SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - For those keeping score, West Virginia has beaten Chowder's First twice in stakes. When they last met, Chowder's First was a neck winner over West Virginia in the Cab Calloway on Aug. 4.

face each other in Wednesday's $150,000-added Albany at Saratoga. The Albany is the final leg of OTBs' Big Apple Triple for New York-bred 3-year-olds.

The 12-horse field for the 1 1/8-mile Albany also includes Don Corleone, who won the second leg of the Big Apple Triple, the New York Derby, at Finger Lakes on July 17.

Mary Ellen McKee and her husband, Bob, are big racing fans, having owned racehorses since the late 1960's. Like so many other people, they watched with fervent interest as Smarty Jones made his way through the Triple Crown series this spring.

ETOBICOKE, Ontario - Speed was the dominant style in Woodbine's turf sprints last week. If the trend continues, it should aid stakes winner Dressed for Action in Wednesday's feature.

A field of seven fillies and mares was drawn for the optional $80,000 claimer, which will be run at 6 1/2 furlongs.

Dressed for Action, a 4-year-old trained by Tony Mattine, won her first stakes last summer over this course, in the 6 1/2-furlong Ontario Damsel. She also finished second in the 2003 Bold Ruckus Stakes.

Spotlight came home a 3 1/2-length winner over runner-up Mambo Slew in Monday's $150,000 at Saratoga.

Fortunate Damsel finished third, three-quarters of a length behind Mambo Slew, in the seven-horse field of 3-year-old fillies.

The Grade 2 Lake Placid, a 1 1/8-mile grass race, was Spotlight's second race in this country. She won her American debut at Belmont Park on July 23.

The Charles Town Races will reopen for live racing Wednesday after the completion of construction to upgrade the track, which cost between $7 million and 8 million.

During the three weeks the track was closed, workers installed a new racing surface with banked turns, a stadium-style drainage system designed to reduce cancellations due to bad weather, and high-tech lighting.

OCEANPORT, N.J. - Trainer Martin Ciresa will look for an easier spot next time out for Presidentialaffair.

A 5-year-old gelding, Presidentialaffair was no match for the very impressive Ghostzapper in the Grade 3, $200,000 Philip H. Iselin Breeders' Cup Handicap Saturday at Monmouth Park.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. - Baseball Hall of Famer Ernie Banks would probably enjoy going to the California State Fair on Friday.

Banks is famous for saying, "Let's play two" when he arrived at the ballpark.

The State Fair, which opens Wednesday, will offer racing fans a doubleheader Friday with a nine-race afternoon card beginning at 1 p.m. and an eight-race evening card beginning at 6 p.m.

Director of racing Dave Elliott has never been accused of failure to think outside the box, and he knows Friday's experimental doubleheader could be a big flop.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. - Each track on the northern California fair circuit provides daily giveaways for fans attending the races, but there's an interesting twist to the giveaway at the California State Fair.

Most fairs do a "win-place-show" promotion, with fans dropping entries in boxes corresponding to post position numbers for a certain race. Winners are drawn after the race from the boxes of the win, place, and show horses, with each winner receiving a betting voucher.

Lone Star Sky, the champion Florida-bred 2-year-old of 2002, has been retired because of a persistent foot problem, trainer Tom Amoss said Monday.

Lone Star Sky had not raced since December, although Amoss and owner Buddy New had been attempting to bring him back to action.

"We were hoping to get him back to the track, but the foot just wouldn't heal up right," said Amoss. "He was real good to us, so we thought we'd give him the benefit of the doubt and stop on him."

ETOBICOKE, Ontario - South Bay Cove soared to the top of her class here at Woodbine on Sunday, taking the $175,750 Ontario Debutante in a highly professional fashion.

Although she was coming off a romping win over fellow Canadian-bred 2-year-old fillies here in the 5 1/2-furlong Shady Well, South Bay Cove was facing a more difficult test as she moved into open company for the six-furlong Ontario Debutante.