Etc. . . .

The sales-topper at the New York Breeders' Sales Company's fall mixed sale, held Sunday in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., was a $60,000 weanling by Kafwain out of the Birdonthewire mare Birthday Wire, sold to Dean Purdom. In the open session, Lexy May, a mare by Lear Fan out of Ravnina, sold for a sale-topping $50,000 to trainer Leo O'Brien, acting as agent. . . . Slam Bammy ($25.40) ran down Outcashem to score a 1 3/4-length victory in Tuesday's $60,000 Eillo Stakes at the Meadowlands. Slam Bammy, ridden by Rajiv Maragh and trained by Joe Orseno, was timed in 1:08.06, only .25 of a second off the track record of 1:07.81 set by Hay Cody in 1996. . . . Jockey Russell Baze will ride at Bay Meadows on Saturday - the day of his bobblehead giveaway - after all. Baze was going to ride Victorina at Laurel Park on Saturday in the $200,000 Safely Kept, but Victorina developed a fever Monday and will pass the race. . . . The North American Riding Academy, a education program begun by Hall of Fame jockey Chris McCarron in Lexington, Ky., has begun its initial semester of classes with 11 students, the academy said on Monday. The academy has received $300,000 from the Kentucky legislature, and McCarron is hoping to raise $15 million to expand the program.