WHO'S HOT

Consider the jockeys' race officially up for grabs. Rafael Bejarano seemed to have a stranglehold on the title, but Joel Rosario has been on a tear, and Tyler Baze has shown he's not going away either as the meet comes into its closing weeks.

WHO'S HOT

WHO'S HOT

New York-breds

As Harvey Pack was fond of saying whenever a New York-bred won against open company, "Circle marks the spot."

Indeed, the Fourth of July weekend was an historic one for the New York-bred program, as Haynesfield, Franny Freud, and Rightly So swept three graded stakes.

The Texas Racing Commission on Wednesday approved Retama Park's request to reduce its upcoming Thoroughbred meet from 30 nights of racing to 16. The season will begin a week later than originally scheduled, on Sept. 3, and run through Oct. 23.

Retama was originally scheduled to race from Aug. 27 through Nov. 6.

BOSSIER CITY, La. - There appears to be a definite women's movement going on this summer at Louisiana Downs.

Last Sunday, Cassandra Buckley became the fourth female apprentice jockey to win a race here this season. She joins Anna Roberts, Bethany Taylor, and Ashlea Trosclair. A fifth, Stephanie Sheroski, has also ridden here after making the occasional journey up from her home base of Evangeline Downs. All five were named on mounts Sunday and join Beverly Burress and Monica Stanley to make up what is believed to be the deepest women's riding contingent in the country.

AUBURN, Wash. - Trainer Frank Lucarelli is riding high these days, second in the Emerald Downs standings and headed toward what could be his best meeting ever. His barn includes two leading contenders for the Longacres Mile, a top prospect for the Emerald Derby, three top 3-year-old fillies, and a handful of fast 2-year-olds with stakes-caliber pedigrees. His barn is loaded. In many cases, if Plan A doesn't work out, he's got a Plan B.

Streakin Down will begin his bid for a second major stakes win on Friday, when he starts in the third of five trial races for the Grade 1, $800,000 Rainbow Derby for Quarter Horses at Ruidoso. The 10 fastest qualifiers will advance to the finals on July 24.

The race for leading rider at Lincoln Race Course has been a family act most of the season and the brothers Jake and Jordan Olesiak continue to duel with two weekends remaining in the 32-day season here.

The Olesiaks entered Monday's card tied at 31 wins each. Jake scored a riding double Monday to gain a 33-31 edge heading into this Friday's card, as Jordan opted to ride at Canterbury Park where he won both a Thoroughbred and a Quarter Horse race.

The Indiana Downs meet will conclude Wednesday, July 14, and the final evening of racing should be exciting, as two stakes are scheduled as well as the final installment of the Don K starter handicap series .

Canterbury has led the nation the past nine years in generating donations to the Don MacBeth Memorial Jockey Fund for disabled riders. The fund was co-founded by television personality Tim Conway after he emceed an awards dinner at Canterbury Downs in the late 1980's. Canterbury has continued its fund-raising efforts ever since.

Last week, three Canterbury jockeys, Scott Stevens, Paul Nolan, and Don Proctor, were badly injured in a riding accident.