MIAMI - Ivanavinalot, a late scratch out of the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies, will head to owner Gil Campbell's Stonehedge Farm in Ocala later this week for a month of rest and relaxation.

Kathleen O'Connell, trainer of Ivanavinalot, explained the chain of events that led to her decision to keep Ivanavinalot, the only south Florida-based entrant in the 2002 Breeders' Cup, home last weekend.

"She left some feed in her tub on Wednesday night, and she had never missed an oat before," said O'Connell. "Not even after her races.

OZONE PARK, N.Y. - Added Edge could have been entered in last week's Breeders' Cup Juvenile and nobody could have said he didn't belong. But on the day the Juvenile was being run at Arlington Park, Added Edge was on a van from Woodbine to Aqueduct, where he will be among the favorites for this Saturday's Grade 3, $100,000 Nashua Stakes.

STICKNEY, Ill. - For the first time in many months, Noel Hickey was able to keep a watchful eye on his shed row this week at Hawthorne. Wednesday, Hickey stood in front of his barn office, one part of his mind focused on an interview, but a watchful eye still on his animals.

In midsentence, Hickey paused to ask a groom to cut down a young gray horse's feed. "He's getting thick through the kidneys," Hickey said.

"Did that horse run off with you?" Hickey asked a few minutes later, as an exercise rider returned from the racetrack. "He's blowing too much."

Sam Houston Race Park hopes to draw a crowd of more than 15,000 to the inaugural NTRA Great State Challenge on Dec. 7, and is working diligently to make the kind of improvements needed to comfortably host patrons during the six-race program, which highlights the 80-day meet that opens Friday.

"I think the first objective we have is to set the standard for years to come," said Bob Bork, president of Sam Houston in Houston, Texas.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - When part of a two-horse entry is a late scratch, horseplayers sometimes find themselves holding a losing ticket on a horse they might not have wanted to bet on.

For many, that is what transpired Tuesday in the third race at Churchill Downs, when Annual Dues, probably the better half of a Dale Romans-trained entry, was scratched at the gate after injuring herself. The remaining half of the entry, Chap Up, proceeded to finish last in a field of six as the 9-10 favorite.

Fastest qualifier Check Him Out seeks his third consecutive derby win in Friday night's Grade 1, $288,950 Los Alamitos Derby at Los Alamitos.

Owned by Zory Kuzyk, John Andreini, and trainer Blane Schvaneveldt, Check Him Out won the Grade 1 Golden State Derby and the Grade 2 PCQHRA Breeders Derby in his last two stakes appearances. He is riding a four-race winning streak dating back to his Golden State Derby win on Aug. 17. During his winning streak he has victories in the trials to the PCQHRA Derby and the Los Alamitos Derby, along with his derby wins.

AUBURN, Wash. - A 128-pound weight assignment and a disadvantageous inside post couldn't stop In Search of Fame, who won for the 17th time in 19 starts at Portland Meadows in Sunday's Autumn Handicap. The race was for older Quarter Horses at 350 yards.

ETOBICOKE, Ontario - Barbara Minshall is no stranger to good horses.

Minshall, who was introduced to the racing game by her late husband, owner/breeder Aubrey Minshall, took over as the Minshall Farm trainer in 1995 and enjoyed immediate success.

"I was very lucky to have horses like Kiridashi, Bold Ruritana, and Sea Wall when I first started training," said Minshall, referring to three horses who produced seven stakes wins in her rookie campaign.

ANDERSON, Ind. - After nine years as Indiana's only racetrack, Hoosier Park will be joined on Dec. 6 by Indianapolis Downs, a dual-breed facility that will conduct a 19-day Standardbred meet and launch a new era in this state's horse racing industry.

At Tuesday's meeting of the Indiana Horse Racing Commission, final approval was given for 2003 racing dates. The schedule will offer expanded opportunities for both Thoroughbred and Standardbred horsemen in the state.

GROVE CITY, Ohio - Beulah Park has seen a dramatic upturn at the entry box in the past several weeks.

Entries for the first three weeks of the fall meet, which began Sept. 14, were uncharacteristically light considering this meet traditionally is among the tops in the nation in terms of average field size. Several racing programs early in the meet failed to attract double-digit fields in any race.