Bob Costas, the 15-time Emmy Award-winning sports commentator, will fill in for Tom Hammond as host of NBC-TV's broadcast of the Breeders' Cup on Saturday, NBC officials said Wednesday, stressing the words "fill in."
"People keep asking me the same question: Who can replace Tom Hammond?" said Charlsie Cantey, the broadcast's co-host. "I've only had one answer: nobody. Because it's not possible."
ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, Ill. - Marino Marini, who was pre-entered for Saturday's Breeders' Cup Juvenile but failed to draw into the field, will start in Friday's $100,000 Gilded Time Stakes after being supplemented for $4,000 on Wednesday.
Trained by Aidan O'Brien, Marino Marini will make his first start on dirt in the seven-furlong Gilded Time Stakes for 2-year-olds.
It was two years ago at Churchill Downs that the Dave Vance-trained Caressing beat Platinum Tiara in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies. Vance can get Platinum Tiara again Friday at Arlington, this time with the turf filly Kiss the Devil.
Platinum Tiara and Kiss the Devil were among 11 horses entered for the $100,000 Estrapade, a 1 1/16-mile turf race for older fillies and mares. And even beyond the Breeders' Cup-associated match-up, the race is an interesting one.
If this were an ordinary Friday in October, chances are slim that a horse such as Megantic would be anywhere near Chicago.
But this is Breeders' Cup eve, and Arlington Park not only is where owners and trainers have brought their Breeders' Cup horses, but other stakes-class horses capable of wowing appreciative race fans.
OZONE PARK, N.Y. - After impressive wins in allowance races, Saint Marden took his game to another level on Wednesday by winning the opening-day feature at Aqueduct, the $114,000 Discovery Handicap.
A crowd of 3,745 was in attendance for the nine-race card, which was run under sunny but brisk conditions.
Saint Marden, the 3-5 favorite under Jerry Bailey, was a 1 1/2-length winner over Regency Park. It was another 1 3/4 lengths back to No Parole in third in the 10-horse field of 3-year-olds.
Churchill Downs Inc. had net earnings of $7.9 million in the third quarter this year, or 59 cents a share, on record revenues for the quarter and the first nine months of the 2002.
The results met the average estimate of four analysts. Churchill officials said during a conference call on Wednesday morning that the company was on pace to hit its target of $1.77 to $1.80 in earnings per share this year, compared with $1.67 last year.
Churchill's stock declined 24 cents on Wednesday to $38.32, or six-tenths of a percent, on light trading of 11,200 shares.
PORTLAND, Ore. - Long-range planning paid off for trainer Jonathan Nance last Saturday, when Proud Louie won the six-furlong Inaugural Handicap with a stirring display of speed and determination.
Nance claimed Proud Louie, a 6-year-old son of Proud Irish, on April 26 at Bay Meadows, taking him from a win against $5,000 claimers for himself, brother-in-law Mike Stafford, and their friend and fellow Prineville, Ore., native Steve Smith. From then until Saturday, Nance was basically biding his time.
SAN MATEO, Calif. - Jason Lumpkins, second in the Bay Meadows jockey standings and the leading rider in stakes here, is not listed among entries for the second straight day Friday as he takes a brief respite from riding while attending the national bull riding finals in Las Vegas.
Northern California racing fans will have to get used to his absence.
ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, Ill. - Enhanced security procedures will be in place at Arlington Park for Saturday's Breeders' Cup Day program, with an increase in security personnel and a limit on the type of items that customers will be allowed to bring on the grounds.
The procedures will be similar to what was enacted at the 2001 Breeders' Cup at Belmont Park and the Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs earlier this year.
Just a few races into their careers, most of the 2-year-olds in the Hopemont Stakes already have earned black type.
Several are stakes placed, and several are stakes winners. And one, Lismore Knight, already is a Grade 2 winner, having captured the Sept. 8 Summer Stakes at Woodbine in his last start. That accumulation of youthful talent should make for a terrific renewal of the $100,000 Hopemont, a 1 1/16-mile turf race that highlights the Friday program.