MIAMI, Fla. - When Calder racing secretary Bob Umphrey was checking his list of potential starters for the $500,000 Princess Rooney Handicap on July 10, the names read like a who's who of the filly and mare sprint division.

"It appears Bear Fan, Lady Tak, and Randaroo are definite," Umphrey said Saturday. "And both Harmony Lodge and Ebony Breeze are also under serious consideration. Right now I'd liken this race to the Breeders' Cup Distaff Sprint, except they don't have one. But I do."

INGLEWOOD, Calif. - ran so fast in his May 31 debut at Calder that trainer Bob Baffert and owner James McIngvale just had to buy him. The goal was not the $75,000 Haggin Stakes for 2-year-olds on Sunday at Hollywood Park.

But when Actxecutive turned in a sharp workout Monday and came out of the drill in such good shape, Baffert and McIngvale just had to enter the Haggin.

"That work really woke him up, it's like a light went on," Baffert said. "He's blowing fire."

ELMONT, N.Y. - With limited stakes opportunities for New York-bred turf fillies and mares, it's no surprise that Sunday's Mount Vernon Handicap drew enough entries to prompt the Belmont Park racing office to split the race in two divisions.

Twenty-one of the 41 nominated fillies and mares were entered. Each division, worth $75,000, has 10 horses entered to run on turf. The second division, run as the eighth race, has one horse entered for main-track only purposes. The Mount Vernon is scheduled for 1 1/8 miles on the inner turf.

SHAKOPEE, Minn. - Nine fillies and mares face the toughest assignment of their careers in the $100,000 Lady Canterbury Breeders' Cup Stakes at Canterbury Park on Sunday.

SAN MATEO, Calif. - Trainer Jerry Hollendorfer will be sorry to see the Bay Meadows spring meeting end Sunday, but he may still have a smile on his face at the end of the day.

He sends out Ninebanks, Boss Ego, and Adreamisborn in the closing-day feature, the $55,000-added Foster City Handicap at 1 1/16 miles on turf. Five other entrants have signed up to face the Hollendorfer trio.

ETOBICOKE, Ontario - One for Rose and Winning Chance will renew their one-sided rivalry at Woodbine on Sunday in the $131,250 Ontario Matron Handicap, a 1 1/16-mile test for fillies and mares.

One for Rose was voted the 2003 Sovereign Award for champion older female, mainly because of her two convincing stakes triumphs and the three triple-digit Beyer Figures she earned.

AUBURN, Wash. - Trainer Tim McCanna will play a strong hand when he sends out Willie the Cat and Poker Brad to meet six others in Sunday's one mile, $75,000 Budweiser Emerald Handicap at Emerald Downs.

VANCOUVER,British Columbia - Bold 'n Keen was the best sprinter in the province last year, but he's going to have his hands full when he faces a very sharp Dancewithavictor in a 6 1/2-furlong allowance race at Hastings on Sunday.

CALGARY, Alberta - Shy Lil came from far back in a field of nine 3-year-old fillies to win the Lilac with a determined bid on the outside, but she faces a much different task Sunday in the Penny Ridge. The defection of five of the nominees to the $40,000 Penny Ridge, including the speedy Alta Aire and Down to Dixie who just missed in the one-mile Lilac, would seem to turn this race in favor of Cypriata.

Churchill Downs Inc. was named as the stalking-horse bidder in a bankruptcy court motion filed Thursday over the proposed auction of Fair Grounds Race Course, according to Douglas Draper, an attorney representing Fair Grounds.

The filing confirms Churchill's position as a central player in the ongoing Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization of Fair Grounds, though no details of the bid have been made public.

Draper, a bankruptcy attorney, filed the motion, which is a request for an extension of Fair Grounds's exclusive right to file a Chapter 11 bankruptcy plan.