Etc. . . .

Jim Read Jr., a former columnist and chart-caller for Daily Racing Form and the son of veteran jockey agent Jim Read Sr., died from injuries suffered in a car crash in Ocala, Fla., Feb. 11. He was 58. . . . Sportsman's Park will conduct a free "sudden death" handicapping tournament, the Chi Town Challenge, with a prize of $5,000, during its upcoming meet. Entrants must complete an electronic registration form at www.sportsmanspark.com by Feb. 25, and beginning March 4 must pick one horse on each Sportsman's program who finishes third or better, with the contest continuing until only one entrant remains. . . . Nominations for the Toyota Blue Grass and Ashland Stakes, a pair of Grade 1 races at Keeneland, close Wednesday. Track officials will be on hand at tracks in Florida, Southern California, and New Orleans soliciting nominations. . . . The Canadian Pari-Mutuel Agency is teaming up with E-Success Inc., a real-time auditing and fraud protection company, to provide a bet-monitoring system. The system, said by the CPMA to be the first of its type in the world, will independently monitor every wagering transaction flowing through all the major totalizator hubs in Canada, independently checking the validity of each transaction, compiling pool totals, checking payout prices, and confirming winning tickets. . . . The Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation in Lexington, Ky., has added satellite retirement facilities at Bittersweet Station and Claybank farms, near Lexington. The TRF provides a stipend to support the retired racehorses at satellite facilities and is seeking other farms to host adopted ex-racehorses. . . . Tara Murty, formerly of Taylor Made Farm's sales agency, has joined Meg Levy's Bluewater Sales consignment operation in Lexington, Ky. . . . Televison Games Network will broadcast taped workouts from the undertack show of Fasig-Tipton's selected 2-year-olds-in-training sale at Calder that begins Feb 26. The show will air on Feb. 20 from 10:30-12:30 a.m. Eastern.