BOSSIER CITY, La. - Jockey Jeff Burningham has dealt with his share of injuries throughout his riding career, but the one resulting from a non-riding incident has proved to be the toughest.

"I was up on a ladder topping a tree at my house here in the Shreveport area this past February when I fell," said the 35-year-old native of Montreal. "I crushed the L-1 vertebra and they had to put a couple of pins in."

The injury came just a day before Burningham was due to make a return from his latest racetrack injury.

ETOBICOKE, Ontario - Storm Caller didn't get a chance to run in New York last Friday, as he stumbled badly at the start and unseated rider Eibar Coa.

On Saturday, Storm Caller will be hoping for a less tempestuous journey when he swings back on his home grounds in the Grade 2, $300,000 King Edward.

The King Edward is a 1 1/8-mile turf race, while the Yankee Victor, Storm Caller's aborted start at Belmont, was at 1 1/16 miles on dirt.

ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, Ill. - When Magnetic Miss won the Isaac Murphy Handicap last Saturday at Arlington Park, she had 128 years of human racing experience on her side. The jockey-trainer combination of Earlie Fires and Joseph "Spanky" Broussard goes back more than a few months.

Thistledown

Richard Rettele is one of the busiest horseman in North America. He has a 30-horse stable at Thistledown and has sent out 11 winners this meet. At age 67, Rettele is also one of the oldest Quarter Horse jockeys in the country.

"I might be the oldest," he said. "I know there's a guy who is 66, but I don't know of anyone older than me."

When River Downs ended its spring meet on Saturday, casual race fans probably didn't notice, as racing is set to continue at the track through Sept. 1. But the end of the spring meet gave 53-year-old jockey Perry Ouzts the 19th River Downs meet title of his career.

Ouzts suffered a serious arm injury in a spill at Turfway Park in January 2006, and this is his first riding title since 2004.

Mr. Coach rallied from just off the leaders to capture Tuesday's fourth leg of the Don K. Memorial Turf Starter Handicap series under Gabriel Lagunes. Mr. Coach was runner-up to the mare Princess Composer June 10 in his only other start in the series, leg 3, which was moved from turf to the main track.

A total of 166 horses have been nominated to the July 4 Louisiana Legends Night at Evangeline Downs. An additional 24 2-year-olds have qualified through the trial process for the two divisions of the D.S. "Shine" Young Futurity, which will anchor the million-dollar night of 11 stakes races for Louisiana-breds.

"Response has been strong," says Evangeline stakes coordinator Anthony Martin. "We should have some large fields and plenty of quality racing."

Steward Hank Mills was hospitalized after suffering a stroke on June 16. The presiding judge on Canterbury Park's board of stewards, Mills was originally taken to St. Francis Hospital but has since been transferred to Methodist Hospital in St. Louis Park.

Minnesota Racing Commission Director Richard Krueger reports that Mills is responding to therapy but is not seeing visitors. During his absence, Thomas Davis has been retained by the Minnesota Racing Commission as an alternate steward.

Heading to the midway point of this 36-day stand, the usual combatants are on top in the trainer and jockey standings. Jon Arnett has saddled 27 winners and has a big lead over his nearest challenger, Kenneth Gleason, who has 9 winners. Jockey Travis Wales has 24 wins and holds a solid lead over his nearest rival, Mike Ziegler, who has 13.

Dean Williams, who worked for Daily Racing Form as a chart-caller for nearly 50 years before retiring in 1995, died Tuesday at a care facility in Elkhorn, Neb., at age 81.