LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Jockey John Velazquez was cleared for release Monday from Audubon Hospital here after spending two nights there with a broken right collarbone and possible other injuries he suffered in a terrifying spill that occurred at the sixteenth pole during the ninth race Saturday night at Churchill Downs.

Ed Dodwell, a prominent Texas horseman whose Diamond D Ranch in Lone Oak, Texas,  gave Rachel Alexandra, the 2009 Horse of the Year, her early training lessons, died Sunday, confirmed his daughter-in-law, Jodi Dodwell. He was 72.

Dodwell suffered a heart attack early Sunday morning, and was pronounced dead at Presbyterian Hospital in Greenville, Texas. Services will be at 11 a.m. Thursday at Coker-Mathews Funeral Home in Greenville, Texas, said Jodi Dodwell.

Fewer race days would provide several benefits

The initiative by Gov. Andrew Cuomo to reform racing at the major New York tracks run by the New York Racing Association ("NYRA agrees to state control," May 24) offers an opportunity to consider the many proposals and suggestions raised by those who believe the quality and performance of our business can be improved.

A memorial service for Michael J. Marten, the Eclipse Award-winning photographer, will be held at noon Sunday, July 29, in the Betty Grable celebrity suite on the fifth floor of Del Mar Racetrack. The service will include speakers and a special presentation of photographs taken by Marten, who died of cancer on May 28 at age 54.

Industrial Labs, a drug-testing company in Denver, Colo., was told by state racing regulators six months ago to be on the lookout for a potent opiate painkiller, dermorphin, according to the lab’s director, an alert that has led to a spate of post-race positives for the drug in at least two states.

Giant Ryan, who fractured both sesamoids and suffered vascular damage to his left front ankle during the running of last Saturday's Grade 2 True North Handicap at Belmont Park, was euthanized Thursday afternoon after signs of laminitis began to set in, owner Shivananda Parbhoo said.

Giant Ryan was at the New Bolton Center in Kennett Square, Pa. where doctors had hoped to operate on him. However, that operation never occurred because of the signs of laminitis.

Ten horses in Louisiana have tested positive over the past week for a highly potent opiate painkiller after a testing lab in the state put in place a method to detect the drug, the director of the laboratory, Dr. Steven Barker, said on Thursday.

Going into the Belmont Stakes, it was looking like a memorable run for NBC Sports producer Rob Hyland. In his first year as lead producer for NBC’s racing broadcasts, a horse had a chance to become the first Triple Crown winner since 1978, which promised to have an outsized impact on television ratings.

The Kentucky Equine Humane Center at 1713 Catnip Hill Road in Nicholasville, Ky., will host an open house Saturday, June 16, from noon until 3 p.m.

The center, which takes in all breeds of horses as well as donkeys and mules, also will benefit from a June 26 fundraiser at Vue Restaurant in downtown Lexington, Ky. The eatery will sponsor Cocktails for a Cause from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m., featuring cocktails named after KyEHC horses, including the “Mystery” Martini and “Unravelled” Ice Tea.

Unzip Me, a 10-time stakes winner and one of the top female turf sprinters in recent years, has been retired, co-owner John Harris said on Wednesday.

Unzip Me was sent to Harris’s farm in Coalinga, Calif., last month with an injury. She won 14 of 25 starts and earned $959,228.

“She’s got some soft-tissue issues,” Harris said. “When you ultra-sound it, it gives you concern. We evaluated her and it didn’t look like it was the right thing to continue racing her. ”

Harris said that the 6-year-old Unzip Me will not be bred this year because it is too late.