ETOBICOKE, Ontario – It may seem to be a little late on the calendar, but the Canadian horse racing industry will be ringing out the old year and ringing in the new here at Woodbine on Thursday evening. The occasion will be the 37th annual Sovereign Awards ceremony, celebrating the best of 2011 in Canadian racing and breeding.

For the second straight year, the festivities will take place on the third floor of the grandstand here at Woodbine, where the Canadian Thoroughbred racing season will begin at 1 p.m. Friday.

The 11-year-old Catlaunch was honored as 2011 Ohio Horse of the Year by the Ohio Thoroughbred Breeders and Owners recently. It was the third time Catlaunch was voted the state horse of the year. He also won in 2008 and 2010.

Catlaunch also was voted the 2011 champion handicap horse and accredited male champion, both for the fifth straight year, as well as champion sprinter.

Catlaunch, a son of Noble Cat-Skilaunch, won five races last year, all stakes. He is owned and was bred by the Scioto Farm of Ron Fields and trained by Ivan Vazquez.

Upset wins by Take Charge Indy in the Florida Derby, Daddy Long Legs in the United Arab Emirates Derby, and Hero of Order in the Louisiana Derby this past weekend left the pecking order of contenders for the May 5 Kentucky Derby less defined than it was a week ago, created great debate over the performances of horses and riders involved in those races, and caused considerable upheaval on the graded stakes earnings list, which seems certain, yet again, to determine the Derby

It’s around this point on the Kentucky Derby trail that we separate the men from the boys, at least from a graded earnings standpoint. Potential is sometimes eclipsed by cold hard cash.

The next time you get into a car and drive to the nearest Thoroughbred racetrack, think about the ease with which you got there: You put the key in the ignition, navigated traffic, parked, and that was that. Now think about what it takes to get any number of the horses you're watching that day to the same racetrack. Not that easy.

More simulcasts, not exchange bets, are people's choice

There has been a lot of talk and ink about the new proposed exchange wagering that has been forecast in the future of California through the British company Betfair (the owner of TVG). As a veteran horse player for more than 40 years in the state, I do not see this as a windfall for the state or, for that matter, a significant new option for horseplayers.

The New York State Racing and Wagering Board is scheduled to consider an emergency rule on Monday that would void a claim of a horse that dies during the running of the race or is euthanized because of an injury suffered during the race, according to a notice it posted on its website on Friday.

Jockey Ramon Dominguez, injured in an accident at Aqueduct on March 18, is planning to return to action next Friday, April 6, one day before the Grade 1, $1 million Wood Memorial at Aqueduct, his agent, Steve Rushing, said Friday.

Mike Smith

Born: Aug. 10, 1965, Roswell, N.M.

o Inducted into Racing Hall of Fame, 2003

o Eclipse Award winner as outstanding jockey in 1993 and 1994

• Tied with Jerry Bailey for most Breeders’ Cup wins (15): 

Classic:

Drosselmeyer, 2011 

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Zenyatta, 2009

Skip Away, 1997

o Turf: Tikkanen, 1994

o Ladies’ Classic (Distaff): Zenyatta, 2008; Azeri, 2002; Ajina, 1997; Inside Information, 1995

By Matt Hegarty
LEXINGTON, Ky. -- An updated set of proposed racing rules released by the Jockey Club on Friday reiterates the organization's opposition to the raceday use of furosemide -- the anti-bleeding medication commonly known as Lasix -- and would revamp the way that racing commissions determine penalties for trainers whose horses test positive for medications.