ALBANY, Calif. - Ten 3-year-old fillies are matched in Thursday's Golden Gate Fields feature, a one-mile allowance race on the turf.

Nine of them have something in common: they are making their turf debuts.

Only First Alert, a British-bred filly of trainer Matthew Chew, has turf experience, winning two races last year in her native country. First Alert made her U.S. debut on Jan 4 in a $32,000 claiming race at Santa Anita, finishing fourth in the six-furlong race. It was her first start on dirt.

Delta Downs in Vinton, La., cleared one of its final regulatory hurdles for slot machines Tuesday when the Louisiana Gaming Control Board gave unanimous approval to the track's floor plan for nearly 1,500 machines.

Officials hope to open a slots casino by mid-February, but before they can begin operations, the casino must pass an inspection by the Louisiana State Police.

Boyd Gaming, which owns 11 casino properties, including the Stardust in Las Vegas and the Treasure Chest in Kenner, La., purchased Delta for more than $125 million last May.

NEW ORLEANS - Bonapaw solidified his position as the leading sprinter at Fair Grounds when he won last Saturday's Colonel Power Handicap by more than five lengths. But now fluidity, not solidity, defines Bonapaw's future.

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. - Anyone with a complaint about airline delays shouldn't try to tell their story to Eibar Coa. He might not be too sympathetic after losing a $6,000 payday and perhaps the mount on three-time Grade 1 winner Sir Bear when unable to complete flight connections from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, to south Florida in time for last Saturday's Skip Away Handicap.

The amazing 9-year-old gelding Sir Bear, with Edgar Prado substituting for Coa, rallied to upset even-money favorite Red Bullet in the Grade 3 Skip Away.

INGLEWOOD, Calif. - Trainer Bobby Frankel has so many top older horses trampling over one another at his Hollywood Park barn that he is searching across the country for stakes opportunities, and that has led him to plan on shipping Lido Palace to Gulfstream Park for the Grade 1, $500,000 Donn Handicap on Feb. 9.

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. - Trainer Carl Nafzger scratched Binthebest out of Sunday's Grade 3 Mr. Prospector Handicap in hopes of finding an easier spot in Wednesday's fourth-level allowance race at Gulfstream Park.

While there may not be any graded-stakes winners among the eight entrants, Binthebest will still face a contentious group in the seven-furlong race. The $40,000 allowance race headlines a 10-race card as Gulfstream commences its third week of the meeting.

ARCADIA, Calif. - The depth of talent in Wednesday's seventh race at Santa Anita makes the $65,000 allowance race over a mile on turf resemble a quality stakes.

All seven of the fillies and mares entered made their last starts in a graded or group stakes. The results of those races range from a victory by Old Money against males in the Western Australian Derby in December 2000 to several fillies and mares who were unplaced in their last starts.

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. - The addition of blinkers and Pat Day proved a winning formula for longshot Worldly Victor, who rallied six wide in the stretch to take Monday's $73,800 * by 1 1/2 lengths at Gulfstream Park.

Charming Colony, another longshot, rallied even wider to get second, 1 1/4 lengths ahead of Lord Juban, who nosed out Honor in War for third. August Storm, the even-money favorite as the lone filly facing colts, finished fifth.

The Kentucky Racing Commission on Monday approved dates for the fourth annual Kentucky Derby Future Wager. The three pools of the Future Wager will be held Feb. 14-17, March 14-17, and April 4-7.

Churchill Downs spokesman John Asher said the only probable change this year is an extension of the closing of each pool from 4:30 p.m. Eastern to 5:30 on each Sunday, which may enable betting to continue after several late stakes that in past years were run after the pools had closed.

Oaklawn Park in Hot Springs, Ark., will begin using color-coded saddlecloths when it opens for its 54-day meet Jan. 25. In other changes this season, the track will start its 5 1/2-furlong races at the same point as its six-furlong races and end them at the sixteenth pole, the same auxiliary finish line used for the track's one-mile races.

"As far as I'm aware, we're one of the last organizations to go to colored saddletowels," said Oaklawn spokesman Terry Wallace.