The New York Thoroughbred Breeders and New York State Thoroughbred Breeding and Development Fund are co-sponsoring a series of drawings aimed at bringing fans to the Big Apple Triple series of races this summer.

Fans can enter for free for a drawing to win packages – including reserved seats, hotel accommodations, and paddock passes – for each of the Big Apple Triple races, the June 26 Mike Lee Handicap at Belmont, the July 16 New York Derby at Finger Lakes, and the Aug. 24 Albany Stakes at Saratoga. The series is for New York-bred 3-year-olds.

Craig Fravel, the president and general manager of Del Mar Thoroughbred Club, has become a leading candidate in Breeders’ Cup’s search to name a new president and chief executive officer, according to several racing officials.

The Craig Family Trust has sold Sidney’s Candy, one of the West Coast's top male handicap horses, to a WinStar Farm partnership, and the 4-year-old Candy Ride colt was shipped to the East Coast to join Todd Pletcher’s barn.

WinStar announced the private purchase for an undisclosed price Tuesday afternoon, saying Sidney’s Candy will race in the Versailles, Ky., farm’s colors and will stand there when he retires.

Emirates Airline has renewed an agreement with the Breeders' Cup to sponsor two of the organization's year-end races, the Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Turf and the Breeders' Cup Turf, according to the organization. Emirates has been a sponsor of the Breeders' Cup since 2005, and as part of the agreement, the company will also sponsor races at Gulfstream Park, Belmont Park, Woodbine Racetrack, Lone Star Park, Del Mar, and Emerald Downs. . . .

The connections of Prime Cut debated all this past week whether or not to run in the Belmont Stakes, and on Saturday night, trainer Neil Howard announced that Prime Cut, the third-place finisher in last month's Peter Pan Stakes, would indeed return to New York for the Belmont Stakes on June 11.

BELMONT STAKES: Replays, contenders, and news updates »

Common sense calls for keeping dimes in pockets

I read with interest the May 15 letter to the editor, "No reason to shun dime bettors" and the May 29 letter in response, "Ten-cent customers can get in the way." I look at it this way. You have close to 160,000 in attendance at Churchill Downs on Kentucky Derby Day, and the truth is that many of these people will not even know how to place a bet - any type of bet, period.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The death of jockey Michael Baze was caused by an accidental overdose involving cocaine and prescription medication, according Jefferson County Deputy Coroner Jim Wesley.

Baze, from the famed family of jockeys from the western United States, was found dead in his vehicle in the Churchill Downs stable area on the afternoon of May 10. He was 24.

When Hall of Fame trainer Charlie Whittingham died in 1999, he was among the last of the generations of top-ranked American trainers who actually laid hands on every horse under their care.

Most of the conditioners heading the standings today maintain stables of horses at racing centers throughout the country and sometimes rarely see, let alone actually train on a day-to-day basis, many horses under their care. Assistant trainers handle the chores and get telephone instructions on the top horses.

Uncle Mo, last year’s 2-year-old champion male, has been found to have cholangiohepatitis, his owner, Mike Repole, announced in a statement Friday.

Cholangiohepatitis is a rare disease affecting the liver and specifically the production, secretion, and distribution of bile, according to a resarch paper published in the April 2004 Equine Veterinary Education journal. Antimicrobial treatment is recommended for six weeks. Symptoms are mild colic, fever, and jaundice. The disease is considered difficult to diagnose because the symptoms tend to be mild.

MIAMI – Purses were raised 7.5 per cent effective with Friday’s first race at Calder as part of a compromise reached earlier in the day between track management and representatives of the Florida Division of the Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association.

The purse increase will be applied evenly to the base overnight purses, excluding overnight stakes and 2-year-old maiden special weight races, which will be increased only $1,000 from $39,000 to $40,000. Under the agreement, the minimum Florida Owners Awards will also increase from $500 to $1,000.