SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - Mayakovsky, who began his career sensationally at Saratoga last summer, looks to begin the second half of his 3-year-old campaign in similar style when he takes on seven rivals in Saturday's $150,000 Amsterdam Handicap. The Grade 2 Amsterdam will be decided at six furlongs.

ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, Ill. - An August allowance last year at Arlington put Generous Rosi on the path to a Grade 1 placing in the Jockey Club Gold Cup. But the path Generous Rosi has taken since the Oct. 6 Gold Cup has been a troubled one.

With only an eighth and a fifth in two starts this season, Generous Rosi tries to get back on track Saturday at Arlington when he faces five rivals in the Buckpasser Handicap, a $50,000 overnight stakes at nine furlongs on dirt.

DEL MAR, Calif. - Little Treasure will be an unknown factor for handicappers when she makes her U.S. debut in Saturday's $150,000 San Clemente Handicap at Del Mar.

But two rival trainers are familiar with the French import. Ron McAnally and Carla Gaines said this week they were interested in acquiring Little Treasure for their clients, but lost out when she was bought by Sidney Port of Chicago.

Little Treasure brings strong credentials to the Grade 2 San Clemente, run over a mile on turf for 3-year-old fillies.

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - Scotty Schulhofer was standing on the rail just outside barn 27 as horses went through their paces during training hours here Thursday. For the first time in 52 years, Schulhofer was merely a spectator, enjoying a picture perfect Saratoga summer morning without the pressure of having to make weight or train another stakes horse up to a Grade 1 race.

VANCOUVER, British Columbia - Shingen Storm will have plenty of speed to chase as he goes for his sixth straight win in the seventh race at Hastings Park, a $50,000 optional claimer at 6 1/2 furlongs. Seven older sprinters have been entered, but it looks like a battle between Shingen Storm, who will be coming late, and Danzilation, who should have the early lead.

EDMONTON, Alberta - Double stakes winner Dark Fuse heads a field of seven in Saturday's $40,000 Count Lathum as Northlands Park-based 3-year-olds have their final prep for the Aug. 24 Canadian Derby.

Dark Fuse was regarded as a sprinter when he won the six-furlong President's and the 6 1/2-furlong Western Canada but faltered in the 1 1/16-mile Alberta Derby to finish seventh, beaten nearly nine lengths.

But in his last start, here in the 1 1/16-mile Ky Alta, Dark Fuse surprised the skeptics when he was an impressive runner-up to Lord Shogun.

AUBURN, Wash. - Bub and Knightsbridge Road will renew their budding rivalry in Saturday's $45,000 colt and gelding division of the Northwest Stallion Stakes at Emerald Downs.

Only six 2-year-olds, including a stable coupling, entered the 6 1/2-furlong stakes, which is restricted to the progeny of stallions nominated in 1999. The half-dozen runners include the two most accomplished members of the division, however, and those two figure to put on a rousing show.

ETOBICOKE, Ontario - Shippers from the United States fared surprisingly poorly in stakes at Woodbine in 1999 and 2000. High-profile trainers like Bill Mott and Christophe Clement couldn't win at Woodbine during those years, but the tide began to turn in 2001, when American invaders began to hold their own.

DEL MAR, Calif. - Beat Hollow and Golden Apples will have new jockeys when they start in major turf stakes at Arlington Park on Aug. 17, their respective trainers confirmed on Thursday.

Beat Hollow will be ridden by Jerry Bailey in the Arlington Million, trainer Bobby Frankel said. Bailey replaces Alex Solis, who rode Beat Hollow in two Grade 1 wins earlier this year - the Woodford Reserve Turf Classic and Manhattan Handicap - and to an unlucky second in the Eddie Read Handicap last Sunday.

Eight graded stakes that are preps to the Breeders' Cup World Thoroughbred Championships at Arlington Park on Oct. 26 are part of the first week of the five-week Oak Tree at Santa Anita meeting that runs from Oct. 2 to Nov. 3.

Among the eight stakes, the two preps for 2-year-olds have undergone changes in distance and purse. The Grade 2 Norfolk Stakes and the Grade 2 Oak Leaf Stakes have been cut in value from $250,000 to $200,000 and extended from a mile to 1 1/16 miles. They both were run at a mile from 1997 to 2001.