Ralph Siraco’s notes

Friday, Sept. 17, 1999 | 9:18 a.m.

Hurricane Floyd fizzled in Florida, much to the relief of the sunshine state's race tracks. Although Calder Race Course did not have to cancel its Thursday program as first thought, the anticipation of the possible scrub caused light activity at the entry box for the Thursday card. The usual full fields of a 10-race program dwindled to an abbreviated 8-race card and half-full fields that saw five of the eight races with six horses.

Gulfstream Park, host of this year's Breeders' Cup Championship on Nov. 6, also escaped Floyd's wrath. The popular South Florida track will conduct a three-day mini-Breeders' Cup festival-type meet that will run from Nov. 5-7.

While Floyd was pelting the eastern coast line, several tracks called off their Thursday cards. In addition to the Wednesday night announcement at the Meadowlands of the Thursday cancellation, Belmont Park shut down the races. The area's harness racing also stayed in, as Freehold, in mid-New Jersey, Garden State Park, in south Jersey's Cherry Hill and Yonkers in the Big Apple canceled their cards.

It is expected that most of the tracks will resume racing today, if Floyd keeps speeding through the region. Sloppy racing surfaces are sure to be the flavor of the day as tracks start to dry out from the flash flood-type drenching of the storm.

If there is one silver lining to Floyd it's that the storm moved through the East in track record time, alleviating a postponement of the big weekend Breeders' Cup prep races at Belmont.

Saturday's Grade I $500,000 Woodward Stakes may be a Breeders' Cup Classic prep for most of the expected field that includes Dubai World Cup winner Almutawakel and Bob Baffert's River Keen. But it is the Breeders' Cup for European multi-invader Running Stag. You may remember this runner venturing to the states and running creditably at Churchill Downs in last year's Breeders' Cup Classic to Awesome Again and company after a solid third in the Woodward Stakes to Skip Away.

His return this year comes while racking up large on the frequent-flyer program. His campaign began in Dubai at the World Cup in March where he finished seventh to the aforementioned Almutawakel. He returned to England to run second in the Sugar Cup Classic at Goodwood. His first U.S. trip came in early summer with a close second in the MassCap to Behrens. He returned two weeks later to capture the Brooklyn Handicap with a monster effort in June.

Back to England for a dull effort in the Eclipse Stakes when compromised by a slow pace, 'Stag returned to the states for the third time this year when he scored a solid victory in the Saratoga Breeders' Cup Handicap. Now, training well at Belmont, he returns to avenge his Woodward loss of last year.

But trainer Phil Mitchell says win-lose-or-draw, there will be no repeat appearence at the Breeders' Cup Classic. Mitchell has booked his equine world traveler for a Monday flight back to England to prepare for the Dec. 12 Hong Kong International at Sha Tin race course.