FORT ERIE, Ont. - At Fort Erie, trainer Myckie Neubauer is beginning to be known as the queen of the quarter-milers. Three times she has entered runners in the infrequently carded but popular two-furlong races - and three times she has had the winner.

The dashes, one for the females and one for the males appear on the cards on Saturday and Sunday, after an absence of several weeks. Neubauer won the two most recent two-furlong races - one with the filly Appealing Allie Sept. 17 and the other with the colt Best of the Duck the next day.

FORT ERIE, Ont. - Trainers have expressed relief that a long overdue problem at Fort Erie has been addressed. The track surface was too hard and it was tough on then horses.

On Sept. 12 some 700 tons of soil was added to the surface, adding five- eighths of an inch atop the old surface.

MIAMI, Fla. - Trainer Eddie Plesa Jr. would have preferred Saturday's $50,000 Convenience Stakes to have remained on the turf but the switch to a sloppy main track mattered little to Sara's Success who parlayed a perfect trip into an easy 6 1/2-length victory over Halo Reality and four other overmatched 3-year-old fillies.

ELMONT, N.Y. - Timboroa, who shipped to New York from California off a win in last month's Del Mar Handicap, went wire-to-wire to take the Grade 1, $750,000 Turf Classic Invitational Saturday at Belmont Park for trainer Bobby Frankel.

Timboroa was allowed to set slow fractions of :50.99, 1:16.54, and 1:41.39 under moderate pressure from Mutafaweq in the 1 1/2-mile race. He then had plenty left in the stretch to hold off the late challenge of favored King Cugat to win by three lengths in a time of 2:29.43 on a course labeled "good."

NEW YORK, N.Y. - Lailani made a strong case for favoritism in the Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Turf with a dramatic three-quarter of a length victory over favored England's Legend and four others in the Grade 1, $750,000 Flower Bowl Invitational at Belmont Park on Saturday.

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. - In a race where strategy and pace were key, John Velazquez had the best plan and executed it perfectly to get perennial bridesmaid Gander a graded stakes victory in Friday night's $500,000 Grade 2 Meadowlands Cup.

The big gray New York-bred broke on top and allowed Velazquez to put on an riding exhibition, using wide runs on both turns and slow fractions to stave off the onrushing favorites Broken Vow and Include to win by a head in 1:47.11.

ARCADIA, Calif. - Senure needs a career-best performance in the $300,000 Clement Hirsch Memorial Turf Championship at Santa Anita Sunday to earn a trip to the Breeders' Cup Turf at Belmont Park on Oct. 27.

Following Senure's dismal eighth in the Arlington Million, trainer Bobby Frankel is expecting to see a turnaround by the 5-year-old in the Grade 1 Hirsch. It's Senure's last chance to convince the trainer to try the Turf.

"He has to win," Frankel said. "It's as simple as that."

ETOBICOKE, Ontario - Mutamam and Daliapour head a strong European contingent in Sunday's Grade 1, $1.5 million Canadian International at Woodbine. A field of 12 was drawn for the 64th running of the International, which is the sixth leg of the 2001 Emirates World Series.

VANCOUVER, British Columbia - A wide-open claiming race for older horses entered for a top claiming price of $15,000 headlines a nine-race card at Hastings Park on Sunday.

The 6 1/2-furlong race drew eight horses, including the classy 8-year-old gelding J V Bennett, who figures to be one of the favorites off of his smart win going 1 1/16 miles Sept. 16.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Many of the top prospects for the Oct. 27 World Thoroughbred Championships will have their final preps next weekend at Keeneland Race Course in Lexington, where the 17-day fall meet opens with 10 stakes, six of them graded, during the first three days of the meet.