EDMONTON, Alberta - Four-time local sprint champion Timely Ruckus finished second in an allowance race in his final start of the year Monday at Northlands Park. Trained by Ernie Keller, the 8-year-old Timely Ruckus - who prefers six-furlong races - was trying to win at a mile in his first start since a loss in the Alberta Fall Classic Sept. 23.

Timely Ruckus, who went off as the 2-1 favorite, stalked pacesetter Tyko Tycoon through six furlongs, and then jockey Stephan Heiler asked him to move at the top of the lane.

SAN MATEO, Calif. - Aclare comes off two strong seconds and rates the edge in Friday's featured seventh race at Bay Meadows, a six-furlong allowance race with a purse of $32,000. First post is 7:15 p.m.

Aclare was claimed by trainer Dennis Patterson for $12,500 last December at Hollywood Park. He did not run again until August, finishing second in a six-furlong allowance sprint.

Aclare came back a month later with another strong performance in allowance company. He closed from fifth to finish second to Baby Wave.

LEXINGTON, Ky. - Just because his in-laws are highly prominent Lexington horse people doesn't mean there is added pressure on trainer Phil Oliver to win at Keeneland.

"I'm just like everybody else," said Oliver. "It's always nice to win at Keeneland, whoever you are."

On Friday, Oliver will saddle First Lieutenant, one of the major contenders in the eighth-race feature, the $75,000 Warfield Stakes. Eight older horses have been entered in the 1 1/16-mile race.

ARCADIA, Calif. - Friday's $50,000 Pinjara Stakes has drawn two stakes winners from late summer, a trio of colts trained by Bob Baffert, and a shipper from northern California who was unlucky in his last start.

The one-mile Pinjara is the season's first turf stakes for 2-year-olds in Southern California. It is restricted to nonwinners of a first-place purse of $30,000 other than closed or claiming races at a mile or over. Some runners may appear in the Generous Stakes at Hollywood Park next month.

ETOBICOKE, Ontario - Wild Current moves up in price but takes a significant class drop in Friday's eighth race at Woodbine, a $100,000 claimer for 3-year-olds.

Roger Attfield, who trains Wild Current, will also send out Golden Sparrow in Friday's sixth race, a 1 3/8-mile optional claimer for fillies and mares on the grass. Golden Sparrow, who is making her first start for Attfield, won two of three starts in her native England, but has yet to distinguish herself in her two North American outings.

Entries were drawn Wednesday for Saturday's 16th running of the Maryland Million, the second biggest day of racing in the state, at Pimlico Race Course.

Ninety-eight horses entered the 11 races, which are worth $1.05 million in purse money. The Maryland Million races are restricted to the progeny of Maryland-based stallions.

MIAMI, Fla. - Trainer Henry Collazo could have been down in the dumps and bemoaning his luck after Carey's Gold drew post position 14 for Saturday's $400,000 In Reality Stakes at Calder. But Collazo acted confident that Carey's Gold, his undefeated 2-year-old, would overcome the handicap and complete a sweep of the open division of the Florida Stallion Series.

ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, Ill. - Arlington-Washington Futurity winner Publication worked a half-mile at Arlington on Tuesday, as plans to ship the horse back to his northern California base were scrapped. Instead of returning home after the Sept. 29 Futurity, Publication remains in Chicago, and now is under serious consideration for the Breeders' Cup Juvenile, a race his connections initially said he would pass.

ELMONT, N.Y. - Trainer Phil Johnson was prepared to return Volponi to the turf in Saturday's Grade 3 Lawrence Realization at Belmont Park. But when the horse suffered an eye injury Tuesday night, the plan was put on hold.

Instead, Johnson now plans to point Volponi to the $250,000 Pegasus Handicap on the main track at the Meadowlands on Oct. 19.

ARCADIA, Calif. - Three horses based at Santa Anita were found on Tuesday and Wednesday to have sponges in their nasal passages, according to an official familiar with the California Horse Racing Board's investigation. All three discoveries were made before the horses raced.