Jim Price

Hurray! The losing streak ended Monday. Only a near miss in the last-race exacta marred what could have been an excellent night. Nineteen of the last 29 first and second picks have been winners. There's a good possibility of muddy or sloppy going tonight, when the nine races include three events for Arabian horses. The fourth race brings out the redoubtable Arab Pk Whiskey, which has won 13 of 33 and seldom runs worse than third. The disappointing T R Country Boy goes one mile in the finale, still trying to win his non-winners of two, although he's stakes-placed over a distance of ground.

Notes written on a form sheet: Although Assiniboia Downs horses seldom fit, Sleep Robber, who knows how to win, drops in class and offers flashy Beyer ratings in tonight's first race. . . . In the second, Mighty Zach and Crystal Spy, have been found wanting far too many times, so it's a good spot to go shopping for a surprise. . . . Look beyond Sentosa's dull effort behind Law School, which ran a bang-up race, in his local debut, and his Arizona form makes him a likely winner in the fifth. . . . She's Dun Gone Too might make it 8 for 11 this year in the sixth race, but in Montana, she wasn't within lengths of Nightly Habit. . . . Karen's Tuition in the seventh and Miss Surfer and All Fire in the eighth are beaten favorites. . . . In the finale, Souhiel's brief career only 21 starts at age 7 suggests unsoundess, but he runs very hard when he can.

This meet has reached the point where it is clear which horses and stables are going in top form. Some of them will seek further success tonight. Royal Lioness and Arctic Jazz, two mares who finish well, merit strong consideration in the fourth and ninth races, respectively. Both have been first or second in 40 percent of their starts and Artic Jazz may be regaining the form that placed her with better company in California. Arctic Jazz's trainer, Janet Logan, bears watching, too. Logan has five wins and several placings from just 19 starts. Likewise, perennial title contender Fred Hepton has started 20, but nine have been first or second.

Can a slump do anything but end once it reaches the point where picking most of the right horses doesn't pay because the right horses are in the wrong order? Despite eight wins and six seconds from 24 races, Saturday through Monday were three more losing days with Monday's losses the most painful because three second picks won and paid more than $10 each. Thanks heavens, after 12 losing days in 13, this is a new week with 10 races per day instead of eight.

Because starter allowance races offer horsemen a good place to hide an unclassified horse, handicappers have to guess where horses would fit if entered for a current claiming price. The task becomes trickier when, as in tonight's fifth race, entrants may have started for the specified price within a very long time frame. Can Spokane Charlie keep on improving? Has Beaver Pelt, who has towroped cheaper company twice running, regained the soundness or form that saw him win for $20,000 16 months ago? What about Sir Tiger K., a once-cheap sprinter who has won 6 of 9 here this year? And, can Gettin Western capitalize on a fast pace? Three wins two days running could have ended the slump, but some key horses ran second and losing exactas wiped out Sunday profits. Here are today's selections: FIRST: $2 doubles boxing BLACK JACK BUD and ELKO CAT with SHAKA ROCK and PRAIRIE WALKER. FIFTH: $5 to win, $5 to place on GETTIN WESTERN. SIXTH: $10 to win on T R COUNTRY BOY. Parlay winnings to OUR AMERICAN in the seventh. SEVENTH: $10 to win on OUR AMERICAN. Original bankroll: $2,000. Sunday's result: Lost $7.80. Present bankroll: $1,598.60.

It should not take a crystal ball, or even a form sheet, to figure out that trainer Ray Tracy Jr. and jockey Jason Eads have not come all the way back from Iowa because they missed riding the carousel in Riverfront Park. Tracy has won a potful of local stakes races. Eads has not competed at Playfair since he won the 1995 championship. Today, Tracy will saddle and Eads will climb aboard Avie's Lady for the All West Fillies Stakes. Avie's Lady has won three of nine, and the 3-year-old filly, before winning the Prairie Meadows Oaks, was a decent 22-1 for the $100,000 Twixt Stakes at Laurel. She may not be a cinch, but don't expect any other horse in the field to ever run for a hundred grand.

Some horses with interesting conditions grace the card tonight, when the track may still show the effects of midweek rain. In the featured fifth race, Abitofanipintheair, who has chased much better, lacks speed, but she gained her only victory on a wet track. In the fourth, Messageforthenurse ran against males in Colorado. Inspector Green, off her best Emerald Downs form, looks like a galloping winner in the sixth. And, in the finale, Valhala Warrior put up a good Beyer as a beaten favorite in his local debut. Here are today's selections: SECOND: $10 to win on HONKIN ON. Parlay any winnings to INSPECTOR GREEN in the sixth. FOURTH: $10 to win on MESSAGEFORTHENURSE. SIXTH: $20 to win on INSPECTOR GREEN and $5 exactas to HOWIES WILD ROSE, REGAL'S PRECIOUS and HARMONY IN BLUE ($15). EIGHTH: $10 to win on VALHALA WARRIOR and $1 trifectas wheeling him to IN WINNING STYLE, KNIGHT IN KAPOWSIN and TENSION MOUNTS ($6). Original bankroll: $2,000. Friday's result: Lost $80. Present bankroll: $1,676.90.

