Purses in the second quarter of 2004 were up 2.86 percent compared with the same three months in 2003, the National Thoroughbred Racing Association and Equibase announced on Monday.
The increase, from $284.8 million to $292.9 million, reversed a decline in the first quarter of 2004. The increase also came despite a slight decline in handle from last year and a 1.5 percent decline in live racing days, the NTRA said.
The Grade 1 Refrigerator Handicap, a 440-yard race for Quarter Horses with a $150,000-added purse, will be run Friday, Oct. 29, as part of the Breeders' Cup World Thoroughbred Championships weekend at Lone Star. The winner will receive an automatic spot in the Grade 1 $500,000 Champion of Champions on Dec. 11 at Los Alamitos. . . . . Sallee Horse Vans has begun a free raceday shuttle to Ellis Park for horses stabled at Churchill Downs and the Trackside training center. Churchill-based horses will continue to receive a 15-day rebate on stall rent for each start at Ellis Park. . . .
Evangeline Downs has added five days of racing, all Mondays, to its summer calendar. The addition of August 2, 9, 16, 23, and 30 brings the number of racing days to 92 for the meet, which ends Sept. 6. . . . Trackside, the offtrack betting facility operated by Churchill Downs in Louisville, Ky., reopened Saturday after being closed for three days. The shutdown was caused by a power outage following a Tuesday-night thunderstorm. . . . The British Thoroughbred registry, Weatherbys, has altered the age of Group 2 winner Endless Summer from 6 to 7.
A plan to test all horses in graded stakes for more than 100 illegal substances has been postponed indefinitely because of difficulties in implementing the tests.
Stephen Duncker, the chairman of the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association's graded stakes committee, said the plan had to be postponed because of wide-ranging differences in how labs and racing commissions test for illegal drugs. The plan had previously been scheduled to be put in place July 1.
Runners need pension fund for later years
In all major sports, the athletes are provided pensions and health care when they reach retirement age or suffer career-ending injuries. Even mediocre athletes are provided pensions. Only Thoroughbred racing, the so-called sport of kings, sends its athletes to the slaughterhouse or the euthanizer when they have passed their prime.
Romeo Plus, considered one of the top milers in Argentina, has been purchased privately by a partnership and will be sent to trainer Kristin Mulhall in California later this month.
Romeo Plus has won 5 of 13 starts. Chuck Winner and David Bienstock will be the principal owners of Romeo Plus, Mulhall said.
Romeo Plus has won two Group 1 races this year.
Mulhall was in Argentina last weekend to watch Romeo Plus, 4, win the Group 1 Gran Premio 9 de Julio. In the one-mile turf race, Romeo Plus rallied from off the pace to win by five lengths.
Stewart Elliott, who rode Smarty Jones to victory in this year's Kentucky Derby and Preakness, has won the Espy award as best jockey of the year. The award was presented Wednesday at a show that will air Sunday at 9 p.m. Eastern on ESPN. . . . Colonial Downs has started the first account wagering service in the state of Virginia, called Colonial Downs PhoneBet, accepting bets from over the telephone or on the Internet. Accounts are available only to Virginia residents. . . .
LEXINGTON, Ky. - Jockey Jimmy Winkfield, who enjoyed international success that included two Kentucky Derby victories, and Bowl of Flowers, a two-time filly champion, will join the National Museum of Racing's Hall of Fame next month.
The museum's Historic Review Committee approved the pair for induction. They will join the other 2004 inductees elected into the Hall of Fame by the regular voting process: trainer Claude R. "Shug" McGaughey III, jockey Kent Desormeaux, and champion racehorses Skip Away and Flawlessly.
NEW YORK - Brent Diamond, a veteran sports-publishing executive, has been named president of Daily Racing Form by The Wicks Group, which purchased the 110-year-old newspaper company in May. Diamond succeeds Charles Hayward, who is leaving the company after six years to pursue other publishing projects.