Columbus track report

Last Sunday's fifth race was named in honor of Sandy Rettele, a longtime fixture behind the scenes in Nebraska racing who died suddenly last fall. The winner's circle was full of friends and family who were on hand for the blanket presentation, something Rettele had always been a big part of.

For 31 years Rettele made the blankets for Columbus Races and the other tracks in the state. Along with her husband, Jerry, dozens of well-wishers were on hand to honor her memory. Over the years it was estimated she made more than 30,000 blankets and 2,200 sets of silks.

* R.D. Williams got off to a fast start on Friday's opening-night program as he began the defense of his riding title here with four wins on the nine-race card.

* Jockey agent Cookie Kerrigan made a quick trip to Las Vegas early this week, but unfortunately the trip ended much sooner than he had hoped. Kerrigan said he fell about 200 qualifiers short of moving on in a field of over 2,100 players at the Rio in the World Series of Poker after 11 hours of play. "It hurt, and it's going to hurt for another 364 days," he said with a wry smile.