A celebration of life will be held Tuesday at 2 p.m. Pacific in the turf club at Golden Gate Fields for Antonio L. “Tony” Diaz, a top Northern California rider and trainer who died of cancer Monday at age 67.

Diaz was the leading rider on the Northern California circuit during the 1970s, winning riding titles at Golden Gate Fields and Bay Meadows, and he became a trainer following his retirement. He rode 2,505 winners before his retirement in 2002 and trained 441 winners from 2,421 starters, including Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies runner Meadow Rendezvous.

Jockey David Lopez rode his 1,000th Thoroughbred winner Wednesday afternoon in the eighth race at Finger Lakes.

Lopez, a 35-year-old native of San Diego, began his career at Arlington Park in 2005 and rode his first winner at Hawthorne Park.
He won races 3 and 8 at Finger Lakes on Wednesday. His milestone victory came aboard Baime, who is trained by Michael Ferraro and owned by Barry Schwartz.

In addition to his Thoroughbred wins, Lopez has 19 Quarter Horse victories.

Longtime New Jersey owner, breeder, and trainer Ed Barney died last Saturday at age 88.

According to Bob Kulina, the president of Darby Development, which operates Monmouth Park, Barney raced at the track since it opened in 1946.

"I met him through my father," Kulina said.

Barney was preceded in death by his wife of 48 years, Ramona, who died in September 2014. The Barneys owned and operated the farm Tourelay in Colts Neck, N.J.

DEL MAR, Calif. – The comebacking 4-year-old gelding Unusualy collapsed after completing a five-furlong workout Monday and perished, becoming the 13th equine fatality this summer at Del Mar either racing or training.

Unusualy appeared to collapse from an internal issue. As with all fatalities at California tracks, a necropsy will be performed.

Originally published in the Saratoga Player’s Guide on July 15.

There are many people who feel that the summer doesn’t officially begin until the first race of the Saratoga meet. For them, the summer solstice will occur Friday, July 22, at approximately 1 p.m. Eastern. And who can blame them? Each year, the best horses in the country are lured to the “Graveyard of Favorites,” and horseplayers welcome the big fields with quality horses and juicy payouts.

Jockey Norberto Arroyo Jr. on Sunday was placed on probation for the duration of his license after a test revealed a 0.02 percent blood alcohol level earlier at this Del Mar meet, track stewards said.

Arroyo has had a checkered career that has included incidents of substance abuse and jail time. He recently relocated to Southern California and was granted a license through July 31, 2019, but as a condition to get a license, the California Horse Racing Board required that he sign paperwork consenting to tests at any time, steward Scott Chaney said Sunday.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Hall of Fame jockey Calvin Borel will return to riding later this month at Ellis Park following a five-month layoff during which he supposedly retired while dealing with personal issues.

Borel has been at Churchill Downs most every morning in recent weeks, working horses for trainer Buff Bradley. Borel has been living at Bradley’s farm in Frankfort, Ky., since resurfacing from a self-imposed hiatus during which he spent time in Florida and in his home state of Louisiana.

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – The official in charge of the drug-testing program for the Ultimate Fighting Championship praised the involvement of the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency in the mixed martial-arts league at The Jockey Club’s Round Table Conference on Matters Pertaining to Racing on Sunday in Saratoga Springs, providing fresh support for the club’s effort to involve the USADA in racing.

DEL MAR, Calif. – Purses for overnight races at Del Mar will be reduced by approximately 5 percent for the final two weeks of the summer meeting after lower-than-expected business in recent weeks.

Tom Robbins, Del Mar’s director of racing, said on Saturday that the reduction will take place in allowance, claiming, and maiden races. The stakes program will not be affected.

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – The final six races of Saturday’s card at Saratoga were canceled after the jockeys refused to ride, citing unsafe track conditions.

Rain began shortly after 2 p.m. Eastern, and over the next hour, 0.66 inches fell, according to New York Racing Association management, making for an extremely sloppy main track. The fourth race, run on the turf, was delayed 14 minutes while rain, accompanied by thunder and lightning, went through the area.