Bol stands tall, if not in the saddle

ANDERSON, Ind. - More than a few tall tales have been hitting the sports-shorts items in the nation's newspapers this week.

For the record, 7-foot-7 former NBA center Manute Bol will not be risking his limbs in breaking a Thoroughbred from the starting gate on Saturday. Bol will go through the licensing process with the Indiana Horse Racing Commission and be issued an identification card, not a jockey's license.

Bol will be the center of attention on "Sports Fanatic Night" at Hoosier Park on Saturday, when he will be at the track to raise awareness for his Right Turn Foundation, founded to help dislocated victims of a decades-long civil war in Bol's native Sudan. A custom made set of jockey silks for Bol, big enough to wrap most of the jockey colony in, was unveiled last weekend.

"He's been very enthusiastic about doing anything he can," said Tammy Knox of the Hoosier Park publicity department. "We were thinking about trying to find a pony that he could straddle for photo opportunities."

* Sittin tall atop the Hoosier rider standings is Orlando Mojica, who had his second four-victory night of the season last Saturday. Mojica leads the standings 51-37 over both Rodney Prescott and Tommy Pompell.

Trainer Ralph Martinez has moved to sixth in the national races-won category with 170 wins this year. He has been sending out winners at a 29-percent clip. At Hoosier he leads the way with 29 wins from 68 starts (43 percent) through last weekend and is just 13 away from equaling Stanley Roberts's 2001 record of 42 wins in a meet.