Representatives of Breeders' Cup Ltd. visited Monmouth Park on Thursday to hear a proposal from track officials about holding the Breeders' Cup World Thoroughbred Championships there in 2007.

Bruce Garland, an executive vice president of the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority, the owner of Monmouth, said Friday that the presentation was the second that Monmouth officials have made in an attempt to land the Cup.

"We've done everything we can at this point," Garland said. "We wanted to make it clear that we're confident that we would do a good job with it."

The Florida Supreme Court has approved ballot language that would allow a public referendum on a constitutional amendment to legalize slot machines at tracks in south Florida.

The amendment, which has the support of racetracks, would allow voters in Dade and Broward counties to approve slot machines at any parimutuel facility, including horse tracks, dog tracks, and jai alai frontons, that has held live events in the past two years. Supporters would have to gather 500,000 signatures to get the amendment on the ballot.

Jockey Rick Wilson remained in serious but stable condition Friday at the Shock Trauma Unit of the University of Maryland Hospital in Baltimore. Wilson, 50, suffered head injuries during a spill last Saturday at Pimlico Race Course.

Career paths of some horses give one pause

I applaud Mike Watchmaker's May 12 column, "Mishandled Toccet finally gets a break." It is really sad to see the way some horses are handled, and Toccet is a perfect example. Let's hope that fine horse has something left and trainer Bobby Frankel can bring it out while owner Daniel Borislow stays on the sidelines.

The Senate passed a bill on Tuesday night that would clear the way for U.S. tracks to seek out customers in other countries and to allow Canadian residents to wager directly into U.S. pools.

The bill would repeal a 30 percent withholding tax levied on racing bets placed outside the country. Officials from U.S. tracks have said that the withholding tax prevents them from opening up U.S. pools to international bettors, and the tax runs counter to the position of the World Trade Organization.

Jockey Rick Wilson's condition was upgraded on Wednesday from critical to serious-but-stable in the Shock-Trauma Unit at the University of Maryland Hospital in Baltimore. Wilson suffered head injuries Saturday at Pimlico after being thrown from his mount and kicked in the head. . . . A bill placing the issue of gaming at racetracks in Oklahoma on the Nov. 2 general election ballot passed the state House by a 58-42 vote on Wednesday. The bill, previously passed by the state Senate, supersedes legislation passed earlier in the session enabling gaming devices at the state's tracks.

Rick Wilson, the 50-year Maryland rider who suffered severe head trauma during an accident on Saturday at Pimlico Race Course, remained in critical condition Tuesday at the University of Maryland Shock-Trauma Unit in Baltimore. On Monday, Wilson was able to speak with his wife and four children, according to his agent, John Salzman Jr.

It's not uncommon to see a trainer change careers and become a jockey agent, but it is an unusual move for a racetrack vice president. In the case of Charles Ashy Jr., who represents jockeys Kerwin Clark and the comebacking Tracy Hebert at Evangeline Downs near Lafayette, La., becoming an agent made sense.

Ashy used to be the track's vice president and director of racing and simulcasting, but the facility changed ownership and he was let go following the live racing season in 2002.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The attorney who filed a $48 million libel lawsuit on behalf of jockey Jose Santos said Monday that he believes The Miami Herald and its parent company, Knight-Ridder Inc., "should be held accountable," while his opponents countered that they plan to "vigorously" defend their position.

A Nevada judge has ruled that California trainer Frank Monteleone and his assistant, Linda Mikus, are liable for compensatory and punitive damages of $635,000 from a civil suit brought by horse owners Joseph Hirshfeld and Ron Holguin.

Hirshfeld and Holguin argued they were defrauded of $100,000 in the purchase and training of two horses from Europe that were supposed to be acquired and trained on their behalf by Monteleone.

The ruling was issued on May 4 by District Court Judge Jennifer Togliatti in Clark County, Nevada.