The two-day Barretts October mixed sale in Pomona, Calif. on Monday and Tuesday showed significant declines from the corresponding sale in 2007, which was dominated by two high-profile dispersals.

This year's sale, which did not feature a major dispersal, saw 243 horses sell for $916,100, an average of $3,770. The average fell 61 percent from last year. There were 436 horses who went through the ring, and 193 of them, or 44 percent, were bought back. There were 97 horses withdrawn.

LEXINGTON, Ky. – Unlike last year, the Barretts October mixed sale did not include a major dispersal, a factor in weaker returns Monday in its opening session.

The auction’s first of two sessions at Fairplex Park in Pomona, Calif., sold 143 horses for a total of $536,600, well down from last year’s opening-day total of $2,434,500 for 201 horses, including 17 from Stan Fulton’s dispersal which accounted for $1,322,500 of the 2007 total. The 2008 opener averaged $3,752, down from $12,112, and median fell 49 percent, from $3,500 to $1,800.

One featured 11 races being contested under an onslaught of rain on the Jersey Shore when money was being manufactured out of thin air. The other featured 14 races run under the warm Southern California sun when economic conditions were possibly the worst they had been in decades.

New York Senate Republicans have reversed course and approved the selection of Delaware North Companies as the operator of a long-stalled casino at Aqueduct Racetrack in Queens, according to officials involved in the process.

High upper-end prices livened up Tuesday at the second day of Fasig-Tipton Kentucky's October yearling sale, but the session still posted across-the-board declines.

A $310,000 Giant's Causeway colt out of Grade 2-placed City College was the most expensive yearling sold Tuesday. Marion Montanari purchased the chestnut colt, who sold as Hip No. 710 in Francis and Barbara Vanlangendonck's Summerfield consignment. The colt is a full brother to Irish stakes-placed Trinity College.

Fasig-Tipton Kentucky's October yearling auction entered its second session Tuesday off of steep losses in line with the downward trend at earlier yearling sales this season.

But the Tuesday session did feature some fireworks. The top seller at 4:30 p.m. was a $260,000 Dixie Union colt out of Acanthus. Elwaleed Mousa bought the dark bay or brown colt, which sold as Hip No. 541 from Middlebrook Farm, agent. The colt's dam is a winner by Kris S.

Courier-Journal, and Pat Forde of ESPN have been named winners of the 2008 Red Smith Kentucky Derby Writing Contest. The annual awards, announced Tuesday by Churchill Downs, recognize the best in Kentucky Derby print media coverage.

Privman won for his “Derby Advance” story, Bozich won in the “Monday Wrap-Up” and “Feature” categories, and Forde was honored for his “Sunday Wrap-Up.”

Each of the writers have previously won Red Smith Awards. Privman’s total now stands at six, Bozich has won 11, and Forde has won three.

Shares in Magna Entertainment Corp., the large racetrack owner and operator, swung widely on Monday before closing at $1.69, up 10 cents, or 6.3 percent.

Magna Entertainment Corp. has once again reached agreements with its lenders to extend the payback dates for $250 million in loans, incurring $2.65 million in expenses in the process.

ARCADIA, Calif. – The racing calendar in Northern California will undergo significant changes in 2009, with extensive racing at Golden Gate Fields and a consolidation of race meetings at fewer county fairs, racing officials told the California Horse Racing Board on Wednesday.

With Bay Meadows having closed earlier this year, the Thoroughbred Owners of California and the California Authority of Racing Fairs each proposed a schedule to the racing board. The racing board did not take action on 2009 dates on Wednesday.