In response to widespread reporting that the 1986 Kentucky Derby winner, Ferdinand, may have been killed last year in a Japanese slaughterhouse, the Japan Racing Association faxed a letter to the Associated Press saying that slaughter of imported high-caliber racehorses is highly unusual.

According to AP reports, the JRA and Japan Bloodhorse Breeders Association said they had determined the status of 23 of 24 high-level horses imported to Japan since 1980. They have died of natural causes, been exported to other countries, or remain in good care.

Seabiscuit mania has taken a firm hold of racetracks across the continent, and July 27 is Seabiscuit Sunday at Woodbine in celebration of the movie's opening.

While the racing career of Seabiscuit is the theme of the best-selling book and movie, not a lot has been written recently about the horse at stud. In fact, Seabiscuit, a son of Hard Tack out of Swing On, a foal of 1933, sired just 108 foals from nine crops. Of his 86 foals to race, 66 were winners and four were black-type winners.

DEL MAR, Calif. - The experience of racing against such top fillies as Composure and Elloluv last winter should help Summer Wind Dancer in Sunday's $100,000 Fleet Treat Stakes at Del Mar.

Unraced since January, Summer Wind Dancer faces a tough field in the Fleet Treat Stakes, run over seven furlongs for 3-year-old fillies.

In recent years, the Fleet Treat has included a standout, making for an unattractive betting race. In this year's field, the situation is the opposite.

The offices of the New York Thoroughbred Breeders will be humming during Saratoga's racing season.

Dennis Brida, the NYTB's executive director, has planned three free public events in hopes of attracting new owners to racing.

First up on Aug. 2 is a seminar on how to purchase Thoroughbreds at auction. The seminar, which begins at 8:30 a.m. at the Fasig-Tipton Sales Pavilion on East Avenue, features speakers from the auction company, including president Walt Robertson and auctioneer Terence Collier, who also serves as the director of marketing at Fasig-Tipton.

After 60 years of marriage and more than 40 years of breeding Thoroughbreds, Hugh and Achsah O'Donovan continue to find happiness by the light of a perfect moon.

Perfect Moon is a 2-year-old Maryland-bred gelding who rallied from a stalking position to win the Grade 3 Hollywood Juvenile Championship by daylight on the closing weekend of the Hollywood Park summer meeting. By Malibu Moon out of the Parfaitement mare Perfectly, Perfect Moon represents three generations of horses bred and raised by the O'Donovans and is their first graded stakes winner.

Lambholm South in Reddick welcomed its new stallion this week. Lido Palace, the multimillionaire who raced for Amerman Racing Stable and trainer Bobby Frankel, will enter stud in 2004 for a fee of $8,500 live foal.

A champion racehorse in his native Chile, Lido Palace raced 11 times in North America - 10 times in graded stakes - and never finished worse than fourth. Highlights of his career include winning the Grade 1 Whitney and Grade 1 Woodward in 2001, and repeating in the Woodward in 2002.

LEXINGTON, Ky. - Two Breeders' Cup Turf winners, 1993 Horse of the Year Kotashaan and 1994 Turf winner Tikkanen, have left Japan to be tried as National Hunt stallions in Ireland.

LEXINGTON, Ky. - If we could read between the lines of history or look in the hearts of owners and trainers, perhaps we would find the full story of Seabiscuit. Such material as we have, however, is always part fiction, seen through the lens of Hollywood or the creative mind of the writer. Even so, Seabiscuit has captured the imagination of readers and moviegoers today as fully as he enthralled the public during his latter years at the racetrack.

Booklet, a Grade 1 winner owned by John and Debby Oxley, will enter stud at the Greathouse family's Glencrest Farm in Midway, Ky., in 2004, the farm has announced.

Glencrest purchased an undisclosed percentage of Booklet, a 4-year-old Notebook colt, and will stand him for $6,500.

LEXINGTON, Ky. - The exact fate of 1986 Kentucky Derby winner and 1987 Horse of the Year Ferdinand remained unclear Wednesday, a day after a published report suggested that the horse died in a Japanese slaughterhouse in September of 2002.