There's one thing about a slump: You may not be grinnin', but you have to keep on pickin'. Running second, third and fourth to a 45-1 chance in Monday's trifecta capped a weekend that seriously dented the bankroll. However, this is a new week and, for the first time this season, wet-track form comes into play. Fortunately, the card includes several horses for the course and several of those frolic in the mud. Along those lines, the 1-mile seventh should be a splendid race. Funnymoney Habit and Jacob Brown have fine records over the track and, along with Island Diplomat, who's drawn outside several other speed horses, excellent form in off going. Cash'n Prizes is 2 for 2 in the mud. However, late-blooming Flying Caddis, who may become a standout in the class, gets the nod. Here are today's selections: FIRST: $2 doubles combining first three picks to Fs MIKASA and SILVER REFLECTION in the second ($12). THIRD: $2 exacta baseball of PLATINUM, IAMAFIASCAL and D FOR DAVID ($12). FOURTH: $10 to win on COUNTRY MANIA. FIFTH: $10 to win on JEREMY'S SONG and $2 exacta baseball with GOLDEN ROLLS and SURF TIDE ($12). EIGHTH: $1 trifecta box of SOUL KEEPER, WEATHER HAIL, TWO AN OH and HOLY HOT ROD ($24). Original bankroll: $2,000. Monday's result: Lost $69. Present bankroll: $1,756.90.

You've probably heard it before, but Esperit De Bogen, the likely favorite in tonight's featured fifth race, is a horse for the course. Not any old horse for the course, either, but a genuine, pull-out-all-the-stops and run-as-hard-as-you-can-go horse for the course. In eight starts over the Spokane oval, he has won three, including this summer's Inaugural Handicap, and he's been third or better seven times. He was even nominated for this weekend's Emerald Cup on the other side of the state. You won't fault his effort. In the first race, Shad Roe Dee comes out of indicator races and has good references, Spokane Charlie and Island Diplomat. In the third, P.D. Too has been right there with the best of the cheap mares. Here are today's selections: FIRST: $10 to win on SHAD ROE DEE and $5 doubles pairing with TOTEMS DEMON and LAW SCHOOL ($10). THIRD: $10 to win on P.D. TOO. Split winnings between KLASI RENEE in the fourth race and ESPERIT DE BOGEN in the fifth. FIFTH: $5 exactas pairing ESPERIT DE BOGEN with CHE MEZA, CHIPPEWA WARRIOR and PRINCE OF QUEENS ($15). EIGHTH: Trifecta box of IRISH SHACK, SOMETHING SHINY, ROCKET'S GUN and IRISH DESIGN ($24). Original bankroll: $2,000. Sunday's result: Lost $64. Present bankroll: $1,761.90.

Tonight's the night when several horses, with a race under their belts, could make amends for disappointing first starts. Tuff N Stuff, done early on Sept. 6, had several spring races at Emerald Downs that would make him a good winner of tonight's third race. Snug Gulls, in the sixth, was close to a blistering pace Aug. 30 and should flash the form that made her win three straight here in March. Ice Hill Princess, in the seventh, failed to break alertly in her debut. Finally, draw a line through Shipping Bill's last start. He switches to the fine veteran rider Frank Best and should show speed in the finale.

There are some golden opportunities to overlay form tonight, matching past performances from other tracks and other kinds of company against local stock. For example, American Cadillac, in the second race, held his own in starter allowance company at Great Falls, a meet that has produced several generously priced winners in the first month of local action. Can Saam II, who ran with high-class Arabians at Colorado's Arapahoe Park, finally win a maiden race, even though he's 0 for 29? What about Winburnt, with good lines from lightly regarded Desert Park and Sun Downs on his resume?

Although time may be running out on him, T R Country Boy - he is 1 for 32 lifetime - has a fine chance to win tonight's featured sixth race because it's been quite a while since he's run with non-winners of two. The stretch-running, 4-year-old gelding picked up a check in two distance stakes races at Les Bois Park. The quick filly Karen's Tuition, who's coming out of a stakes sprint, and the overdue Slew of Marigo Bay, ensure an honest pace. Fsrunswiththunder deserves another chance in the second race. In the eighth, No U Da Man has never run this cheap. Monday's three wins failed to stop the leak in the bankroll.

Here we are, four weeks into the meet, and astonishingly few patterns have developed. No trainer has won more than three races and, partially as a result, victories have been divided fairly equally among a dozen jockeys. Few horses have won two races. Some handicappers are not far behind. As for track bias, we're seeing many winners come from far back for the first time in several seasons, and middle closers, usually solid picks when speed duels seem likely, have won infrequently.

