HOUSTON - When someone in the racing game says, "Let's give this a try," it seems that Richard Englander is one of the first to say, "Count me in."

Indeed, during the first four runnings of the Claiming Crown, that made-for-everyman series, no owner has had a higher profile than Englander. Now comes another inventive concept, one that Englander also has been quick to embrace: the Great State Challenge, a made-for-statebreds series that makes its debut Saturday afternoon at Sam Houston Race Park.

AUBURN, Wash. - Eric Nelson's plans for resurrecting racing at Spokane's Playfair Race Course lay in shambles in the wake of an acrimonious 3 1/2-hour meeting of the Washington Horse Racing Commission on Wednesday.

INGLEWOOD, Calif. - Men's Exclusive seems more like a family pet than a racehorse to Wesley Ward. Having a horse in the barn for more than seven years can have that effect on a trainer.

"He's a horse that can almost talk to you when he's really right or off," Ward said. "When you get to know a horse, you know when he's coming up to it right."

OZONE PARK, N.Y. - Though trainer John Kimmel usually takes his best stock to south Florida for the winter, he has left enough talented horses in New York to win at a 31-percent clip over the last two inner track meets.

With a large stable, Kimmel is able to reload his New York barn with horses who spent the summer racing competitively in New Jersey or Delaware. Mister Blues is a case in point.

INGLEWOOD, Calif. - After chasing some of the nation's top 3-year-old fillies earlier this year, Ile de France is appearing against more realistic opposition this fall.

Following sixth-place finishes in the Kentucky Oaks and Hollywood Oaks in the spring, Ile de France was given a break. She returned to finish second in an allowance race at Santa Anita on Oct. 19.

On Friday, 3-year-old Ile de France starts as the favorite in a $45,000 allowance race for fillies over 1 1/16 miles at Hollywood Park.

NEW ORLEANS - It was a year ago at Fair Grounds that trainer Alvin Sider and owner C & R Stable plunked down $7,500 to claim Storybook Kid, who had raced eight times in his career with little distinction.

Storybook Kid proved to be an iron horse, and since the claim he has made 17 starts. More importantly, he's good. Storybook Kid has won six races and well over $100,000 for these low-profile connections, and he returns to Fair Grounds with an excellent chance to win Friday's featured race, a third-level turf allowance with a $75,000 claiming option.

ALBANY, Calif. - When Plan A didn't work for Halo Cat this summer, trainer Jerry Hollendorfer went to Plan B and saw the gelding win his northern California debut.

Plan B will continue Saturday at Golden Gate Fields when Halo Cat will attempt to duplicate his Nov. 9 Albany Handicap victory in the $60,000-added Oakland Handicap at six furlongs.

John Franks purchased Halo Cat this summer after he won four straight races in Texas and Louisiana. The fourth, the Kings Court Handicap at Louisiana Downs by 4 1/4 lengths, earned Halo Cat a Beyer Speed Figure of 110.

OZONE PARK, N.Y. - Jason Servis on Wednesday was in the process of moving his stable from deserted Monmouth Park to Belmont Park. He hopes someday it will be a permanent change.

Servis will make his first full foray into New York this winter with a 19-horse string for the inner track meet. He got off to somewhat of a disappointing start Wednesday when Zacharov finished fourth as the favorite in the ninth race.

MIAMI - The 2002 Tropical at Calder meet kicks into high gear on Saturday with Grand Slam I, the first of two multiple stakes programs to be offered here during the final month of the session. Grand Slam II is scheduled for Dec. 28.

Grand Slam I consists of four stakes, each valued at $100,000. The 1 1/8-mile Tropical Turf Handicap and its filly counterpart, the My Charmer Handicap, highlight a program that also includes the Kenny Noe Jr. and Chaposa Springs handicaps, both of which will be run at seven furlongs. Of the four stakes, only the Kenny Noe doesn't have graded status.

PORTLAND, Ore. - So this is what all the fuss was about.

Stately Jack Flash was the talk of the local backstretch before this meet opened, when he outworked every other horse on the track. Although he ran well enough in his first two starts, winning his debut against maiden special weight company and finishing a close second in the Bill Wineberg Stakes, he hardly lived up to his billing.