A $114,366 Vettori filly out of stakes-placed Salvinaxia topped the next-to-last session at the Deauville sales Tuesday in Deauville, France. Meridian International purchased the filly, a half-sister to Group 3-placed juvenile Via Milano, on behalf of Lansdon Robbins; Haras des Capucines was the seller. . . . Visitation and funeral services for Mervin Muniz, the longtime racing secretary and director of racing at Fair Grounds will be held Thursday in New Orleans. The visitation is from 9 a.m. to noon at All Faiths Funeral home, 5200 Canal Boulevard, with services to follow.

Mineshaft, the winner of two Grade 1 races in 2003, was made the 5-1 morning-line favorite for the second installment of the Breeders' Cup Classic future bet on Monday.

The Breeders' Cup Classic future bet will be conducted this weekend along with three other future bets on Breeders' Cup races: the Turf, Sprint, and Distaff. Wagering opens at 1 p.m. Eastern on Friday and closes at 9 p.m. Eastern on Monday, Sept. 1, after a busy weekend of racing across the U.S.

Apprentice rider Hector Romero was listed as stable and responsive but in critical condition Monday at the University of California-Davis Medical Center. Romero had surgery for removal of a ruptured spleen following a spill aboard Crafty M.D. in Sunday's ninth race at the California State Fair in Sacramento. . . . Laurel Park concluded its 22-day summer meet on Friday with an increase of 6 percent in total wagering. All-sources handle totaled $71.8 million for 2003, compared to $67.7 million in 2002.

* Holy Bubbette ($5.20) romped by eight lengths to win her stakes debut in the $50,000 Dixie Miss Stakes at Louisiana Downs.

* Baba Gonzo ($3) won for the first time in three career starts, defeating six Ohio-bred 2-year-old rivals in the $40,000 Miss Ohio Stakes at Thistledown.

* Where's the Ring ($6.20) drew clear by 3 1/2 lengths through the stretch to win the $35,000 Taliaferro Memorial at Remington Park. Medium Rare, who was attempting to win the stakes for the third straight year, finished second.

"Thoroughbred: Stable to Stardom," a one-hour horseracing documentary hosted by NBC News Anchor Forrest Sawyer will air Sunday, Aug. 24, 10-11 p.m. (ET) on MSNBC.

DEL MAR, Calif. - A proposal from the Oak Tree Racing Association to raise the purse of the Lady's Secret Breeders' Cup Handicap has met with resistance from members of the Thoroughbred Owners of California board of directors.

Officials with Oak Tree, which conducts the fall meeting at Santa Anita, want to increase the purse of the Sept. 28 Lady's Secret from $200,000 to $300,000, in an effort to ensure that Horse of the Year Azeri runs in the Grade 2 race.

John Van de Kamp, the president of the TOC, said his organization has concerns over the plan.

Jockey Jason Lumpkins said Friday that he is returning to northern California for an indefinite period and will be riding when the Bay Meadows meet begins Friday.

Lumpkins, who rode with considerable success in northern California for several years, moved to Kentucky last fall, when he purchased a home and a large tract of land some 40 miles northeast of Louisville. He said he is returning to northern California partly to meet his obligations in regard to a work-related insurance policy on himself.

Wiseman's Ferry, a 4-year-old son of Hennessy who won the Grade 3 Lone Star and West Virginia derbies in 2002, has been retired because of recurrence of an ankle injury, trainer Niall O'Callaghan said. . . . Woodbine is offering a new $50,000 bonus to a trainer who runs at least one horse in both the Canadian International and E.P. Taylor Stakes Oct. 19 and accumulates the most points based on a 10-6-4-3-1 scale for the first five finishers. . . . River Downs will seed the exacta pool in the last race on Friday, Aug.

In 1990, Racing Services Inc. barely registered on racing's radar screen. That year, the small North Dakota offtrack betting operator took in $28,000 in bets.

Fast-forward to 2002. Racing Services ended the year with total handle in excess of $220 million, a sizable chunk of the $15 billion national betting market, especially for an operator with only 10 sites in sparsely populated North Dakota.

Magna Entertainment Inc., the racetrack operator, has purchased a 30 percent share in AmTote Inc., one of the three major bet-processing companies in the racing industry, Magna announced on Friday.

The price of the 30 percent share was $3.82 million, Magna said in a release, giving AmTote a $12.7 million total valuation. AmTote is currently owned by a private partnership that includes John C. Corckran Jr., the company's president, and members of his family.