturday afternoon.

Golden Malibu ($3.40), third in the Maryland Million Lassie, overtook recent maiden winner Take a Check at the eighth pole and pulled away by two lengths in the $75,000 Heavenly Lass for 2-year-old Maryland-bred fillies. She ran the six furlongs in 1:11.94.

Monster Chaser ($9.80) ran down pacesetter Bank on the Champ in deep stretch to take the $75,000 Rollicking for 2-year-old Maryland-breds by 1 1/4 lengths.

Trainers based in Boston and New York took the final two stakes of the season at Delaware Park.

Joyous Song ($7.40), trained by Suffolk-based George Handy, ran down tiring pacesetter Partners Due to win the $50,300 Hildene Stakes for 2-year-old fillies by a length.

Smokin Forest ($4.20), a maiden from Todd Pletcher's barn making only his second career start, held off Feverish Affair by a neck in the $50,300 M. Tyson Gilpin for 2-year-olds.

Both six-furlong stakes were restricted to Virginia-breds or the offspring of sires standing in Virginia.

Last Answer ($32.10) circled into contention on the far turn and held off a closing Rainbows for Luck in the stretch to capture the $108,000 Chief Bearhart Stakes at Woodbine.

Jono Jones rated Last Answer about five lengths off the early pace in the 1 1/4-mile event, as Sky Diamond and My Pal Lana dueled through honest fractions over a course labeled yielding.

OZONE PARK, N.Y. - The pressure is already on John Servis, the trainer of the undefeated Rockport Harbor, who will make his stakes debut in Tuesday's $100,000-added Nashua Stakes for 2-year-olds at Aqueduct.

Servis trained this year's Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner, Smarty Jones, who is now retired. At this time last year, Smarty Jones was an unknown, but Rockport Harbor is already getting some press in his hometown of Philadelphia because of his connections.

PORTLAND, Ore. - Portland Meadows was forced to cancel its scheduled nine-race card on Friday night after the lights failed to operate. A high voltage electrician could not be located in time to save the program.

Azoom won his seventh race of the Sam Houston Race Park meet when he captured the $1 million Texas Classic Futurity for Quarter Horses by 1 3/4 lengths over Bigtime Favorite. The win was his third futurity score of the meet, following the $283,422 Texas Quarter Horse Association Futurity and the $350,000 Sam Houston Futurity.

Azoom ($2.60) led throughout the 400-yard race, covering the distance in 19.85 seconds. Rodrigo Vallejo rode the winner for Enrique Carron and trainer Frank Cavazos. Azoom earned $432,769 for winning the Grade 1 Texas Classic Futurity.

GRAND PRAIRIE, Texas - Lone Star Park had handled more than $7.6 million from all sources by 8 p.m. on Friday, crushing its previous record of $7.2 million with three more hours of incoming simulcasts being offered to patrons. The track also set a live handle record on Friday, one day before it was to host the Breeders' Cup World Thoroughbred Championships.

Handle on the 11-race card was $6,365,758, topping the mark of $6,076,969 the track set on May 28, 2001, during a program of stakes called Lone Star Million Day.

Yearly Report set a track record at Lone Star Park on Friday when she stormed to a 9 1/4-length victory in the $150,000 Stonerside, covering seven furlongs in a blazing 1:20.67. The race, for 3-year-old fillies, was one of three stakes on the card as part of Lone Star's build-up to the Breeders' Cup. Attendance for the program was 25,015.

Earlier on the card, Pollard's Vision won the Grade 3, $250,000 Lone Star Derby, and Silent Overdrive captured the $150,000 Refrigerator Handicap for Quarter Horses.