VANCOUVER, British Columbia - The sale of Hastings Entertainment, owner of Hastings racetrack, from Woodbine Entertainment Group to Great Canadian Gaming Corporation was finalized Wednesday. The purchase price of $20.1 million includes $8.9 million for the outstanding shares of Hastings Entertainment, $4 million as working capital to reduce existing debt, and the other assumption of existing liabilities.

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. - It's a good bet trainer Rick Violette had a smile on his face when he boarded his flight Thursday afternoon for New York, where he'll saddle Swingforthefences in Saturday's Wood Memorial. That's because several hours earlier his top Kentucky Derby prospect, Read the Footnotes, worked a mile in 1:39.80 at Palm Meadows.

"It was wonderful," Violette said of the work. "Stride for stride, I don't know if I'd change a single one during the breeze."

Violette said went his opening half mile in 51 seconds, then came home the second half in 48.80.

SAN MATEO, Calif. - The home team may be tough to beat in Saturday's $75,000-added Miss America Handicap at Bay Meadows.

Locally based A B Noodle will be the highweight in the 1 1/16-mile turf race. She carries 117 pounds, one more than local arch-rival Hooked on Niners, in the field of 10.

After a disappointing 4-year-old season, the 5-year-old A B Noodle is back at the top of her game with two wins in addition to a strong third-place finish in the Grade 3 Brown Bess Handicap at Golden Gate Fields this year.

CALGARY, Alberta - Dance Me Free, Alberta's champion juvenile colt in 2001, tries for his second victory of the season in Saturday's optional claimer at Stampede that attracted a solid field of 10 older horses.

A 5-year-old, Dance Me Free posted a head victory over favored Boldanzar in his seasonal debut April 3 while finishing in 44 seconds, just a fifth off the four-furlong track record held jointly by Hafta Nafta and Adventuresome Love.

PORTLAND, Ore. - Poker Brad will accept a highweight assignment of 123 pounds when he tries to defend his Portland Meadows Mile crown against six challengers in Saturday's 37th running of the track's most prestigious race.

The $40,000 Portland Meadows Mile tops a 10-race program that includes the $10,000 Donna Jensen Handicap for older fillies and mares at 1 1/16 miles and the $6,500 Flashaway Owners' Handicap for sprinters at five furlongs.

Saturday's $50,000 Fire Plug Stakes at Pimlico could mark a changing of the guard among Maryland's older sprinters.

Elder statesmen Sassy Hound, Crossing Point, and Out of Fashion will be challenged by 2003 Triple Crown prospect Cherokee's Boy and two other promising 4-year-olds in the six-furlong Fire Plug.

Nick's Delight, who won his last two starts, both at seven furlongs, by a combined margin of 11 1/4 lengths, is the 121-pound highweight and clear-cut favorite in Saturday night's $40,000 Potomac Handicap, the first stakes of the season at Charles Town. A seven-furlong race, the Potomac Handicap is restricted to West Virginia-breds.

LEXINGTON, Ky. - Birdstone has been scratched from Saturday's Blue Grass Stakes because of a high white blood cell count, Keeneland officials announced Thursday afternoon.

Nick Zito, who trains Birdstone, called Keeneland racing secretary Ben Huffman shortly before 4 p.m. with the development.

Zito could not be reached immediately for comment.

This is the latest setback Zito has suffered this spring with his Kentucky Derby prospects. Another of his 3-year-olds, Eurosilver, was removed from contention for the Derby last week because of an infection in his neck.

A field of 11 horses has been entered for Saturday's Grade 1 $750,000 Wood Memorial at 1 1/8 miles at Aqueduct. The field will be led by Bobby Frankel trainee Master David, who drew post position No. 5 and has been installed as the 5-2 morning line favorite with Alex Solis aboard. Master David will be making his first start in two months after last being seen winning the Sham Stakes at Santa Anita on Feb. 8 over a field that included Kentucky Derby contenders Borrego, Preachinatthebar, and Action This Day.

Congaree was stricken with colic within hours of arriving at Keeneland late Wednesday and was not entered in Saturday's Commonwealth Breeders' Cup.

Congaree was back in his stall Thursday morning, but that followed a 16-hour process that resulted in Congaree being taken to the nearby Hagyard-Davidson-McGee veterinary clinic, according to his trainer, Bob Baffert.