Etc. . .

Petrushka, last year's champion 3-year-old filly in Britain and Ireland, has been retired from racing after straining a tendon in her right foreleg. She will probably be offered for sale later this year at Keeneland November Tattersalls December sales. . . . Nevada Gov. Kenny Guinn signed legislation Thursday legalizing Internet gambling in the state. The first licenses for Internet casinos are not expected to be awarded until late 2002, after the Nevada Gaming Commission drafts and approves regulations. . . . Because the mare reproductive loss syndrome in Kentucky has caused delays in the shipment of visiting mares back to their home states, the Texas Thoroughbred Association has agreed to extend this year's deadline for mares returning to Texas from Aug. 15 to Sept. 15. Mares must return to the state by that date if their foals are to become accredited Texas-breds.

Louisiana Downs in Bossier City, La., will lower the minimum wager to $1 during its upcoming meet, which opens June 30. The new wagering menu will have $1 win, place, show, exacta, and quinella bets available each race, and will also feature $1 trifectas, pick threes, superfectas, and pick six wagering. . . . Graded stakes-winner Golden Ballet, who retired earlier this month after bowing a tendon during a workout at Santa Anita on June 4, will fly Monday from California to Kentucky, where she will be prepared for public auction in November. Golden Ballet, who raced for Team Valor and Heiligbrodt Racing, will be boarded at Mr. and Mrs. Craig Bandoroff's Denali Stud near Lexington, Ky., until her sale, according to Team Valor principal Barry Irwin. . . . . Peter F. Karches, a retired COO of Morgan Stanley Dean Witter Institutional Securities Group, was elected co-vice chairman of the Board Trustees of the New York Racing Association on Wednesday. Karches will share the position with Timothy M. McGinn and Joseph Shields.