EDMONTON, Alberta - Manitoba Derby champion Hero's Pleasure will seek another big payday in Canada when he heads a field of eight here in Saturday's 74th running of the $150,000 Canadian Derby at 1 3/8 miles.

Trainer Doug Oliver has vanned Hero's Pleasure here from Canterbury Park. Hero's Pleasure, who is owned by Jean Duke, will be accompanied by his regular rider, Scott Stevens, who was aboard when the colt won his maiden in March at Turf Paradise and was second in the Canterbury Derby in late June.

VANCOUVER, British Columbia - Two wide-open stakes headline the Hastings card Saturday. Elana d'Amour should be favored in the $40,000 Cover Girl Handicap, a 6 1/2-furlong sprint for fillies and mares, and it's anyone's guess who will be the public choice in the $40,000 S.W. Randall Plate. The 1 1/8-mile Randall Plate drew seven older horses and goes as the eighth race.

What might have seemed like a run-of-the-mill allowance race on the Kentucky Derby undercard is looking better by the week.

Private Horde and Trion Georgia both rallied strongly at Churchill Downs to dead-heat for win in the fourth race on Derby Day, a $58,900 allowance. Since then, Private Horde defeated some of the top sprinters in the United States when upsetting the Grade 2 Vanderbilt Handicap at Saratoga on Aug. 10.

EAST BOSTON, Mass. - The $35,000 Eleanora Sears Stakes brings together a diverse group of Massachusetts-bred fillies and mares for a race that doesn't have an easily predictable favorite and should be wide open in the betting. Like all statebred races at Suffolk Downs, the betting is restricted to win and exotic wagers.

Call Me Lefty is out to defend his home turf against shipper Gentlemen JJ on Saturday night in the $35,000 Jim Bowie Stakes at Retama Park near San Antonio. The 7 1/2-furlong turf race drew a field of seven 3-year-olds.

Call Me Lefty should be sharp for the stretch out to two turns following a strong third-place finish last out in the six-furlong Straus Memorial. The colt, who is a two-time stakes winner around two turns, is trained by Tommie Morgan and will be ridden by Weldon Cloninger.

Medium Rare will attempt to win his third consecutive $35,000 Chuck Taliaferro Memorial on Saturday night at Remington Park in Oklahoma City. But his task will not be easy, as the six-furlong race drew a competitive group of sprinters, topped by Joyful Tune, Where's the Ring and Dance and Dazzle.

Medium Rare, now 7, is the elder statesman of the Taliaferro. But, he still has much in his favor Saturday.

The pace could be hot Saturday in the $50,000 Dixie Miss at Louisiana Downs, but the front-running Holy Bubbette has been mentally prepared for the challenge. The probable favorite in the six-furlong race for 3-year-old fillies, she heads a competitive field that also drew the sharp Letithappencaptain.

A speed duel can be the unraveling of some horses, but Holy Bubbette showed no signs of being frazzled in her last start, when she was engaged early and went on to an 8 1/2-length win in a two-other-than allowance at Arlington Park on July 20.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. - Trainer Kent Molinaro hasn't earned a lofty win percentage by placing horses where they don't belong.

When he enters a horse in a race, handicappers are wise to give the horse a close look.

Molinaro has entered Call It in Saturday's $60,000 Governor's Handicap at 1 1/8 miles at the California State Fair, and, while even Molinaro admits he might be running for second behind highweight Cappuchino in the field of six, Call It cannot be completely dismissed by bettors.

VANCOUVER, British Columbia - Elana d'Amour will be hard pressed to repeat as horse of the year in British Columbia, and if the vote were held right now, she would finish behind Shelby Madison as the top older filly and mare. Her connections are hoping to get her back on track in the 6 1/2-furlong Cover Girl Handicap Saturday.

FORT ERIE, Ontario - Malcoha, a fan favorite here for many years, will race no more.

A winner of his last start by just over six lengths July 22, the 11-year-old Malcoha ends his career with 24 wins from 106 starts and earnings of $414,151.

In 1998, Malcoha was named Fort Erie's horse of the year. Among his five scores that year were the Benburb and Puss N Boots Stakes.

Trainer Wilf Jones, who co-owns the horse with Tom Grimes, said that he felt further racing might aggravate Malcoha's ankles. The gelding won three of his seven starts this year.