Etc. . . .

A Ransom, the 2000 world champion Quarter Horse and leading contender for the 2002 world title, has been retired from racing after winning 21 of 33 starts, including 13 stakes. A 6-year-old gelding trained by Connie Hall, A Ransom made his final start in the Champion of Champions on Dec. 14, finishing last in the 10-horse field as the favorite. . . . U.S. District Judge Richard Owen said on Thursday that he intended to add three years to the prison sentence of Robert Brennan, the former owner of Garden State Park, for violating a court order that prohibited Brennan from conducting business while in prison on fraud and conspiracy charges. Owen said Brennan had used revenue from a casino ship he co-owned to pay a former lawyer $500,000 two months after being convicted.