Donald Leifeld, a prominent Nebraska-based owner, died Saturday at Howard County Medical Center in St. Paul, Neb. He was 61.

A native of Grand Island, Neb., Leifeld ran his own construction company, Don Liefeld Construction, as well as the transport company D&L Trucking Co.
Leifeld operated a small stable under the name D and L Trucking Inc., competing in both Southern California and the Great Plains. He owned two winners of the Bosselman/Gus Fonner Handicap, the marquee race at his hometown track of Fonner Park – Sahara King in 1996 and Windy’s Halo in 1997.

Evangeline Downs in Opelousas, La., has made a host of changes to its 26-race, $2 million stakes schedule for the Thoroughbred meet that opens April 6. The track has discontinued the $300,000 Evangeline Downs Turf Sprint but added seven new stakes races, including four offerings for 3-year-olds. The 84-date meet runs through Aug. 27.

Shirley Lewis Sucher, the co-founder of Echo Valley Horse Farm in Georgetown, Ky. and breeder of Hall of Famers Winning Colors and Chris Evert, died Sunday. She was 76.

A native of Mount Pleasant, Mich., Sucher was a model in New York City before marrying Donald Sucher and opening their farm southwest of Georgetown. They were married 53 years until Donald Sucher’s death in February 2015.

ETOBICOKE, Ontario – Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf winner Catch a Glimpse leads the list of finalists for the 41st Sovereign Awards released Wednesday by The Jockey Club of Canada.

Trained by Mark Casse, who will be vying for his fifth consecutive Sovereign Award as outstanding trainer, Catch a Glimpse was named a finalist in both the 2-year-old filly and turf female divisions and could be a leading contender for Canadian Horse of the Year. The four finalists for Canadian Horse of the Year will be announced during the Sovereign Awards ceremony April 8 at Woodbine.

Portland Meadows has introduced a jackpot-style carryover wager in an attempt to raise the track’s profile with horseplayers, but the structure of the races has generated concerns about a conflict of interest since all the horses in the bet sequence are owned by a single person related to the track’s owner.

Jockeys Nik Juarez and Xavier Perez have been suspended after the Maryland Racing Commission last Friday conducted drug tests in the Laurel Park jockeys’ room.

Perez tested positive for amphetamines and was taken off the remainder of his Friday mounts. Before he is allowed to ride again, he will have to undergo drug counseling and further testing through a program administered by the Maryland Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association. Once he is released from counseling, he will have a hearing before the Laurel stewards.

American Pharoah, the 2015 Horse of the Year in the U.S., was named the World’s Best Racehorse on Tuesday at a ceremony in London sponsored by Longines.

American Pharoah became the first U.S.-based horse to top the world rankings of the International Federations of Horseracing Authorities since 2008, when Curlin took the award. Curlin won the Dubai World Cup that year, while American Pharoah did not race outside the U.S. in 2015.

$150,000 Smarty Jones Stakes, one mile, Oaklawn Park, Jan. 18, 2016
(10 Derby qualifying points for a win, 4 for second, 2 for third, 1 for fourth)

Winner: Discreetness (sire: Discreet Cat)
Trainer: Jinks Fires
Jockey: Jon Court
Owner: Xpress Thoroughbreds LLC
Beyer Speed Figure: 83

Glen Berman, the executive director of the Illinois Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association since 2009, will leave that position to take the head job at the Florida Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association at a critical time for the organization, the FHBPA announced on Monday.

Berman, a practicing attorney and licensed pharmacist, will start as executive director of the FHBPA on Feb. 15, the organization said. The FHBPA board has been searching for a new executive director since the retirement late last year of longtime executive director Kent Stirling.

Gulch, a Breeders’ Cup and Eclipse Award winner and the sire of a Kentucky Derby winner, was euthanized Sunday at the Old Friends Equine Retirement in Georgetown, Ky. due to complications from cancer. He was 32.