LEXINGTON, Ky. – Witnesses called to testify Tuesday during the first day of a hearing into whether Kentucky State Steward John Veitch violated multiple rules of racing described a chaotic and sometimes conflicting series of events leading up to the Life At Ten incident at the Breeders’ Cup last Nov. 5 at Churchill Downs.

Mark Gerard, a veterinarian who infamously substituted a ringer in a 1977 race at Belmont, has died in Miami, according to the New York Times. Gerard was 76 and died of complications from a stroke, his sister told the paper.

Gerard, then 43, imported a pair of horses from Uruguay in June 1977. They were a champion, Cinzano, and a $1,600 purchase named Lebon, who had broken down in his previous start. Gerard entered Cinzano under Lebon’s name in a Sept. 23 turf race and the horse won, at odds of 57-1. Gerard collected more than $80,000.

Sunday: Big day at Belmont

East Coast racing takes the stage on Sunday with four graded stakes at Belmont. Steve Klein says it's an eminently playable card, with contenders worth keying in exotics in the first three:

Coolmore has nominated Group 1 winners Canford Cliffs, Treasure Beach, and So You Think to the Breeders’ Cup via the open-enrollment program, which the Breeders’ Cup launched this year to increase the number of horses eligible for, and likely to participate in, the Breeders’ Cup championship races.

Coolmore paid $25,000 for each horse to make the runners eligible for the Breeders’ Cup. None had been nominated as foals.

Joseph M. Cornacchia, co-owner of Kentucky Derby winners Strike the Gold and Go For Gin, and a former member of the New York Racing Association’s Board of Directors, died Sunday at age 78.

A native New Yorker, Cornacchia was a second generation printer for 30 years in Manhattan’s East Village, where he manufactured the game boards and pieces for Deluxe Scrabble and Trivial Pursuit. When Trival Pursuit was purchased by Coleco, Cornacchia formed a new company, The James Gang, and marketed the game Pictionary, which sold 20 million copies.

The New York Racing Association has responded to a demand by a state regulatory body to disclose the salaries of its senior officials and has pledged to work with the board on a long-term financial plan, NYRA's chief executive, Charles Hayward, said on Monday.

By Steve Andersen
INGLEWOOD, Calif. - Lou Raffetto, the noted East Coast racing executive, will join the Thoroughbred Owners of California as the organization's president on Friday, the group's officials said at an open forum at Hollywood Park on Saturday.

Raffetto, who has worked as the president of the Maryland Jockey Club and at Monmouth Park and Suffolk Downs, fills a position that has been vacant and will be his first involvement in California racing.

ELMONT, N.Y. - Dialed In, who finished eighth as the favorite in the Kentucky Derby, will have to undergo surgery to remove a chip out of his knee and will most likely miss the remainder of his 3-year-old season, trainer Nick Zito told New York Racing Association officials Friday.

Zito said that recent X-rays taken by Dr. Joseph Migliacci revealed a chip in the colt's right knee. Zito said Dr. Larry Bramlage will do the surgery at the Rood and Riddle Equine Clinic in Lexington, Ky., next week.

A sampling of headlines from the late-1800s and early-1900s, when Pittsburg Phil earned his riches at the races. Read more about one of history's greatest horseplayers in Ryan Goldberg's June 2011 DRF Weekend article The Godfather of handicappers: Pittsburg Phil changed the game forever.

New York Times

Aug. 7, 1887

On June 30, the racing and gambling assets of MI Developments will be transferred to a private company being formed by Frank Stronach. The company, which is being called the Stronach Group, will be headed by Greg Avioli, the former chief executive officer of Breeders’ Cup. After the transfer, Avioli, 46, will take charge of Santa Anita, Gulfstream Park, Laurel Park, Pimlico Racecourse, the account-wagering company XpressBet, the bet-processing company AmTote, and a half-share in the racing broadcaster HRTV.