BOSSIER CITY, La. - Louisiana Downs has filed suit in state district court in Baton Rouge against the Louisiana State Police in an effort to get their 34 video poker machines turned back on.

A federal grand jury in western Kentucky has indicted two Texas brothers on felony charges relating to their roles in a betting coup in 1996 at Ellis Park.

The indictment, announced this week by the Thoroughbred Racing Protective Bureau through the Thoroughbred Racing Associations, charges Ronnie Ray Allen and Ernest E. Allen with fraud, conspiracy, and racketeering. The Allens were arraigned Thursday, with the trial set for Oct. 3 in Owensboro, Ky.

OCEANPORT, N.J. - Monmouth is bucking the national trend.

While attendance and handle are down at most racetracks across the country, Monmouth is enjoying one of its best meets in recent years.

Through last Sunday, Monmouth has had significant gains in every category of handle and attendance.

The most encouraging figure, according to Monmouth's general manager Robert Kulina, is the 4 percent increase in ontrack live handle. "We had experienced a decline in the ontrack handle for years," he said, "but this year's increase shows that the product is improving."

SHAKOPEE, Minn. - Saturday's card at Canterbury Park features the two races that every Minnesota Thoroughbred breeder marks on the calendar as the ultimate goal for a homebred. This year's runnings of those races, the $50,000 Minnesota Oaks and Derby feature only two runners who are not campaigned by their breeders.

SALEM, N.H. - Detener will be an overwhelming favorite when he heads a field of six in Saturday's $25,000 Lou Smith Memorial Handicap at Rockingham Park.

Detener, a 6-year-old Dynaformer gelding who races for the partnership of Suzanne and Marshall Novak and Gary Jackson, is the 120-pound highweight in the 1 1/16-mile Smith. His weight assignment is from five to 13 pounds heavier than his rivals will be asked to carry. Winston Thompson will be reunited with Detener for the first time since last year.

Superdupermiss clearly qualifies as a horse for the course at Delaware Park.

A win in Sunday's $75,000 Light Hearted Stakes extended her perfect record to 4 for 4 here. So it's not surprising to learn that trainer Paul Rizzo's late-summer plans for the 5-year-old Superdupermiss include two more races on Delaware's stakes calendar.

ETOBICOKE, Ontario - There is a very good chance that Win City, winner of last Sunday's Prince of Wales at Fort Erie, will make his next start Aug. 11.

But whether that appearance will come here, in the Breeders' Stakes, or at Mountaineer Park, in the West Virginia Derby, remains a source of debate.

MIAMI - Saturday's $50,000 Roman Brother Stakes at Calder will have a familiar look to it when Built Up and Tv Sports Director, the leaders of the local 3-year-old turf division, match strides again in the 1 1/16-mile restricted stakes. The race is carded for horses who were kept eligible for Calder's 2000 Florida Stallion series.

Built Up and Tv Sports Director finished first and second in the Simply Majestic Stakes here on June 2 and will again be joined in the starting lineup by Creek's Shore and Sword Chief, who were fourth and fifth in that race.

Last year, trainer Jim Bond and owner Jim Edwards came to Finger Lakes and won the New York Derby with Image Maker. On Saturday, they return with Mike Lee winner Solar Deputy and Personal Pro for this year's edition of the $125,000 New York Derby.

The Bond-Edwards horses will race as an entry in the 1 1/16-mile New York Derby, the second leg of the Big Apple Triple for 3-year-old New York-breds. A $250,000 bonus awaits if Solar Deputy can sweep the triple.

AUBURN, Wash. - Got You Slew will try for her fourth straight win at the Emerald Downs meeting on Friday when she takes on seven older fillies and mares, each eligible to be claimed for $8,000, in the one-mile feature.

All three of Got You Slew's recent wins were wire to wire going a mile. She beat $3,200 rivals on May 17, $5,000 foes on June 3, and $8,000 company on June 28. Her winning margin has shrunk from 4 1/2 lengths to a half-length as she has moved up the class ladder, prompting trainer Joe Toye to enter her back at the same level as her most recent win.