SALEM, N.H. - With five stakes in the books at the Rockingham meet, the score is Shippers 4, Locals 1. Esteemed Friend will try to close that gap Saturday in the $25,000 Rockingham Sprint Handicap.

Esteemed Friend, an 8-year-old gelding, instantly became the class of the region when owner Anthony Pyliotis bought him from a New York claiming race at the beginning of the year. His 17 victories while competing with the top East Coast sprinters earned him respect, and two odds-on victories at Suffolk Downs have made him a fan favorite.

INGLEWOOD, Calif. - War Emblem, the winner of the Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes earlier this year, worked seven furlongs in a quick 1:23.40 on Wednesday at Santa Anita, preparing for a start in the $1 million Haskell Invitational at Monmouth Park on Aug. 4.

War Emblem, unraced since finishing eighth in the Belmont Stakes on June 8 in an attempt to win the Triple Crown, recorded the fastest of five works at the distance.

There is no shame in getting beaten six lengths by Azeri, especially considering the race in question came after a six-month layoff.

That's one reason trainer John Shirreffs - who took over the training of Starrer after the filly ended her 3-year-old campaign with a victory in the Grade 2 Bayakoa Handicap last December - believes the Delaware Handicap could be an ideal spot for Starrer.

Their classic dreams dashed, Belmont also-rans Magic Weisner and Wiseman's Ferry are set to return to action in Saturday's Grade 2, $300,000 Ohio Derby at Thistledown, in North Randall, Ohio.

They were entered Wednesday - along with three others - for the 1 1/8-mile Ohio Derby, the richest race in the state. Magic Weisner, the runner-up in the Preakness Stakes, drew post 4, and Lone Star Derby winner Wiseman's Ferry is alongside in post 5. The field, from the rail out, is completed by The Judge Sez Who, Grey Beard, and Peekskill.

ALTOONA, Iowa - Prairie Meadows has evicted trainer Ray Stifano from the grounds and given him until Friday morning to remove his 36-horse stable from the backside here.

The eviction stems from a dispute between Stifano and racing officials over his stall allotment, which was cut from 36 during the Thoroughbred meeting, which concluded on July 6, to 16 during the current mixed meeting, which began on Monday.

INGLEWOOD, Calif. - On the opening weekend of the Hollywood Park spring-summer meeting in April, Smokin' Charlotte won her first important race in the $175,000 Fran's Valentine Stakes.

On Friday, the start of the closing weekend of the meeting, Smokin' Charlotte will be heavily favored to win her second stakes in the restricted $75,000 Valkyr Stakes for California-bred fillies and mares over a mile on turf. The Hollywood Park spring-summer meeting closes on Sunday.

ELMONT, N.Y. - The final sunset racing card of the Belmont Park summer meet features an allowance race that easily could be a stakes.

Among the five fillies and mares entered in Friday's $56,000 allowance, four are stakes winners: Bella Bellucci, Shiny Band, Tax Affair, and Ransom's Pride.

The 1 1/8-mile dirt race is for nonwinners of $10,000 twice over a mile this year or nonwinners-of-four-races other than.

AUBURN, Wash. - Faithful Gal on Friday tries to repeat her successful invasion of last year in the first leg of the Harley H. Hoppe and Associates Marathon Championship Series at Emerald Downs.

This is the first of three races for 3-year-olds and up who are eligible for a $10,000 starter allowance. Seven will compete for a purse of $12,000 over 1 1/8 miles.

The series will continue with a 1 1/4-mile leg on Aug. 2 and conclude with a 1 1/2-mile leg Aug. 17.

EDMONTON, Alberta - The first three finishers from the June 28 Wild Rose Handicap meet up again in the $40,000 John Patrick Handicap, a mile event for older fillies at Northlands Park on Friday.

VANCOUVER, British Columbia - Strategy will play a key part in the sixth race at Hastings Park Friday evening. Nine older fillies and mares will line up to go 6 1/2 furlongs in a $35,000 optional race and many scenarios are possible.