ETOBICOKE, Ontario - Mr. Epperson needs only a second-place finish in Friday's Woodbine feature, a six-furlong $80,000 optional claimer on grass, to surpass $1 million in career earnings.

Beginning Nov. 1, a horse who tests positive in New York for the illegal blood-enhancing agent erythropoietin will be prohibited from racing until the drug clears the horse's body, according to a rule passed by the New York York State Racing and Wagering Board at a meeting on Tuesday.

ARCADIA, Calif. - After 28 starts, mostly in claiming races, Expresso Bay has Breeders' Cup written all over him. The notion is not as absurd as it sounds.

Claimed last out by Ted H. West and owner Bruce Hochman, Expresso Bay has a long way to go before he can be compared to West's best $50,000 claims. They are rags-to-riches Budroyale, runner-up in the 1999 BC Classic, and rejuvenated former claimer Bluesthestandard, a contender Saturday in the BC Sprint. Both became graded stakes winners after being claimed.

SAN MATEO, Calif. - Eight 2-year-old maiden fillies, all making their turf debuts, present an interesting challenge to handicappers at Bay Meadows on Thursday.

For half the field, the one-mile race will mark not only a first time on turf, but also a first try around two turns.

With much uncertainty surrounding the race, it should be a good betting proposition. The horse worth looking at could be Fair Millielillie.

The Indiana Horse Racing Commission has given final approval for the 2004 race dates at Indiana Downs and Hoosier Park.

Indiana Downs, which will have its turf course in place for the 2004 racing season, will increase its Thoroughbred schedule from 30 dates in 2003 to 48 in 2004. The meet will run April 9 through June 20. Harness racing at the facility will begin July 1 and run through Oct. 30 for an 84-day schedule.

LEXINGTON, Ky. - Although Galloping Gal ran very well to finish second in the Alcibiades Stakes, trainer Ken McPeek has seen enough of the elite of the 2-year-old filly division - at least for now.

"No Breeders' Cup," said McPeek, who trains Galloping Gal for Bill Carl. "There'll be plenty of time for that kind of stuff down the road."

LEXINGTON, Ky. - At least it won't be a walkover. Tenpins will be a heavy favorite Saturday at Keeneland when the Fayette Stakes helps bring down the curtain on the 17-day fall meet, but as many as six opponents, including the highly capable colt Quest, are set to oppose him in the Grade 3 race.

CHICAGO - On the far turn of Hawthorne's third race on Sept. 28, trainer Chris Block saw what he had hoped to see for the last year and a half. Ioya Forever ran in full flight, finding a seam along the inside as she hit the peak of a sustained rally. She burst to the lead at the top of the stretch, and went on to win a third-level allowance race by almost four lengths, zipping six furlongs in a strong 1:10.80.

"It was probably the best race of her life," Block said this week.

Although Sam Houston Race Park in Houston has made a number of changes to its meet, which starts Thursday, the most significant could be opening the week of the Breeders' Cup, which can set the tone for the track's 10th season. The meet runs 93 days, through April 10.

Sam Houston typically opens in November, but is running a longer meet this year, and for the first time in three years will open the week of the Breeders' Cup.

Jockey Jeremy Beasley has come home. After years of competing in the East and Midwest, Beasley has returned to Sam Houston Race Park, where he will be a leading candidate to win the riding title during the 93-date meet that opens Thursday.

Beasley was born in Houston, and as a teenager he went to work as a custodian in the Sam Houston paddock. The job afforded him the chance to talk to a number of jockeys, and after learning the ropes as an exercise rider, he launched his career.