DEL MAR, Calif. - Golden Apples, the 2002 champion turf female, was retired on Saturday after she was found to have suffered a suspensory injury to her left foreleg, trainer Ben Cecil said.

Cecil speculated that the injury occurred in Golden Apples' lone start this year, a second-place finish in the Grade 1 John Mabee Handicap at Del Mar on July 26. In that race, she was part of a three-way dead-heat for second, finishing a half-length behind Megahertz.

The injury was detected on Saturday, a day after Golden Apples resumed serious exercise, Cecil said.

An item in Sunday's Saratoga notebook misstated the pedigree of A Great Team. He is not a half-brother to Our Emblem, Traditionally, and Miner's Mark. His dam, Pennant Champion, is a half-sister to them.

Making a pony of Kona Gold seen as travesty

It had always been my assumption that both trainer Bruce Headley and his fellow co-owners of Kona Gold thought well of the horse, as they were were admirably diligent in preserving his body, mind, and soul. Perhaps I was wrong.

The thought of Kona Gold retiring to a pedestrian job as a track pony, after everything he has accomplished, is abhorrent ("Kona Gold done racing," July 30). Was Cigar to become a track pony upon the discovery of his infertility? No.

NEW YORK - The New York State Racing and Wagering Board has fined the New York Racing Association $10,000 for failing to get the proper approvals for a marketing promotion.

The fine was issued on July 31, according to Stacy Clifford, a spokeswoman for the board. NYRA has 10 days to appeal the fine, Clifford said.

The National Thoroughbred Racing Association scrapped plans to run the Great State Challenge in 2003 because of an inability to find a sponsor for the event.

The Great State Challenge, a one-day, six-race event designed to pit horses from different states against each other and reward state breeding associations, was first held in December of last year. The decision to cancel this year's event was made at an NTRA board meeting held via teleconference Friday.

Stock in Magna Entertainment Corp. plummeted 13.1 percent on Friday, down 55 cents to $3.65, after the company released its second-quarter earnings for 2003.

Net income for the second quarter was $811,000, or one cent a share, two cents below the consensus estimate of analysts. Revenues in the quarter were $188.3 million, up 54.2 percent compared to the second quarter last year. Expenses were $187.6 million, up 48.5 percent.

Last year in the second quarter, Magna had net income of $45,000 on revenues of $128.2 million.

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NEW YORK - New York State's comptroller, Alan Hevesi, has distributed a draft report of an audit of the New York Racing Association to NYRA officials, a spokesman for Hevesi said on Thursday.

NYRA has 30 days to respond to the audit from the date of its distribution but can request an additional 30 days as an extension. After NYRA responds, the comptroller will issue a final report that includes NYRA's conclusions about the draft.

After several years of rancor, the process of assigning dates for the 2004 Illinois Thoroughbred racing calendar should be relatively painless.

Illinois tracks filed applications for 2004 dates on Thursday with the Illinois Racing Board. Based on the applications, next year's calendar will look much like this year's.

The National Jockey Club meet will start the Chicago season in March, followed by Arlington's late-spring and summer run. Hawthorne Race Course finishes with a fall and winter meet.

A new hotel will be built at Delta Downs in Vinton, La., next year as part of a $50 million expansion project at the track, Las Vegas-based owner Boyd Gaming announced Wednesday. The project's first phase will include expansion of Delta's slots casino, while the second phase, set to begin in early 2004, will include a 200-room hotel.