According to weather handicappers, there is an 80 percent chance of severe thundershowers in New York City Wednesday night. The good news is that they are calling for cloudy skies and high winds for race day Thursday, WNW at 25 to 35 mph, meaning two things: good drying-out conditions and a head-wind for speed horses to run into down the Aqueduct backstretch.

With that in mind, today's feature, a "non-winners of 2 other/than" for fillies and mares 3&up at 7 furlongs, is a little tricky but with an opportunity for a windfall if things break the right way.

The morning line Asmussen-trained second choice breaking from the rail at 5-2 looks beatable, but not so the favorite. It's impossible to dismiss a first-time Rick Dutrow, who happens to train the co-fastest filly in the race, a barn that's 10-for-20 the last two weeks in New York. And Carmandia (2-1) has won at the distance and earned a good figure going 7/8s on a wet track.

Sweet Talker kicked up a lot of excitement in October at Keeneland when she took the Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup Stakes (gr. IT) in a three-horse photo finish. She was back at Keeneland making news again Wednesday, when she sold for $1,150,000 to Don Adam's Courtlandt Farm and topped the third session of the November breeding stock sale.

The 3-year-old daughter of Stormin Fever was the only horse to bring a seven-figure price Wednesday. In all, 261 horses were sold for a gross of $42,564,000, an average of $163,080, and a median of $120,000. Compared to the comparable session a year ago, when 267 horses were sold, the gross rose 6.2% from $40,070,000; the average increased 8.7% from $150,075, and the median grew 20% from $100,000. The buy-back rate advanced from 21% last year to 22.1% this year.

"It's not 100 percent healed," Ritchey said. "It's better than previous x-rays, but there's still a small area there."

Afleet Alex has not raced since winning the Belmont on June 11. He was shipped to Delaware Park from Belmont Park on November 3. Ritchey said on November 6 that the three-year-old son of Northern Afleet will not train for a month.