ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, Ill. - In what may ultimately prove a cruel twist, a horse that many people regarded as the pride of Illinois racing may have met a premature end to his career on an afternoon that is the pride of Illinois racing.

Mystery Giver, the standout turf horse who was trying to give the Illinois breeding program its first win in the Arlington Million on Saturday, was one of 13 starters in the Million, the state's premier race. But somewhere during the Million's 1 1/4 miles, something went awry with Mystery Giver, and now his career may be finished.

DEL MAR, Calif. - A proposal that would significantly raise the weights that horses carry in Thoroughbred races in California has divided factions of the sport and will be the focus of what is expected to be a contentious California Horse Racing Board meeting on Thursday.

If approved, the rule change would allow jockeys to ride at higher weights. The rule is intended to address long-standing health concerns among jockeys, who ride at far below their natural weight.

SAN MATEO, Calif. - Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger hopes to have an agreement in place before the end of the week that will allow one of the biggest casinos in the United States to operate seven miles from Golden Gate Fields, the Los Angeles Times reported Tuesday.

The facility would be in San Pablo at the current site of a card club called Casino San Pablo. The facility would be enlarged to 500,000 square feet and would offer 5,000 slot machines, 1,800 more than the largest single casino in Las Vegas.

Despite more than half of its races being of the non-Thoroughbred variety, the Humboldt County Fair showed a 14 percent increase in handle through its first four days.

The fair's two marquee events come this weekend with the $10,000-added Les Mademoiselle Stakes/Don Harmon Memorial on Saturday and the $12,500-added C.J. Hindley Humboldt County Marathon on Sunday.

ETOBICOKE, Ontario - Mobil was in tough in last Saturday's Grade 1 Arlington Million, facing some of the best turf horses in the world at 1 1/4 miles.

In contention for the first mile under jockey Jono Jones, Mobil finished 8 1/4 lengths back as the ninth-place finisher in the field of 13.

According to Mike Keogh, who trains Mobil but did not make the trip to Chicago, Mobil returned to Woodbine in good order.

"He's fine," said Keogh on Tuesday. "He's turned out this morning."

AUBURN, Wash. - With 20 days of the 90-day meeting remaining, the race for leading trainer is the tightest since 1998, when Jim Penney broke a tie with Tim McCanna by sending out Kitty's Link to win the Washington Championship on the final day of the meet.

McCanna, who has won five Emerald training championships, including the last four, tops the standings with 40 wins. Frank Lucarelli, who won the title in 1999, is just two wins back at 38. Penney has 37 wins, and Sharon Ross, who won the first Emerald training title in 1996, has 33.

AUBURN, Wash. - Royal Place is likely to head a full field of 12 in Sunday's 69th running of the Grade 3, $250,000 Longacres Mile.

Owner Bobby Cox, who has already won both a Grade 1 futurity and derby at Ruidoso Downs this summer, looks to stay hot when Ruidoso Futurity winner All About Ease runs in the All American Futurity trials Thursday afternoon and Rainbow Derby winner Brimmerton races in the All American Derby trials Friday afternoon.

Cox should like his horses' chances of qualifying for the premier futurity and derby at Ruidoso Downs, since All About Ease and Brimmerton have combined to win 11 of 15 lifetime starts, with 13 of those starts in graded stakes (11 Grade 1) or trials.

Fair Grounds Race Course and the horse owner and businessman Mike Pegram came to terms on a partnership Monday, giving Fair Grounds the finances to pay off a $25 million settlement with a Louisiana horsemen's group, and giving Pegram some degree of control over Fair Grounds.

Few details of the agreement between Pegram and Fair Grounds were disclosed Monday night. Representatives of Bryan Krantz, Fair Grounds's president, general manager, and majority shareholder, declined to offer specific information concerning the plan, as did Pegram, who was reached via cell phone.

DEL MAR, Calif. - Choctaw Nation, Pleasantly Perfect, and During were the first three across the wire in the San Diego Handicap two weeks ago. They will meet again this Sunday, in the $1 million Pacific Classic, and on Monday, all three turned in their final drills for the biggest and richest race of the meet at Del Mar.