Jockey Mario Pino, top rider at Colonial Downs for the past three years but a distant second in the standings so far this meet, put a severe dent in his deficit by riding seven winners on Sunday's 10-race card.

Pino, who had six winners on one program at Colonial last July and again this spring at Pimlico, swept the second through the sixth races with Lady Grace ($6.80), Grey Gables ($5.80), Minnieprize ($8.60), Minoruego ($14.60), and Middleworth Bay ($7.60).

MIAMI - Xtra Heat worked a half mile in 49.20 seconds at Laurel on Monday in her final major prep for Saturday's $400,000 Princess Rooney Handicap at Calder. The Princess Rooney is one of four sprint stakes on the $1.4 million Summit of Speed card.

Harry Vega, who will ride Xtra Heat in the Princess Rooney, was aboard for Monday's work for trainer John Salzman Jr. Xtra Heat is scheduled to arrive at Calder on Thursday morning.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The odds are nearly incalculable on how all this could happen. Dale Romans tied for leading trainer at Churchill Downs for the third straight spring. That seems almost impossible in itself.

But the way it has happened each year seems to add exponentially to the equation.

In 2000, D. Wayne Lukas won the Bashford Manor Stakes on the second-to-last race of the meet to gain an 18-18 tie with Romans.

Last year, Bernie Flint won the last race of the meet to tie Romans at 22.

The soybeans in the infield, say Ellis Park general manager Paul Kuerzi, "have been a little slow to come around."

Fortunately for the thousands of horseplayers who will partake of Ellis Park this summer, it shouldn't take nearly as long for the brand of racing at the 2002 summer meet to be recognized as solid and competitive.

The 79th meet in Ellis history begins Wednesday with a 10-race card, led by a $28,280 allowance for 3-year-olds and up. The program is the first of 41 that will be run through closing day, Sept. 2.

ELMONT, N.Y. - Speed has been king lately on Belmont Park's hardened turf courses, but identifying which horse could grab the lead in Wednesday's feature at Belmont Park could be difficult.

A field of seven was entered for the second-level allowance run at 1 1/16 miles, though trainer Bobby Frankel said he is likely to run either Maita or Langoureuse, but probably not both.

Hear No Evil ($3.60) solidified his status as the top 2-year-old on the grounds with a half-length victory over a fast-closing Supah Blitz in the $100,000 Criterium Stakes at Calder.

Trainer James Hatchett said both Hear No Evil and stablemate Awesome of Course, who finished third after setting the pace, will be sent to Saratoga with trainer Tim Ritvo. The Sanford at Saratoga and Monmouth's Sapling Stakes are being considered for their next start.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - During the brief but highly successful time in which Ronny Werner has raced horses in Kentucky, his horses have become known primarily for one thing: speed.

So it was no wonder Werner had a big grin on his face after Awesome Humor ($17.20) rallied from off the pace to post an impressive two-length victory in the Grade 3, $109,500 Debutante Stakes at Churchill Downs.

GRAND PRAIRIE, Texas - This is war, or at least that's what it looks like on paper Wednesday night at Lone Star Park.

With only five days of racing left at the meet and a training title hanging in the balance, Steve Asmussen and Cole Norman will start horses in eight of the nine races on the card.

Both have top contenders in the featured eighth race, a one-mile conditioned allowance that drew the Asmussen-trained entry of Heffelfinger and Rockies, and Norman's Remember the Party.

ETOBICOKE, Ontario - T J's Lucky Moon was back in the spotlight here Monday, recording his first workout since his upset in the 1 1/4-mile Queen's Plate on June 23.

And although he is unlikely to scare off much of the opposition for Fort Erie's July 21 Prince of Wales, the 1 3/16-mile race that is the second leg of the Canadian Triple Crown, T J's Lucky Moon could prove his Plate win was no fluke.

ELMONT, N.Y. - New York Racing Association officials acknowledged there was a problem with Belmont's main track last Friday morning, and they acted quickly to rectify it. But they took exception to comments that an unfair track played a role in the outcome of Saturday's $500,000 Suburban Handicap.

E Dubai went gate to wire to win the Suburban, and was the fifth front-runner of the six dirt races contested on Saturday's card.