ARCADIA, Calif. - Nearly two months after Startac won the biggest race of his career in the $400,000 Secretariat Stakes at Arlington Park, he returns for a new trainer as the likely favorite in Saturday's $150,000 Oak Tree Derby at Santa Anita.

Despite the sizable purse difference, the Oak Tree Derby, run over 1 1/8 miles on turf, is not an easy spot. In a field of nine, five are stakes winners and two are stakes-placed.

The only thing missing is a bona fide pacesetter, which may result in Romanceishope, the winner of the Del Mar Derby, inheriting that role.

ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, Ill. - The mare who probably would be favored will almost certainly scratch. The filly who probably will be favored is wholly unproven at the distance. And much of the field has entered at least half-hoping the race comes off turf.

All of which makes Diablos First Lady a fairly interesting proposition in Arlington's Saturday feature, the $50,000-added Laser Show Stakes.

MIAMI - Carey's Gold has the opportunity to become only the sixth horse to sweep all three legs of the Florida Stallion Series in Saturday's $400,000 In Reality Stakes. But it is Delaware invader Booklet who appears to stand out among a field of 14 2-year-old colts and geldings in the 1 1/16-mile race.

ELMONT, N.Y. - As many times as Sharp Performance has lived up to his name this year, trainer David Donk still believes the best is yet to come.

"He does have a lot of talent, he's still green, but that's great because he still has a lot of room to improve," said Donk, who trained top turf horses Awad and Incurable Optimist.

Donk hopes to see some of that improvement Saturday when Sharp Performance tops an eight-horse field entered in the Grade 3, $150,000 Lawrence Realization Handicap for 3-year-olds at 1 1/2 miles on the turf.

ETOBICOKE, Ontario - Ginger Gold will stake her claim for honors as Canada's champion 2-year-old filly this year in Saturday's $250,000 Princess Elizabeth Stakes at Woodbine.

A field of eight Canadian-breds was drawn for the 56th running of the 1 1/16-mile event, which was won in 2000 by this year's Queen's Plate winner, Dancethruthedawn.

EDMONTON, Alberta - Triple stakes winner Dance Me Free looms an overwhelming favorite in Saturday's $50,000 Canadian Juvenile at 1 1/16 miles at Northlands Park, but the colt's trainer, Sid Gray, is a little worried

"It's been six weeks since he last raced," Gray said. "I just hope that I did the right things."

One of them is his decision against shipping Dance Me Free to Vancouver for the Jack Diamond Futurity, which could have helped to fill in the gap between races for the colt.

VANCOUVER, British Columbia - Thurston and Hoodoo Peak look like the ones to beat in an allowance race that drew 10 3-year-olds at Hastings Park this Saturday afternoon. The 1 1/16-mile event is restricted to horses who haven't won a stakes race in 2001 and who must also have started at least once at Hastings Park.

Trainer Buddy Delp, a longtime fixture in Maryland racing, will try to win his first Maryland Million race Saturday at Pimlico Race Course with Concerned Minister, who will be the favorite in the $200,000 Classic.

The 1 3/16-mile Classic is the richest race on the 11-race card, which gets under way at 12:35 p.m. Eastern.

The Maryland Million races, worth more than $1 million in purse money, are restricted to the progeny of Maryland-based and nominated stallions.

ARCADIA, Calif. - An audible by jockey Chris McCarron helped trainer Paco Gonzalez time a workout by the 2-year-old star Came Home on Thursday at Santa Anita.

Because of a dense fog that settled on the racetrack shortly after 8 a.m., visibility was limited. As a result, McCarron revived an old method he used in the 1970's to alert Gonzalez when the workout began.

It isn't for adventure that high-win-percentage trainer Anthony Dutrow is shipping Native Heir to The Meadowlands from his Maryland base for Saturday's $50,000 Matt Scudder Stakes.

Native Heir has six wins in 10 career starts, plus two seconds and two thirds, for the top earnings in the field of 12 entered in the Scudder, for 3-year-olds. But this will be Native Heir's turf debut, and his dam, Mary Had a Lot, was 0 for 7 lifetime on the grass.