ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, Ill. - What trainer Louis Roussel saw in Zarb's Magic over the winter at Fair Grounds wasn't visible to everyone. Zarb's Magic, a stakes winner who had fallen off the map, had withered down to skin and bone. A few days after Roussel bought him privately, Zarb's Magic stood listlessly in his stall, threatened people who tried to handle him and practically refused to train. The winner of the 1996 Arkansas Derby and $780,456 could not even win a $10,000 claiming race.

DEL MAR, Calif. - The result was expected, but not the way it happened. El Corredor, the prohibitive 1-5 favorite, won the $250,000 Del Mar Breeders' Cup Handicap for the second straight year on Sunday, but only after a stirring stretch drive that found three horses battling it out.

SASKATOON, Saskatchewan - Jockey Tim Moccasin won with his first four mounts on Saturday night's card at Marquis Downs, running his streak to a North American-record 14 consecutive winners before losing with his final two rides on the card.

Moccasin actually won 13 consecutive races before his mount in Saturday's fourth race was scratched, then came back to win the fifth race on Intricate Stitch by 11.25 lengths.

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - What Blazing Fury lacked in experience he made up for with sheer explosiveness, finishing full of run once settling into the stretch to dominate Sunday's $100,000 Saranac Stakes by four and three quarter widening lengths before a crowd of 63,186 on the penultimate day of the 2001 Saratoga meet..

Oceanport, N.J. - A record-setting summer meet at Monmouth Park came to a fitting end Sunday with three big stakes performances in front of one of the largest closing-day crowds in more than a decade.

The Jersey Shore-oval posted attendance and handle gains, thanks in large part to a record 47,127 that watched Point Given win the Haskell Invitational on August 5. The inclusion of Monmouth as a simulcast signal at Saratoga Race Course also helped balloon average daily simulcast handle to a 40.9% gain over last year.

DEL MAR, Calif. - Tranquility Lake successfully defended her title in Saturday's $150,000 Palomar Handicap at Del Mar, but the race failed to live up to expectations when top contender Paga was scratched on Saturday morning.

The absence of Paga, a multiple stakes winner, left Tranquility Lake with no opposition for the early lead. Ridden by Eddie Delahoussaye, she set her own pace to the end of the backstretch (through fractions of 24.28 and 48.89 seconds), held off the challenge of Histoire Sainte on the final turn and won by a comfortable length.

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - Last summer, Perfect Sting used the Grade 2 Diana Stakes as an important stepping-stone to victory in the Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Turf. But the 2001 Filly and Mare Turf is not likely to be in the cards for the two leading candidates in this year's edition of the Diana, highweight Penny's Gold and California invader Janet.

The $500,000 Diana at 1 1/8 miles on the turf highlights the final program of the 2001 Saratoga meeting. Belmont's Fall Championship Meet opens Friday.

DEL MAR, Calif. - Dr. Park was such a convincing winner of the Oceanside Stakes on July 18 that he seemed a candidate to sweep the three turf stakes for 3-year-olds at Del Mar.

But before trainer John Sadler left the winner's circle that day, he nixed the idea, saying Dr. Park would skip the La Jolla Handicap on Aug. 11 in favor of Monday's $300,000 Del Mar Derby.

Sadler stuck by his plan, and has been rewarded with a colt who's likely to be favored in a competitive running of the Grade 2 Derby.

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. - The fall Thoroughbred racing meet at The Meadowlands has always taken place in the shadow of New York racing. This year, the track is putting up big-city purses in an attempt to emerge from that shadow.

The meet begins Labor Day with a special afternoon program. The feature is the $100,000 Bergen County Stakes, which attracted 3-year-old sprint star City Zip.

CINCINNATI - On most days at this picturesque little track by the Ohio River, Ohio-breds play a significant role.

But when the signature race at River Downs rolls around every Labor Day, Ohio-breds tend to get overlooked in favor of horses from elsewhere, most notably from neighboring Kentucky.

This year, when the $200,000 Cradle is run for the 25th time, the winner again could come from a neighboring state. But instead of Kentucky, the possible favorite for the 1 1/16-mile race for 2-year-olds, Pass Rush, was bred in Indiana.