Some of the best Louisiana-breds in training will assemble at Louisiana Downs on Saturday to run in 12 stakes worth a cumulative $620,000. The annual Breeders' Festival, which had been run over two days, will be run on just one card this year, making it the second richest program of the meet, behind Super Derby Day.

STICKNEY, Ill. - Quietly, Cactus Ridge, Hawthorne's only Breeders' Cup hopeful, is readying for a final push to the BC Juvenile. Cactus Ridge is scheduled for a workout here Saturday, his first since a convincing win Sept. 27 in the Grade 3 Arlington-Washington Futurity.

LEXINGTON, Ky. - Few stakes have been as instantly successful as the Raven Run. Designed by the Keeneland racing staff as a means to fill a void for 3-year-old fillies, the Raven Run has been a magnet for top-class runners since its inception in 1999. Runners who have competed in it include such Grade 1 winners as Surfside (2000), Forest Secrets (2001), and Sightseek (2002).

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. - Hurricane Shockey could be a 2-year-old on the move this weekend.

Trainer Jim Ryerson is considering two races for him: the $40,000 World Appeal at The Meadowlands on Friday night and the $100,000 Dover Stakes at Delaware Park on Saturday afternoon.

The World Appeal, at a mile and 70 yards on the turf, would be Hurricane Shockey's first race on grass. The Dover, at one mile on the dirt, will offer more money but requires a longer ship from Ryerson's training base at Monmouth Park.

ARCADIA, Calif. - Blame for the erratic form displayed by Desert Pearls at Del Mar in August falls squarely on the shoulders of trainer Bob Baffert.

"I overran her too much at Del Mar," he said.

In three starts, Desert Pearls won a maiden race by 7 1/2 lengths on Aug. 2, finished fourth in an allowance on Aug. 15, and was second in a similar race on Aug. 29.

She returns on Friday as a top contender in a $45,000 allowance race for fillies and mares at Santa Anita.

EDMONTON, Alberta - During the Alberta Fall Classic at Northlands Park in 1997, jockey Quincy Welch was prepared to ride. He waited patiently, but the call never came.

Fast forward to 2003, and Welch is the most sought-after jockey in Alberta, rarely finding time to sit around the jocks' room and wait for his next mount.

Besides his unquestioned ability, Welch is a favorite of trainers because of his good nature off the track and intensity during a race.

SAN MATEO, Calif. - For jockey Frank Alvarado, a working vacation this summer worked wonders.

Alvarado has returned to riding full-time at Bay Meadows after spending the summer at Hollywood Park and Del Mar.

"You have to ride horses at 100 percent," said Alvarado, a 34-year-old native of Panama. "When I left here in June, my head was not 100 percent right. Now, I'm ready to ride seven days a week."

Alvarado has more than 2,000 victories in a career that began in 1984.

ANDERSON, Ind. - Wagering on last Saturday's Indiana Derby card set a record with $2,162,212 bet on the 12-race card. That easily eclipsed both the previous Derby night high of $1,632,474 in 2000 and Hoosier's all-time high of $2,107,487 set Nov. 9, 2001. The Derby itself brought $346,528 in handle.

Oaklawn Park in Hot Springs, Ark., has rebuilt the base of its track in preparation for its upcoming meet that opens Jan. 23. Officials are also laying down new cushion material on the racing surface as part of its annual maintenance procedures. Horses will begin training on the Oaklawn surface on Dec. 1.

A new base, which should ensure a uniform racing surface, requires several thousand tons of material. It was trucked to Oaklawn, then screened and mixed on site. The life of the base of a track can be several seasons to 15 years, depending on the weather, said officials.

Dick Clark, the winningest trainer in Prairie Meadows history, is one of several Iowa-based trainers expected to use Retama Park near San Antonio as a training facility base this winter. The track, which closes out its fall Thoroughbred meet on Oct. 19, will open as a training center five days later, said Bob Pollock, general manager of Retama.