* Rocky Gulch ($6), rebounding from an uncharacteristic poor performance at Sunray Park three weeks earlier, cruised to a 3 3/4-length win over 7-5 favorite Value of the Hunt in the $132,250 Johnnie Jamison, a 6 1/2-furlong stakes for New Mexico-breds at Sunland Park. It was the fifth stakes win of the season for Rocky Gulch.

* Let's Just Do It ($4.60) dueled head-to-head with 25-1 longshot Smokin' Greida through the stretch, then pulled away inside the sixteenth pole to score a 3 1/2-length victory in the $51,550 Autumn Stakes for fillies and mares at Charles Town.

New England uses practical insurance aid

I read with interest the Nov. 18 article "Insurance Summit." I was surprised that the article, which was very informative and well done, made no mention of the very successful jockey/exercise rider/pony person program that is in place at Suffolk Downs in East Boston, Mass.

In a case that dates back 25 months, trainer John Kimmel was fined $2,000 for the finding of cocaine in the postrace urine sample of Essayons, who finished second in the fourth race at Belmont on Oct. 5, 2002.

Kimmel did not receive further penalties because of "reasonable questions raised by the investigation into the incident," according to a release put out by Carmine Donofrio, the New York State Racing and Wagering Board steward.

Tony Pellegrino, who worked at New York Racing Association tracks for 30 years, died Nov. 22 at his home in Lone Grove, Okla. He was 64.

Pellegrino worked as a trainer, an outrider, a paddock judge, and clerk of scales before retiring in 1995. He is survived by his wife, Susan, a sister, Dorothy, two nephews, a niece, and a great-nephew.

Condolences can be sent to HdouglasFuneralhome.com.

Fair Grounds will offer a guaranteed $50,000 superfecta pool on the sixth race every day beginning Sunday. The guarantee will be in effect as long as the race has a minimum of 10 starters. . . . The Fair Grounds telephone and Internet wagering systems, purchased by Churchill Downs Inc. along with the track in October, have begun accepting wagers on other tracks owned by Churchill. . . . Hawthorne canceled the last four races of its scheduled nine-race Wednesday card when a continual snowfall hit an already-sloppy track. Racing was scheduled to resume Friday. . . .

LEXINGTON, Ky. - Kent Desormeaux, a board member of the Jockeys' Guild, said Tuesday that he has begun an inquiry into the qualifications of the organization's president, L. Wayne Gertmenian.

Desormeaux, a Hall of Fame rider based in California, said he was acting in response to questions raised about claims in Gertmenian's resume that have been difficult to substantiate. The resume is posted on the Internet site of Pepperdine University, where school officials said Gertmenian is a tenured professor.

The Kentucky Horse Racing Authority on Monday formed a committee to explore the possibility of covering jockeys under workers' compensation programs in the state.

Jim Gallagher, the executive director of the racing authority, said Tuesday that the committee will attempt to work in tandem with a panel set up by the National Thoroughbred Racing Association, also on Monday. The NTRA committee has been asked to issue recommendations by the end of the year on how to implement national accident coverage for jockeys at racetracks.

The Nebraska State Racing Commission approved a schedule of 107 days of live racing in 2005 at the state's five Thoroughbred tracks and the Quarter Horse track in Hastings at its Friday meeting in Lincoln.

The schedule is basically unchanged from this year. Fonner Park will lead off with a 38-day season from Feb. 11 to May 7. State Fair Park will then offer a 37-day stand from May 13 to July 17, a weekend longer than this year.

Mazel Trick, currently fourth among North America's second-crop sires, will stand in Pennsylvania in 2005. A 9-year-old son of Phone Trick, Mazel Trick will move to Reigle Heir Farm in Grantville, Pa., where his 2005 fee will be $5,000, down from his 2004 fee of $12,500 in Kentucky. . . . Purses at Calder Race Course have been increased $1,000 per race effective with Thursday's 11-race Thanksgiving Day program.

FLORENCE, Ky. - A six-member committee of industry representatives and legal and insurance consultants has been appointed to find solutions to the problem of adequate and affordable accident insurance coverage for jockeys. The committee was appointed by a task force formed by the National Thoroughbred Racing Association, which met Monday at Turfway Park.