LOUISVILLE, Ky. - With two-thirds of the 24-day Churchill fall meet in the books, Steve Asmussen is a major contender for his first training crown here. He isn't surprised, given the size of his far-flung stable, but initially he believed that he probably did not have enough Churchill-based bullets to shoot for the title.

The all-time winningest jockey at Sam Houston Race Park, Steve Bourque, who ranks in a tie for third in the current standings, will move his tack to Delta Downs in Vinton, La., after he rides his final local card Friday night in Houston.

Bourque's home is about an hour from Delta Downs, which opens Saturday, and with daily purses at that meet expected to be more than doubled to $85,000 from the $35,000 reflected in the first condition book, is financially feasible for the rider to return to Louisiana.

ETOBICOKE, Ontario - Elektraline, owned by Richard Englander, has checked in from Maryland for Sunday's Grade 3 Bessarabian, a $125,000 handicap for fillies and mares.

Mike Wright Jr., who currently trains a half-dozen horses for Englander here, will be saddling Elektraline for the first time when she tackles the locals over seven furlongs.

A Florida-bred 5-year-old, Elektraline was claimed for $45,000 in March 2000 and has gone on to win four stakes for Englander, including three this year under trainer Scott Lake.

PORTLAND, Ore. - Lethal Grande's surprisingly easy score in the $7,200 Oregon Thoroughbred Breeders Association Sales Stakes Saturday at Portland Meadows put owner and trainer Pat Sonnen in position for a potentially nice payday on Dec. 15, when the Os West Oregon Futurity will be run at a mile.

If Lethal Grande completes the Sales Stakes-Futurity double, Sonnen will collect a $15,000 bonus in addition to the winner's share of the Futurity's $26,010 purse.

Grade 1 winners Feature Mr Jess and Dashin Bye highlight the trials to the Grade 1 $400,000 Texas Classic Derby on Friday night at Lone Star Park.

The horses with the 10 fastest times in the trials will return for the finals on Nov. 30.

Rainbow Derby winner Feature Mr Jess has made four starts this year - all at Ruidoso Downs for trainer Dwayne "Sleepy" Gilbreath. He has responded with three wins and a third in the Grade 1 All American Derby as the even-money favorite.

MIAMI, Fla. - Queue, who began her career at Calder two years ago, returns home a Grade 2 stakes winner Dec. 29, when she makes her next start in the $150,000 La Prevoyante Handicap.

Queue became a graded stakes winner when she won the 1 1/2-mile Long Island Handicap on turf at Aqueduct last weekend.

Like the Long Island Handicap, the La Prevoyante is run at 12 furlongs on the turf.

Queue, a homebred daughter of French Deputy out of the stakes-winning mare P J Floral, is owned by Gerald Robins and Jay Weiss.

JAMAICA, N.Y. - Do you go with the class horses returning from layoffs, or those who are coming off sharp recent races?

Horseplayers have grappled with that question forever, and must do so again to sort out Friday's 1 1/8-mile feature on Aqueduct's turf course.

Steve Klesaris, one of the leading trainers at Delaware Park this year, will relocate part of his stable to Charles Town this winter. Klesaris said he will send most of his 2-year-olds to Florida and keep his older horses up north. He was allotted 12 stalls on Charles Town's crowded backstretch.

Klesaris saddled 23 winners from 89 starters at Delaware to rank third in winning percentage (27 percent) and 15th in wins. His horses finished in the money 59 percent of the time.

EAST BOSTON, Mass - A racing bill that passed the state legislature last Thursday is expected to be signed by acting Governor Jane Swift late this week. The new legislation puts an end to a two-year dispute, during which a string of extensions kept racing alive in Massachusetts.

Although horsemen and management say the bill falls short of their expectations, the measure will provide an estimated $3 million in additional purse money, which will come through a reduction in the state's portion of the mutuel takeout.

ANDERSON, Ind. - With three weeks remaining in the live racing season the popularity of Hoosier Park's signal to simulcast players has been at an all-time high.

The track posted a record handle of $2,107,487 last Friday night. All sources handle has been more than a million dollars for each program in November.

* Leading trainer Stanley Roberts is one win shy of tying the record of 39 wins in a meet. He has a commanding 38-15 edge over Ray Stifano in the trainer standings with 16 days of racing remaining.