LEXINGTON, Ky. - When word came earlier this week that 2002 Kentucky Derby winner War Emblem has shown little interest in covering mares at Shadai Stud in Japan, it didn't take long for Dr. Phil McCarthy's phone to ring in Kentucky.

McCarthy is a veterinarian known for his work on equine fertility issues, and War Emblem's insurers, Lloyds of London, has asked him to act as a consultant on the stallion's case. McCarthy hasn't examined the horse or made a diagnosis yet, but he did say this week that War Emblem's lack of libido might turn out to be reversible.

Becky Thomas has made a name for herself as a pinhooker, but she had a different connection to several New York-bred 2-year-olds who sold for six figures at the recent Ocala Breeders' Sales Company auction.

ARCADIA, Calif. - When Road to Slew won the Crystal Water Handicap for California-breds for a record third time last Sunday, the satisfaction was visible on the faces of owner Nick Cafarchia and trainer Craig Dollase.

Six months ago, Road to Slew was on a local farm, recovering from a pulled ligament that threatened to end his accomplished career. Now, after two starts this year, Road to Slew is showing the same competitive spirit as an 8-year-old that he showed during a six-month span in 2000-01 when he won three consecutive stakes.

North Florida had more rain than usual this winter. With the rains come swollen swamps and mosquito-infested waters. Mosquitoes are the agents for West Nile virus, which has hit horses - including breeding stock - throughout North America.

Dr. Carol Clark, an Ocala veterinarian, counsels breeders to inoculate their stock for West Nile and then follow up with periodic booster shots from the fourth-through-ninth months after, and then to administer a booster every four months.

Don't be misled by the name. New York Hero, the colt who vaulted several spaces ahead on the Triple Crown trail with his victory in the Grade 2 Lane's End Stakes on March 22, is totally a product of Maryland breeding.

More specifically, he owes his origins to the well-represented breeding program at David and JoAnn Hayden's Dark Hollow Farm in Upperco, Md.

LEXINGTON, Ky. - Despite the boost it got from the sale-topping $240,000 Indian Charlie colt, Fasig Tipton's sale of 2-year-olds in Texas ended Tuesday with declines across the board.

LEXINGTON, Ky. - David and Ginger Mullins, whose sales agency sold the $2.8 million top filly from a one-horse consignment at Keeneland's 2002 July sale, have put their Doninga Farm on the market.

The 113-acre property is located on Greenwich Pike near Lexington. Realtor Bill Justice has the listing.

LEXINGTON, Ky. - When Shadai Stallion Station in Japan bought 2002 Kentucky Derby winner War Emblem for more than $17 million last year, it looked like a good investment in a champion 3-year-old and classic winner. But making the deal may have been the easiest part for Shadai, which so far hasn't been able to convince War Emblem to actually mate with most of the mares presented to him.

Fasig-Tipton's Texas 2-year-old sale got off to an unsteady start Tuesday with numerous early buy-backs. But the one-day auction at Lone Star Park also saw some strength at the upper level: A $240,000 Indian Charlie colt was the sale-leader at 4 p.m. An $85,000 Smoke Glacken colt and a $72,000 Doneraile Court colt also brought some cheer to the sale's opening hours.

LEXINGTON, Ky. - Empire Maker's victory in the Grade 1 Florida Derby could hardly have been more emphatic, and its implications for the classics are there for all competitors to see. Bred and raced by Khalid Abdullah's Juddmonte Farms, Empire Maker is the second Juddmonte-bred in the last four years to show first-row classic potential.