What do you do with a multiple stakes-winning steeplechase horse whose last win in a jump race was almost two years ago?

For trainer Jonathan Sheppard, the answer was simple - switch him to the flat.

Addinson, a 5-year-old gelding whose last six races were all over hurdles, seemed to enjoy not having to leap over obstacles or carry in excess of 140 pounds. He adapted to the change well enough to score a half-length victory in a first-level allowance race over Delaware Park's turf course last Saturday, paying $6.60 as the favorite in the nine-horse field.

The elegantly bred Westin will have a rematch with Hateful Hanna Stakes winner Westmont in the $82,952 Gold Rush Derby over 870 yards at Los Alamitos on Saturday night.

In their June 16 trial, Westin beat Westmont by 1 1/4 lengths while making his first start at 870 yards. His time of 46.38 seconds tops the qualifiers' list.

A son of leading sire First Down Dash and stakes winner Such an Easy Effort, Westin is a full brother to 1998 champion 2-year-old filly Deelish.

Keep Takin the Cash will try to live up to his promising career debut in the Grade 3 $48,650 Northlands Futurity for Quarter Horses at Canterbury Park in Shakopee, Minn., on Saturday.

Owned by William and Rosemary Vincent and trained by Edward Hardy, Keep Takin the Cash made his first start in the trials and responded with a half-length win in the fastest qualifying time of 18.127 seconds for the 350 yards.

SALEM, N.H. - If the weather stays dry and Saturday's $25,000 Rockingham Park Oaks remains on the turf, the 1 1/16-mile race shapes up as a three-way battle between Dream Wish, Buzzing B's, and Sunlit Ridge. If the race comes off the turf, then Rhubarb Red enters into the mix.

The Rockingham Park Oaks is the first of three upcoming stakes for females. On Sunday, older fillies and mares will race six furlongs in the Rockingham Park Distaff. On July 4 fillies and mares will run in the $75,000 Rockingham Park Breeders' Cup Handicap at 1 1/16 miles on the turf.

ALTOONA, Iowa - Agile Lover and Bug Hall head a wide-open field of eight 2-year-old colts and geldings in Saturday night's five-furlong, $50,000 Prairie Gold Juvenile Stakes at Prairie Meadows.

Agile Lover rallied to score an 18-1 upset victory in his debut in a maiden special weight at 4 1/2 furlongs June 4 at Hawthorne for trainer Jim Boehm. Boehm has subsequently given the son of Not for Love two five-furlong breezes at Fairmount Park in preparation for this race. David Essman picks up the mount aboard Agile Lover.

MUSKEGON, MIich. - That Gift, a Michigan champion at ages 2 and 3, will be favored in Saturday's $45,000 Wolverine Stakes at Great Lakes Downs. The Wolverine, at seven furlongs, drew a full field of 10 Michigan-bred runners, including last year's older champion, It's a Sweep, the 2000 Mackinac Handicap winner Above the Wind, and the hard-knocking 9-year-old Pongo Boy.

A pair of proven graded stakes performers from New York barns and a sharp, well-traveled filly are the prime contenders in Saturday's $100,000 Dr. James Penny Memorial Handicap at Philadelphia Park.

It's possible to make a strong case for Tippity Witch, Iftiraas, and Impending Bear in the Penny, a 1 1/16-mile turf race which drew a full field of 12 older fillies and mares.

The Maryland Jockey Club has slashed 22 stakes races worth $1.7 million from its program the rest of the year at Pimlico Race Course and Laurel Park. The Maryland Racing Commission approved the drastic cuts at its monthly meeting Wednesday at the Timonium Fairgrounds.

The eliminated stakes for at least this year include six graded stakes, the Anne Arundel Stakes, Laurel Dash, Laurel Futurity, Laurel Turf Cup, Martha Washington Stakes, and Safely Kept Stakes. All carried purses of $100,000.

ELMONT, N.Y. - Gary Sciacca followers were rewarded handsomely Sunday when he saddled a pair of double-digit priced winners on the turf. There may be another opportunity to cash on Friday when Sciacca sends out Currency Arbitrage in a conditioned allowance race at Belmont Park.

Currency Arbitrage has won only twice in his last 13 starts dating back to 1998, and both of those came in New York-bred stakes. He hasn't been out in seven months and is facing a field that includes accomplished runners Asidero, Stokosky, and Cryptic Rascal.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Either way, Neil Howard and Pat Day should be in their customary positions as fan favorites in the Friday feature at Churchill Downs.

Howard has entered Unbridled Lassie and Quick Tip as a formidable entry in the ninth of 10 Friday races. Although Howard is most likely to run just one of them, having named Day on both, either filly seems eminently capable of dominating the $52,000 race, a third-level allowance at one mile.