LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The Van Berg legacy carries quite a bit of weight at Churchill Downs. Hall of Fame trainer Jack Van Berg saddled Alysheba to win the 1987 Kentucky Derby and 1988 Breeders' Cup Classic at Churchill, and his 335 career wins are fourth-highest in Churchill Downs history.

OZONE PARK, N.Y. - Bossanova likely will try to play "catch me if you can" when he seeks his first graded stakes victory in Thursday's Grade 3, $100,000 Fall Highweight Handicap at Aqueduct.

The Fall Highweight ignites HolidayFest, a four-day period in which Aqueduct will host six stakes. The Fall Highweight, run at six furlongs, is the featured event on a nine-race Thanksgiving Day card that begins at 11 a.m. Last post is 2:37 p.m.

OZONE PARK, N.Y. - Trainer Bob Baffert is battling the flu, which may keep him home in Southern California this weekend. Unfortunately for Baffert's New York colleagues with designs on Saturday's Grade 1 Cigar Mile, his horse, Congaree, is doing just fine.

Congaree on Tuesday completed preparations for the $350,000 Cigar Mile by working four furlongs in 46.80 seconds at Santa Anita. It was the second fastest of 31 moves at the distance and should have Congaree primed to defend the Cigar title he won a year ago.

Magna Entertainment Corp. has decided to end its experiment with Instant Racing video gambling machines at Portland Meadows.

The machines, which offer wagering on replays of previously run but unidentified races, have been highly successful at Oaklawn Park.

About 20 machines were installed this past summer at nearby Multnomah Greyhound Park, like Portand Meadows owned by Magna Entertainment. After a slow start, the daily handle for those machines grew to about $1,500 per day.

NEW ORLEANS - Bonapaw was asleep in the dark corner of his stall Monday morning at Fair Grounds. The old man needs his rest.

Bonapaw is 7 and turns 8 in five weeks, but on opening day at Fair Grounds he will be asked to win the Thanksgiving Handicap for the third time in his illustrious career, something no horse has ever done. The Bonapaw of old was the horse to beat in Fair Grounds sprint stakes, but this time, Bonapaw must prove he still can run with the likes of Posse, the 3-year-old colt who will be heavily favored Thursday.

NEW ORLEANS - Meet-opening press conferences are supposed to showcase fluff. Welcome. We hope to have a great meet. See you out at the track.

But at Fair Grounds late Tuesday morning, at a press luncheon, the track's president and general manager, Bryan Krantz, found it impossible to sidestep the issues dogging his racetrack. At Fair Grounds right now, one does not go long without hearing the words "slots," "lawsuit," and "settlement," and they came up again Tuesday.

INGLEWOOD, Calif. - It is usually Bobby Frankel who is the hunted, with everyone taking shots at him as he sends out the top choices in major stakes races. But on Thursday at Hollywood Park, Frankel will do the hunting with longshot Watchem Smokey.

Frankel will try to knock off California's best sprinter, Avanzado, who figures to be an overwhelming favorite in the $100,000 Vernon O. Underwood Stakes.

INGLEWOOD, Calif. - Think you can't have too much of a good thing? Think again.

Southern California racing lately has been plagued by short fields, but there are so many 3-year-olds being considered for Sunday's Grade 1, $600,000 Hollywood Derby that several horses might be excluded from the field.

ETOBICOKE, Ontario - Heading into the 2002 season, Affirmed Feeling was seen as a potential Queen's Plate horse.

Owned and bred by Ivan Dalos and trained by David Bell, Affirmed Feeling had closed out his juvenile campaign with a rallying third-place finish in the 1 1/8-mile Coronation Futurity, looking like the sort who would thrive at the Plate's 1 1/4-mile distance.

Affirmed Feeling did end up racing on Queen's Plate Day, but his appearance came about 40 minutes after the feature, in a 1 1/8-mile maiden race where he finished seventh.

ALBANY, Calif. - Miss Bridget Jones, who will be making her first start since finishing fourth in the Grade 2 Hollywood Breeders' Cup Oaks in June, will vie for favoritism with Devil Dancing in Golden Gate Fields' Thanksgiving feature, a six-furlong, $80,000 optional claimer for fillies and mares.