Almost three weeks after the Dr. Fager Handicap is run Sunday at Arlington Park, the going will get a little tougher for the local sprint contingent.

The Dr. Fager, which attracted a solid field of 11 older horses, serves as a prep for the Aug. 25 Arlington Sprint, a $100,000 race that is the top sprint of the year at the Arlington Heights, Ill., track. The Arlington Sprint is the next scheduled start for Bet on Sunshine, the crack Kentucky sprinter who already has won two previous runnings of the race.

VANCOUVER, British Columbia - Lady's Jewel and I'm Free figure to be solid choices in their respective divisions of the $50,000 B.C. Cup Stallion Stakes for 3-year-olds Sunday at Hastings Park. Lady's Jewel heads an eight-horse field in the fillies division, while I'm Free takes on

10 others in the colts and geldings division. Both races are at 1 1/16 miles.

AUBURN, Wash. - Edneator, the horse of the meeting at Emerald Downs in 2000, will return to action on Sunday when he meets four rivals in the $60,000 Governor's Handicap at 6 1/2 furlongs.

COLLINSVILLE, Ill. - A new state law that boosts purses will allow Fairmount Park to complete its meeting and run through Dec. 29. Without the new law, Fairmount would have closed Sept. 15 because of a depleted purse account.

Illinois Gov. George Ryan on Thursday signed into law House Bill 1069, which allocates 80 percent of the revenue generated for purses from simulcast wagers made after 6:30 p.m. at Fairmount Park to the Thoroughbred purse account.

Compton Bolter, fifth in last year's Secretariat Stakes, booked his ticket to the Arlington Million on Friday with a victory in the listed Glorious Rated Handicap at Goodwood.

Trainer Gerard Butler, whose Dr Greenfield trailed in last in the Belmont Stakes, confirmed that Compton Bolter, a 4-year-old son of Red Sunset, would head for Chicago after defying highweight of 133 pounds to win the 1 1/2-mile contest at 12-1 by a neck from Maniatis.

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - Proud Man, who would have been one of the favorites in Monday's National Museum of Racing Hall of Fame Stakes, spiked a fever last week that will force him to skip the race. His connections are hopeful that Proud Man could make the Saranac here on Sept 2.

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - Meet the new boss, same as the old boss. City Zip, who swept last year's trio of 2-year-old stakes at Saratoga, continued his love affair with this track on Friday by earning a courageous victory in the Grade 2, $135,700 Amsterdam Stakes for 3-year-old sprinters.

After a grueling stretch drive, City Zip held off Speightstown to win by one length, with late-running Smile My Lord another length back in third.

DEL MAR, Calif. - Horse owner Marty Wygod said he planned to talk with officials of Television Games Network Friday to discuss revenue distribution generated from possible telephone betting in California.

Wygod has said that he believes California racing could be hurt in the short-term if telephone betting is approved.

ETOBICOKE, Ontario - Win City, Dancethruthedawn, and Poetically are among the nominees for next Saturday's $500,000 Breeders' Stakes.

But whether any of them actually runs in the 1 1/2-mile turf race, which is the final leg of the Canadian Triple Crown, is another story.

Trainer Bob Tiller is making no secret of his preference for Win City, owned by Frank DiGiulio Jr. and the Estate of Frank DiGiulio, who won Fort Erie's Prince of Wales after finishing second to Dancethruthedawn here in the Queen's Plate.

The top four finishers in last year's Ms. Southern Ohio Stakes - Doubly Fun, Shamrock Slew, Cabot Cove, and Lady Cherie - were separated by less than two lengths. They all return for this year's race, contested for a $45,000 purse at River Downs on Sunday, which means it should produce another competitive finish.