Portland Meadows recorded the highest weekly handle of its current meeting last Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, when a total of $399,345 was handled on the track's live races for an average of $133,115 for the three days. The surge in betting brought the average daily handle through 15 days of live racing to $100,418, which is up better than 30 percent from the same period last season. Track president Arthur McFadden said attendance and concession sales are up commensurately, and that the track's new operator, MEC Oregon Racing Inc., is generally pleased with the progress of the meeting.

INGLEWOOD, Calif. - Rain or shine, trainer Bobby Frankel has a trio of older horses ready for Saturday's crowded $250,000 Hollywood Turf Cup at Hollywood Park.

Northern Quest, *, and Super Quercus, all stakes winners this year, will represent the red-hot Frankel.

JAMAICA, N.Y. - Throw out his losses in three Grade 1 races and Balto Star has a 5-1-1 record from his last seven starts, including victories in the Spiral Stakes and Arkansas Derby. Add his terrific speed and his white-hot trainer and Balto Star looms the one to beat in Saturday's Grade 3, $100,000 Queens County Handicap at Aqueduct.

A field of 11 was entered for the 1 3/16-mile Queens County, including defending Queens County winner Boston Party, Cat's at Home, Evening Attire, and *.

Although Come September was fairly productive last year when trainer Joe McKellar stretched her out around two turns, the mare has raced exclusively in sprints this year.

"We decided she was probably better sprinting," said McKellar, who trains Come September for the gray mare's breeders, L.J. Gaudreau and Larry Gillen. Indeed, from seven starts this year, Come September has won twice and earned just over $100,000.

French Assault will try to become the fourth Breeders' Cup Juvenile starter to come back and win a stakes Saturday night in the $150,000 Texan Juvenile at Sam Houston Race Park in Houston.

The Texan Juvenile is the lone open-company race on a card of nine stakes that annually makes for the richest night of racing at Sam Houston. Billed as Texas Champions Day, the stakes are worth a cumulative $625,000. Special post for the first race is 5 p.m. Central.

ETOBICOKE, Ontario - Wake at Noon will try to win the Kennedy Road Stakes for the second year in a row Saturday, when he runs against some of Woodbine's top sprinters at six furlongs.

Wake at Noon will be coupled with another Abraham Katryan-trained runner, Deputy Carson, who has won his last six races. The entry should single numerous tickets in the pick six, which will be offered on races 5 through 10.

ALBANY, Calif. - Trainer Frank Monteleone was ready to claim Rio Oro for $10,000 this summer at Del Mar - until he saw him in the walking ring.

"I filled a slip out, but when I saw him, he had more problems than Carter has little liver pills," Monteleone said.

Still, owner Bernard Schiappa decided to go ahead with the claim, and on Saturday his $10,000 claim will be running in the $55,000-added Albany Handicap at Golden Gate Fields. Rio Oro figures to be one of the favorites, too, in the full field of 12.

PORTLAND, Ore. - A talented field of 10 sprinters, including two accomplished females, will compete in Saturday's six-furlong allowance race feature at Portland Meadows.

Former Oregon-bred Horse of the Year Oh Molly and the extremely fast Wegota Slewzy are the females, both of whom are used to taking on males, as Oh Molly beat crack sprinter Knight Cover in the 1999 Oregon-bred Sprint Championship and Wegota Slewzy just failed to hold off that rival in last year's Flashaway Handicap.

INGLEWOOD, Calif. - Craig Dollase is one of the few people rooting for rain this weekend. In 1997, Dollase won his first stakes when Tower Full scored in the Vernon Underwood on an off track.

The Underwood is run Sunday and Dollase plans to start Beaumes de Venise, who won on a sloppy track at Santa Anita in March 2000. Due to injuries, the 5-year-old Beaumes de Venise has made just eight starts, but has won five races. The Grade 3 Underwood, run over six furlongs, will be his graded stakes debut.

NEW ORLEANS - You can hardly turn around in the Dallas Stewart barn these days without running into a stakes horse.

Stewart went down the Kentucky Derby trail with Dollar Bill here last season and won the Breeders' Cup Distaff this fall with Unbridled Elaine, who trained here last winter. Both those horses will again spend the winter in New Orleans, and are part of the reason Stewart should be active in several stakes divisions during the meet.