Saturday, Sept. 3

Saratoga -- Personal Ensign

Jockey Jacky Martin remained in critical condition Monday morning at University Medical Center in El Paso, Texas, three days after sustaining neck fractures in a spill at Ruidoso Downs in New Mexico.
His wife, Tracey Martin, said doctors told her he is paralyzed from the neck down and requires a respirator, which doctors placed him on Sunday. She said Martin will in time be moved to a rehabilitation facility, with the initial possibilities being health care centers in either Colorado or Houston, Texas.

Despite solid handle figures at Saratoga Race Course in upstate New York, overall handle on races at U.S. racetracks during the month of August plummeted 12.3 percent compared with the same month last year, according to figures released by Equibase on Sunday.

Jockey Jacky Martin was placed on a respirator Sunday morning at University Medical Center in El Paso, Texas, two days after sustaining neck fractures in a spill at Ruidoso Downs in New Mexico. His wife, Tracey Martin, said he has been diagnosed as a paralyzed from the neck down and at this point there are no surgeries scheduled.

Animal Kingdom, this year's Kentucky Derby winner, has been given the green light to resume training and will be pointed toward the Dubai World Cup next spring, his ownership group, Team Valor International, announced on Saturday in a press release.

Animal Kingdom has not raced since being injured in the Belmont Stakes. He then underwent surgery to stabilize a hairline fracture of his left hock. The surgery was performed at the University of Pennsylvania's New Bolton Center by Dr. Dean  Richardson, best known for operating on ill-fated 2006 Derby winner Barbaro.

DEL MAR, Calif. - Jerry Hollendorfer became only the fourth Thoroughbred trainer to win 6,000 races when Just Tappin It won the sixth race on Saturday at Golden Gate Fields, a $4,000 claiming race.

Hollendorfer watched the race at Del Mar, where he had several horses entered Saturday.

But he got number 6,000 in the Bay Area, where Hollendorfer led the standings for 22 straight years. And he did it in concert with jockey Russell Baze, with whom Hollendorfer has won more than 2,700 races.

Hall of Fame trainer Jerry Hollendorfer got win number 5,999 on Friday when Going for a Spin scored a front-running victory in the first race at Golden Gate Fields.

He missed with two others runners Friday, one at Golden Gate, one at Del Mar, in his quest to get to 6,000.

Hollendorfer is the fourth-winningest trainer of all time.

The victory by Going for a Spin ended an uncharacteristic streak for Hollendorfer in which he had 29 consecutive losing runners.

DEL MAR, Calif. – The California Horse Racing Board announced Thursday that it has launched a review of signatures submitted in a recent petition drive by an upstart group of horsemen attempting to decertify the Thoroughbred Owners of California as the state’s official representative for Thoroughbred horsemen.

Not all of the more than 1,100 signatures submitted by the California Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association may be valid, according to the state’s attorney general.

Beautiful Pleasure, 1999’s champion older mare, was euthanized Aug. 11 because of complications from chronic laminitis, owner John Oxley announced Thursday.

A Maudlin mare, Beautiful Pleasure was 16 and produced her final foal, a Medaglia d’Oro colt, on Feb. 27. She also is the dam of Grade 1-placed Dr. Pleasure.

Beautiful Pleasure had had laminitis for several months and spent time in an equine clinic. According to a release Oxley issued Thursday, she had “appeared to be on course for recovery, however progressing laminitis in recent months caused her demise.”

An election-rigging case that for years has divided loyalties among the membership of the Louisiana Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association took a significant step towards its conclusion Wednesday when the organization’s former president, Sean Alfortish, pleaded guilty to charges of conspiracy to commit mail fraud, wire fraud, identity fraud, and health care fraud. His plea comes less than a week before he was to stand trial in a case in which two of his former associates, Mona Romero and Cricket Romero, have already pleaded guilty.