VANCOUVER, British Columbia - Leloup, who will start in the British Columbia Cup Classic on Monday, was one of the reasons trainer Peter Stephen headed to New Mexico to race at Sunland Park last winter. Leloup was one of the best 3-year-olds at Hastings last year, but because he didn't make his first start until August, he never faced the leaders of the division.

SASKATOON, Saskatchewan - A field of four 3-year old colts and geldings will compete over one mile in the $6,500 City of Bridges Sophomore at Marquis Downs, and Quiz the Wizard appears to be the logical favorite.

Quiz the Wizard won the Western Heritage here last year, and his only start of 2003 has been a winning effort. This race, like the Western Heritage, is restricted to Saskatchewan-breds.

WINNIPEG, Manitoba - Two renditions of the North Dakota Stallion Stakes highlight the card here Saturday, with $20,000 up for grabs in the 3-year-old division and $30,000 available for the 2-year-old race.

Restricted to foals sired by stallions made eligible through the North Dakota Thoroughbred Association, the third race will showcase the 3-year-olds, with the 2-year-olds going to post in race six.

An accomplished group of grass horses meet in Saturday's $150,000 John D. Schapiro Memorial Breeders' Cup Handicap at Laurel Park.

There is no standout in the 11-horse field, but several horses have solid credentials, including graded winner Dr. Kashnikow, the leading money earner in the field with $588,791.

Dr. Kashnikow, who is trained by John Fisher, is the class of the field, but certainly not a sure thing.

ALTOONA, Iowa - Patton's Victory goes for his sixth win of the year when he starts as the 122-pound highweight in a field of eight, including two entries, in the $75,000 Prairie Meadows Handicap.

Patton's Victory, who will be making his third start in 21 days, comes off a third-place finish behind Daunting in the Claiming Crown Jewel at Canterbury Park two weeks ago. He set the pace to the stretch in the 1 1/8-mile race before fading to be beaten 5 1/2 lengths.

Formal Miss and Dakota Light, the one-two finishers in the Lenta Stakes at Calder in May, are the main contenders in the $50,000 Convenience Stakes for 3-year-old fillies.

They face six seemingly overmatched rivals in the 1 1/16-mile turf race.

Formal Miss, who won the 1 1/16-mile Lenta as the favorite by less than a length, has raced once since, finishing third in the Lone Star Oaks after she was bumped hard early in the race.

Ding's Thing, who has won her two lifetime starts by a combined margin of more than 15 lengths, will step out of her division to face the boys in the $40,000 Hoover Stakes at River Downs. The Hoover, for Ohio-bred 2-year-olds, will be contested at six furlongs.

The winner of an open maiden against colts by more than seven lengths on July 5 at Thistledown, Ding's Thing returned to the track a week later to register an eight-length win in the Tah Dah Stakes for Ohio-bred fillies at River Downs.

SHAKOPEE, Minn. - Dontbotherknocking will attempt to win his third consecutive race of the meet when he faces eight rivals in the $40,000 John Bullit Stakes Saturday.

LAFAYETTE, La. - Streak of Smoke, second in the "Shine" Young Futurity in his most recent trip to the post, will try to do one better Saturday night as he heads up the cast for the Evangeline Downs Sales Futurity. The $35,000-guaranteed, five-furlong feature is for 2-year-olds consigned and passed through the sales ring at the 2003 Evangeline Downs 2-year-olds in training sale in March.

OCEANPORT, N.J. - It's time to get back on the bus.

Eight weeks after their rollicking Triple Crown ride ended in the Belmont Stakes, the connections of Funny Cide, the Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes winner, will pile into their yellow school busses and make their way to Monmouth Park for Sunday's $1 million Haskell Invitational, in which seven 3-year-olds were entered on Thursday morning.