CHICAGO - The trainer Larry Rivelli won five races last week at Arlington Park, and seven of the last 10 horses he has started here have finished first, two others second. It is his best stretch ever at Arlington, but even the hot streak could not get Nicole's Dream home in Sunday's overnight handicap feature. An ace turf sprinter, Nicole's Dream was beaten at her own game by a Kentucky shipper named Dyna Da Wyna.

"That's a nice horse," Rivelli said Monday morning. "The way I looked at it, Nicole got beat by a better horse."

VALLEJO, Calif. - When racing first started at the Solano County Fair in 1950, it marked the beginning of the fair racing season, and the fair itself was called the "Biggest Little Fair in the World."

Times have changed, and the 2004 season, which begins Wednesday, could mark the end of racing at the seven-furlong track.

Attendance is poor, falling 23 percent last year. Even though the on-track handle was up, the fair's overall handle of $25 million was well below the handle at both the Pleasanton and Santa Rosa fairs, whose dates sandwich the Solano dates.

ETOBICOKE, Ontario - Niigon and A Bit O'Gold, the one-two finishers in the 1 1/4-mile Queen's Plate here June 27, head a prospective field of eight for Sunday's $500,000 Prince of Wales Stakes at Fort Erie.

The 1 3/16-mile Prince of Wales follows the Queen's Plate in the Canadian Triple Crown series, which concludes with the $500,000 Breeders' over 1 1/2 miles on turf here Aug. 8.

Niigon, owned by Chiefswood Stable and trained by Eric Coatrieux, would earn a $500,000 bonus if he were to sweep the series.

Lone Star Park closed out its 63-date spring meet on Sunday with a 1 percent increase in attendance and an 8 percent decline in handle on its live races compared with the corresponding season a year ago.

Handle from all sources averaged $3.07 million, down 2.8 percent from last year.

Lone Star averaged 8,710 patrons a program this meet, while handle on the track's races from all sources averaged $2,299,520.

Lone Star's strength this meet was handle on imported races, which was up 11 percent from last year to a record average of $704,072 a day.

ETOBICOKE, Ontario - It's not hard to make a case for Super Case in Wednesday's Woodbine feature, an $80,000 optional claimer at six furlongs on the grass.

Super Case has the same connections as I'm the Tiger, the winner of last Sunday's Bold Venture Handicap - Stronach Stable, trainer Danny Vella, and jockey Todd Kabel, who is the runaway leading rider at the Woodbine meeting.

EDMONTON, Alberta - Red Smith's shed row wasn't as joyful as you would expect last Saturday after Deputy Country went wire to wire here, winning the Spangled Jimmy Handicap. After all, uncoupled stablemate Fancy As went down to a crushing defeat in his first loss on an Alberta track.

ETOBICOKE, Ontario - Mike Keogh signed on as a trainer for Stronach Stable this spring, and saddled his first winner for the outfit here Sunday when Hour of Justice took the prep for the Royal North Handicap.

Hour of Justice was just the second Stronach starter for Keogh and his first career winner for any owner other than Gustav Schickedanz.

Keogh took on some additional clients last year after beginning his career as a private trainer for owner and breeder Schickedanz in 1993.

GRAND PRAIRIE, Texas - Berdelia ran down Rockin Regent through the stretch for a three-quarter-length win in the $125,000 fillies division of the Texas Stallion Stakes.

Rockin Regent held second, a length in front of third-place finisher Timber Jones.

Berdelia raced several lengths off a hot pace, with Magnolia Belle and Rockin' Kate dueling through fractions of 21.75 seconds for the opening quarter and 45.27 for the half-mile. Berdelia kicked into high gear in the stretch, and went on to cover 5 1/2 furlongs in 1:04.70.

FORT ERIE, Ontario - Another prohibitive favorite bit the dust here Sunday as Forever Grand, sent off at 1-20, finished second to Domascas Consort in the $75,000, 1 1/16 mile .

Last Sunday, Eye of the Sphynx had finished second to Touchnow as the 3-20 choice in the Labatt Bison City.

Forever Grand, runner-up in the Sovereign Award voting in both the older horse and sprinter categories last year, seemed to lay over the Addison field, particularly when morning-line favorite Barbeau Ruckus was scratched.

ELMONT, N.Y. - Medallist turned in an eye-popping performance to win Sunday's $150,000 at Belmont Park by 3 3/4 lengths in near-track record time.

The Cliff's Edge, the 3-5 favorite coupled in the wagering with Sir Shackleton, finished second. Sir Shackleton finished third, a half-length behind The Cliff's Edge.

It was another 14 1/2 lengths back to Golden Look, who was followed under the wire by Preachinatthebar and Shaniko in the 1 1/16-mile race for 3-year-olds. Ecclesiastic scratched.