CHICAGO - Take Charge Lady, smashing winner of the Arlington Matron Handicap here Monday, was due to head back to trainer Kenny McPeek's home base at Churchill Downs on Wednesday.

Tuesday, Take Charge Lady could take things easy in McPeek's Arlington barn - not that she really needed much rest. Take Charge Lady won the Grade 3 Matron by more than 10 lengths, and only rarely does a horse win so easily.

What's more, jockey Shane Sellers said Take Charge Lady won despite disliking Arlington's muddy main track.

CHICAGO - Whatever else the Dare to Dream Stable may have gotten, it surely has found a crack starter-allowance horse.

The Dare to Dream partnership purchased Nicole's Dream shortly after she finished third on Aug. 2 in the $50,000 Trenton Stakes at Monmouth. But stakes racing is a far cry from where Nicole's Dream began this season.

MIAMI - Two down and one to go.

That's the rallying cry in the barns of trainers Bill White and Manny Azpurua after their undefeated 2-year-olds French Village and Sir Oscar, respectively, won Saturday's Susan's Girl and Affirmed divisions of the Florida Stallion Stakes.

The two juveniles will have a chance to sweep their respective divisions in the $400,000 My Dear Girl and In Reality stakes Oct. 11.

Fans who wagered on Lincoln Center in the 12th race at Louisiana Downs on Saturday had a few anxious moments in the stretch, but in the end everything worked out: The bettors got paid, and the stewards, after talking to jockey Carlos Gonzalez, determined that he acted properly aboard Lincoln Center, who won by a nose.

SAN MATEO, Calif. - Because Russell Baze kept his cool and three other jockeys reacted quickly and professionally, none were injured in a spill in Saturday's first race at Bay Meadows.

Russell Baze was aboard favored Court Recorder and was getting a perfect stalking trip. He was moving up nearing the quarter pole when his mount suffered a fatal injury.

Until track officials get a necropsy report, the precise injury will not be known, but both of Court Recorder's hind legs locked up as if the horse had broken his back, pelvis, or hips.

Foley versus Foley long has been a familiar storyline in Kentucky racing. Whether a race pits dad against daughter, or dad against son, or sister against brother, the competition is friendly but fierce, with the winner able to claim temporary bragging rights within the family.

AUBURN, Wash. - This year's crop of 3-year-olds at Hastings may or may not be exceptional, but one thing seems certain.

They're better than the locals.

The connections of Emerald Downs-based top 3-year-olds thought they caught a break when Stratoplan, who shipped down from Vancouver and won the Aug. 10 Seattle Slew Handicap, elected to skip Monday's $105,625 Emerald Breeders' Cup Derby at nine furlongs. Roscoe Pito came down in his stead, however, and proved just as hard to handle.

AUBURN, Wash. - Canadian invader Roscoe Pito took the lead at the start and was never headed en route to a two-length victory over the favored Condotierri in Monday's $105,625 Emerald Breeders' Cup Derby at Emerald Downs.

Under a clever ride by Sam Krasner, Roscoe Pito slowed the pace to 47.60 for the first half mile of the nine furlong event, then had plenty left to stave off the late charge of Condotierri in 1:47.60. Knightsbridge held third in the field of six after stalking the early pace.

SAN MATEO, Calif. - Ninebanks ($5.80) got a perfect stalking trip behind dueling leaders Obermeister and Long Gone Con as he repeated his 2002 victory, edging last year's runner-up Surprise Halo by a neck in the $100,000 California Turf Championship at Bay Meadows on Monday.

DEL MAR, Calif. - It wasn't the competition, nor the distance, that concerned trainer Darrell Vienna. All he wanted for Joey Franco was an outside draw for Monday's $250,000 Del Mar Breeders' Cup Handicap. When Joey Franco landed post six for the Grade 2 race, Vienna was elated. "I was so happy with the draw, because it's hard to get trapped," he said.