McCarron mementos top auction

GRAND PRAIRIE, Texas - The two items of memorabilia tied to retiring jockey Chris McCarron offered at a live benefit auction for the Disabled Jockeys' Endowment at Lone Star Park on Friday topped the sale by netting a combined $17,500.

Horse owner Jack Sweeney paid $9,000 for a mounted, autographed set of photos featuring the three Horses of the Year ridden by McCarron: John Henry, Alysheba, and Tiznow. The silks McCarron will wear aboard Came Home on Sunday in the Grade 3 Affirmed Handicap at Hollywood Park, expected to be his final ride, brought $8,500 from Bob Sambol, owner of Bob's Steak and Chop House.

The live auction raised $61,700, with $14,800 of that total to be set aside for Randy Romero, the former jockey awaiting a kidney and liver transplant. A few items during the auction were designated for Romero. There was also a silent auction Friday.

Romero is awaiting a liver and kidney transplant. His health kept him from traveling to Lone Star as expected on Friday.