Notes written in the margin of The Form: Trainer Lynda Leffel could win the daily double with Piney Boy and I C La. . . . In the fourth, Genuine Lite Nite could win off works for trainer Tim McCanna, who annually leads the state in wins. . . . Fifth-race polesitter Gallant Mac, who usually shows speed, made up a ton of ground in his debut. . . . So did Proudy Justy, who goes in the seventh after being left last time out. . . . In the sixth, handsomely-bred Aly Mackee debuts for trainer Fred Hepton, whose best runners seldom need the practice. . . . Black Bo scratched out of Friday's feature to run in the eighth.

Several horses that have been looking for the right spot may have found it tonight. Halim-Abha-Sarie runs well every time she has the conditions and she drops in with non-winners of three races in the third. In the fourth, Morie seems to be sitting on a win. Angeldrummerboy, probable chalk in the seventh, broke in the air last time and lost all chance, when he was 3-5. Eighth-race contender High Peace has run well with better in his two local tries. How do you bet against short-priced Pk Whiskey in the first? Here are today's selections: THIRD: $5 to win, $5 to place on HALIM-ABHA-SARIE.

Today's excellent feature, the fifth race at 6 furlongs, brings out several of the best older horses on the grounds. Logic says Mantis, with a race under his belt, should run them down, but Golden Rolls, barring injury, looks like the better horse a month from now. There's also plenty to choose from in the 1-mile fourth. In the seventh, Staly Road made a big move while losing a lot of ground in his debut.

Conditions win races. Running horses where they fit is the quickest way to success. Therefore, when a horse that's run decently against more accomplished stock runs against its own kind, victory is far more likely. Horses that fade or fail to rally in faster company often become prominent contenders. Today's second race is for non-winners since April 1, just after Playfair's winter season ended. Judylyn, who won three at that meet, has since raced in unrestricted races. Is this getting the conditions, or what?

Backcountry horsepacking The Inland Empire chapter of Backcountry Horsemen of Washington estimates it has put in 2,000 hours of trail work so far this year while saving local and state agencies an estimated $22,000. Chapter members have cleared 60 miles of trails from 12 areas of the state, including Riverside State Park and Liberty Lake, according to president Craig Volosing. Members have driven 7,000 miles to do their volunteer work, Volosing said.

Let's take a stab at identifying a couple of this young season's possible indicator races. If you liked Shad Roe Dee to win his summer debut on Aug. 27 and we did then Island Diplomat looks like a solid pick in tonight's fourth. And what about the Aug. 22 dash won by Funnymoney Habit, another horse that wins more than his share? Off that, Angeldrummerboy could win tonight's third and Miner's Basin might dominate the fifth. Golden Rolls takes a scary class drop in the third race. Think twice before taking a very short price. Here are today's selections: FIRST: $5 daily doubles pairing WILLAPA BAY with FSRUNSWITHTHUNDER and TANTRUM ($10).

If trainer Mel White doesn't have a fine night, will he or my bill collectors be the more disappointed? White, who runs dead-fit horses ready to do their best, has Sabotage Power in the second race, Carolinedrovehome in the fifth, Stormy Wake in the seventh and Bubbling Stew in the eighth. Two wins seem probable, three plausible and four possible.

Two important issues arise at the start of every meet - horses for the course and indicator races. Horses for the course, you can't miss. Look at the Playfair record of Jacob Brown in tonight's eighth race, or Gee Oh Dee in the third. Indicator races produce winner after winner, all season long. Spot early races in which the losers look like future winners and you'll have a good meet.

Playfair launches its fall and summer season this evening with well stocked fields, a surprisingly large and talented jockey colony and a bang-up Inaugural Handicap. In the latter, Che Meza, the best sprinter hereabouts, takes on some solid Emerald Downs invaders, including super-sharp Dunraven Pass and Esperit De Bogen, who loved this course in 1995. Horses with decent current form usually outrun those coming off layoffs, even though the latter may outclass them in the long run.

Outdoor recreation Many important roads in the Selkirk Mountains, including Trout Creek, Myrtle Creek, Ball and 20-mile road, remain closed because of dramatic landslide damage. Twenty-mile may reopen within a month and Myrtle Creek could be accessible by late July, Bonners Ferry Ranger District officials say. However, there still are no estimates for Trout Creek and Ball roads because of damage and snow.

Here it is, closing day, the last of a meet that, by surviving, stands as a monument to perseverance. For entertainment, there's Frank Best's bid to snatch the riding title in the final moments and the Playfair Mile. Your heart may say Mantis, a local development that won a similar race three weeks ago in the mud. Your pace calculator may say two-time sprint champion Che Meza, who has a big heart and an abiding affection for this track. However, your Daily Racing Form says neither of those, nor any others, can run on the same day as Santa Anita import Soapy. What the heck. It's closing day. Bet big. After a good day Friday, both parlay horses ran second Saturday, turning a potential big gain into a modest loss.