Remington Park in Oklahoma City closed its first full season of Thoroughbred night racing last Saturday with declines in average daily attendance and handle. Late last year, the track's new owner, Magna Entertainment, installed a lighting system at Remington.

During the 59-day meet, daily attendance was 2,337, down 4 percent from last year's corresponding season, which ran 73 days. Daily handle at this meet averaged $496,352, a 9 percent drop from 2000.

Despite the decline in handle, average daily purse distribution was up 3 percent to $100,325.

ALBANY, Calif. - For handicappers who enjoy solving puzzles, Thursday's feature at Golden Gate could be the ultimate 1,000-piece jigsaw.

A field of seven 3-year-old fillies will compete in the $40,000 optional claiming race. Five of the seven are coming off layoffs of six weeks or more.

Leading trainer Jerry Hollendorfer sends out an uncoupled entry of Bullish Miss, who spent the summer with him in Chicago, and Our R.N., unraced since Feb. 1.

ETOBICOKE, Ontario - Few horses improved at this Woodbine meeting as much as No Comprende.

No Comprende, a 3-year-old gelding who has won three of 10 starts and $134,300 this year, also has raised the profile of his trainer, 35-year-old Jim Smith.

Although he has been training only since 1999, Smith's racing background dates back to the mid-1970's, when he began attending the races at Fort Erie with his parents.

"I was following racing for as long as I can remember," said Smith, who was born in Niagara Falls, N.Y., and holds dual citizenship.

INGLEWOOD, Calif. - Officer, the winner of the Champagne Stakes and beaten favorite in both the Breeders' Cup Juvenile and California Cup Juvenile, may not make trainer Bob Baffert's team for the Hollywood Futurity on Dec. 15.

On Sunday, Baffert said he was leaning toward starting *, the runner-up in the Hollywood Prevue Stakes on Nov. 17, and Mountain Rage, who won the Generous Stakes on Saturday.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The Churchill Downs fall meet, which ran Oct. 28 through Saturday, continued a familiar trend as all-sources wagering set an all-time high and ontrack numbers were mixed.

All-sources wagering at the 24-day meet totaled nearly $174.8 million, eclipsing the meet record of $160.6 million, set during a 23-day meet last year (discounting a 24th program, Breeders' Cup Day, for comparison purposes). The daily average of $7,282,573 is a 4.3 percent increase over last year.

ETOBICOKE, Ontario - Stakes winner Expected Hour looks tough in a strong nine-horse field in Wednesday's sixth race at Woodbine, a six-furlong allowance for 2-year-olds.

Mark Casse has trained four runners in the lineup at some point this year, including Expected Hour, who was a $450,000 2-year-old purchase by the partnership of Bill Farish Jr., George Bolton, Edward Gaylord, and Elizabeth Grossman.

INGLEWOOD, Calif. - A clean trip may be all that California Sage needs to win the third race of his career on Wednesday at Hollywood Park.

In his last two starts, troubled trips have kept California Sage out of the winner's circle.

He finished fifth after stumbling at the start of an allowance race at Bay Meadows on Sept. 22. In a $70,000 claimer at Hollywood Park on Nov. 8, California Sage overcome a poor start but was blocked in the stretch, losing by a length under Tyler Baze.

JAMAICA, N.Y. - The run of dry weather that has made for uninterrupted turf racing this fall at Aqueduct is about to come to an end. With rain falling following the races Sunday and with more showers forecast Wednesday through Friday, it is quite possible turf racing could be done for the year.

At the very least, Wednesday's featured event, a third-level allowance at nine furlongs, is in jeopardy of moving to the main track.

JAMAICA, N.Y. - Trainer Todd Pletcher wishes he could turn the calendar back a few months.

With Left Bank and Graeme Hall - the one-two finishers from Saturday's Grade 1 Cigar Mile - in the best form of their careers, it's hard putting them on the shelf for a few months.

"You have two horses that are doing so well, you'd love to have a big race a month from now," Pletcher said Monday morning. "But given the time of year and the fact they're both going to run as 5-year-olds, obviously, you've got to give them a break sometime."

MIAMI - The turf course was open for training on Monday morning, and several candidates for this weekend's $100,000 Hollywood Wildcat and Mecke Stakes made the most of the opportunity. Prominent among them was the promising 2-year-old filly August Storm, who will likely be the favorite in the 1/16-mile Hollywood Wildcat.