LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Elliott Walden is hoping the wait is worth it. Walden scratched Dyna Da Wyna out of the Mrs. Revere Stakes last weekend in the hope that the 3-year-old filly would have a better chance to win Saturday when she faces older rivals in the Cardinal Handicap at Churchill Downs.

"There were two Grade 1 winners in the Mrs. Revere, and the turf was soft," said Walden. "I thought this might end up being a little better spot, and we also had the chance to get Pat Day, and he seems to do well with her. The Cardinal is a tough race, though."

MIAMI - Three weeks ago Eddie Castro Jr. was in the thick of a four-way battle among the nation's apprentice riders in both wins and money earned. But after winning a staggering 33 races since the opening of the Tropical at Calder meeting on Breeders' Cup Day, Castro has become the clear-cut favorite to become the 2003 Eclipse Award winner in the apprentice jockey division.

PORTLAND, Ore. - Americas Pride will be an overwhelming favorite in Saturday's six-furlong Lassie Stakes for 2-year-old fillies, and it's easy to see why.

Americas Pride, a daughter of promising young sire Baquero, has won 4 of 9 starts, including two stakes, and none of her rivals on Saturday has yet defeated winners. Americas Pride is coming off an eight-length romp in the six-furlong Janet Wineberg Stakes for Oregon-bred fillies in her Portland Meadows debut, and trainer Linda Northam said that she continues to thrive.

A casino housing 1,627 slot machines at the future site of Evangeline Downs is scheduled to open on Dec. 19, three months earlier than expected. The track's racing operations will move to the site, in Opelousas, La., in 2005, but revenue from slots will benefit purses immediately, beginning with the Thoroughbred meet that opens April 1, 2004.

Foufa's Warrior is 0 for 2 running against Barclay Tagg-trained 3-year-olds on dirt in Maryland.

In mid-May, Foufa's Warrior finished 16 lengths behind Funny Cide in the Preakness. Four months later, Foufa's Warrior was upset by Conservation in the Humphrey S. Finney at Pimlico.

Back on dirt for Saturday's $75,000 Northern Dancer Stakes at Laurel Park, Foufa's Warrior will once again have to deal with a shipper from Tagg's New York-based barn.

Seven of the 14 2-year-old colts and geldings scheduled to run in the $50,000 Pennsylvania Nursery are jumping into the stakes ranks immediately after winning their maiden.

The seven-furlong Nursery, formerly known as the Pennsylvania Futurity, is the last stakes of the season at Philadelphia Park.

The group of recent maiden winners is led by Smarty Jones and Salty Punch, both of whom earned good Beyer Speed Figures.

This week marks a period of transition at Hawthorne Race Course near Chicago. Fans have enjoyed a steady diet of six-figure stakes during six of the first eight weekends of the meet, but the pickings start to get slim as winter approaches. In fact, no stakes, overnight or otherwise, are scheduled this weekend.

Saturday's 6 1/2-furlong feature, a $32,000 three-other-than allowance with a $35,000 claiming option, has attracted a solid field and showcases a rematch between two 4-year-old geldings who were separated by a head in their only other encounter.

Questionable Past, who has not been tested in three starts on dirt, will take on two Steve Asmussen-trained fillies in the $35,000 Miss Houston Stakes at Sam Houston Race Park on Saturday night. The seven-furlong race for 2-year-old fillies drew six, including leading contenders Bigtimeaffair and Rare Glitter, both of whom are trained by Asmussen.

Questionable Past has won three of her four starts, with her lone defeat coming in a two-turn turf race in her debut in August. After that start, she stormed to a 9 1/2-length maiden win over 5 1/2 furlongs at Retama.

ETOBICOKE, Ontario - The clock is ticking for jockey Todd Kabel, who is hoping to break the Ontario record for the most stakes winners in a season.

Kabel, who tops the Woodbine standings in both races and money won, has won 29 stakes here heading into the next-to-last weekend of the meeting. There are five stakes races remaining, and Kabel should be represented in each one.

The Ontario record, 32 stakes wins, was set by the late Avelino Gomez in 1966.

VANCOUVER, British Columbia - It's usually difficult for a horse or person based in British Columbia to win a Sovereign Award. The best racing in Canada is held at Woodbine in Ontario, and that province has the largest Sovereign Award voting bloc.

But this year may be different. There is not a standout in the 3-year-old filly division at Woodbine, while Dancewithavixen, at Hastings, has compiled an enviable record that could earn her the Sovereign Award in the division.