PLEASANTON, Calif. - Opening day of the Alameda County Fair Wednesday was tinged with sadness as horsemen and fans learned of the death of popular trainer Charlie Comiskey.

Comiskey, 76, who lived in the neighboring town of Livermore, died Sunday. A private family service was held Thursday.

Comiskey first became associated with the racing industry when he parents purchased a Thoroughbred in 1937. The next year, at age 13, Comiskey began walking hots for trainer Charlie Irby. He later groomed for Willard Blake.

ALTOONA, Iowa - The 2001 3-year-old Iowa-bred filly of the year, Sharky's Review, squares off against defending Iowa-bred mare of the year Nut N Better again, in Friday's $75,000-added, 1 1/16-mile Hawkeyes Handicap at Prairie Meadows.

Sharky's Review rallied from well back to score a one-length victory over Sumthintotalkabout and Nut N Better in the six-furlong Mamie Eisenhower Stakes for statebreds on June 7 in her last start.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Jockey Patti Cooksey, riding for the first time since undergoing a mastectomy last September, finished second aboard Gold Empress in the fourth race Wednesday.

Cooksey, 44, trails only Julie Krone among female riders in North American racing history, with 2,120 victories.

"I'm a little tired, but I got a good blow," Cooksey said after the race.

Gold Empress was the only mount on the card for Cooksey, who said she does not know when she will retire, "but when I do, I want it to be on my own terms," she said.

OCEANPORT, N.J. - With Anticipation was a multiple Grade 1 winner on the turf last year, his first full year of racing on the grass, but it was a stakes he didn't win that signaled his prominence in the country's handicap division.

With Anticipation finished first in the $500,000 United Nations Handicap at Monmouth Park, at that point his biggest race, but he was disqualified and placed second because of drifting out into Senure in the stretch. He will return to Monmouth in this year's Grade 1 United Nations next Saturday, July 6, trainer Jonathan Sheppard said Wednesday.

SASKATOON, Saskatchewan - A compact field of five 3-year old fillies will start Friday in the first stakes of the 2002 Marquis Downs meeting, the $5,000 Captain Stanley Harrison Handicap.

Heading the field is Royal Brittany, who won two stakes races last season, convincingly taking both the Saskatchewan and the Larry Lashyn futurities.

WINNIPEG, Manitoba - There will be two stakes races here this holiday weekend, beginning with Sunday's $30,000 Manitoba at one mile.

Twenty Manitoba-bred 3-year-olds have been nominated but the field will be limited to 12 starters based on earnings.

In the Monday holiday feature, the $30,000 Canada Day for fillies and mares at one mile, Cathy's Star will get another shot at last year's top local older mare, Miss Sandy Dee.

Cathy's Star finished second to Miss Sandy Dee when they met for the first time in the May 21 Victoria Day.

ETOBICOKE, Ontario - Trainer Mark Frostad has had trouble finding spots this year for Catch the Ring, a 5-year-old mare he trains for Sam-Son Farm.

Catch the Ring didn't get into a suitable race at Keeneland, where she was working well, and returned to Woodbine in early May. She did not make her 2002 bow until June 9, finishing a closing third as the odds-on favorite among six fillies and mares in the Ontario Matron.

Catch the Ring will try a different avenue here Monday, when she is slated to face males in the $200,000 Dominion Day Handicap.

The 43-date summer Quarter Horse season at Sam Houston Race Park starts on Friday night with Austiana, a two-time stakes winner last summer at Sam Houston, making her 2002 debut in the $10,000 Harris County Stakes for Texas-bred fillies and mares at 400 yards.

Owned by Teddy Abrams and trainer Janet VanBebber, Austiana won the Miss Houston Stakes and the Yellow Rose Stakes during the 2001 Sam Houston season. Last year she won 5 of 8 starts.

LINCOLN, Neb. - Genuine Lass broke the 20-year-old track record for six furlongs in a nonwinners-of-four allowance race June 20. Trained by Terrell Hemmer, Genuine Lass sprinted clear through fractions of 23.80 seconds, 36.40, and 57.80, and set the new mark of 1:10.20 while winning by three lengths.

A 4-year-old daughter of Tarsal, out of the stakes winning Fort Prevel mare Genuine Jazz, Genuine Lass bettered the mark established by One Red Injun in 1982 and equaled by Nomistakethistime in 1998. Genuine Lass now sports a career record of 4-2-1 from 9 starts.

MUSKEGON, Mich. - Fortunately, it was much ado about little when fire trucks from three municipalities came calling at Great Lakes Downs on Monday around 11 p.m. Simulcast wagering was still being conducted when there was a minor fire in the roof air conditioning equipment, according to Barbara Beadnell, who manages Derby's Bar at the track.

"A concessions worker noticed the smoke and called 911," Beadnell said. "We cleared out the building and shut down for the evening. Everything was fine the next day."