Claiming Race

LAUREL -- Blue By Who remained unbeaten this year with a one-length victory in the eighth race at Laurel Race Course yesterday.The 7-year-old gelding swept to the lead in mid-stretch, making him 4-for-4 in 1991. He was ridden by Rick Wilson.Dynastical finished second in the $35,000 claiming race, another length in front of early leader Big Blue Boy.Blue By Who has won 25 of 82 career starts. The victory pushed his earnings to $205,751.

Maryland's highest court halted yesterday the scheduled execution of convicted murderer Vernon Lee Evans Jr., agreeing to hear his challenge to the state's lethal injection procedure, along with claims that race has played a role in his case. The Maryland Court of Appeals issued its orders on the first of five days when a death warrant authorized the state to put Evans to death for the 1983 contract killings of two Pikesville motel employees. The court's rulings raised hopes among death penalty opponents that any other state executions would be held up at least until the issues are debated this spring.

Last Friday, Joe Rocco finished first with Punch A Dragon in a $4,000 claiming race at Pimlico.Normally, this would cause little excitement, but for the 14-year jockey "it was like winning a Breeders' Cup race. I never felt so good about anything."It had been a long time between trips to the winner's circle for Rocco, whose lifeblood had been threatened for nearly six months."Five months and 28 days exactly," said Rocco, the victim of several spills last fall that forced him to quit riding and put his career in jeopardy because of a liver problem.

NEW YORK -- Susan Chepkemei threw up, looked over her shoulder and kept running. Hendrick Ramaala threw himself across the finish line, fell down and lay spread-eagled on the timing mat. Both had been winning the New York City Marathon. Both lost. "In my wildest dreams, I don't know that I thought we'd see races like that," first-year race director Mary Wittenberg said. After 26.2 miles, the men's race came down to a sprint. World record-holder Paul Tergat of Kenya outkicked Ramaala, the defending New York champion from South Africa, in the last few steps in the closest finish in the race's 36-year history.

Horses of all kinds have won the Kentucky Derby over the years. Fillies, geldings and maidens. Grays, bays and chestnuts. But Charismatic, the winner of the 125th Derby 11 days ago, is the first whose win was made possible by drag racing.That's right, drag racing -- the sport of king-sized carburetors, not the sport of kings.What's it doing in, of all things, a Derby story? Did Charismatic train for the big race by sprinting down an oily concrete strip with a parachute tied to his tail?Uh, not exactly.

The claimers outclassed their stakes foes yesterday at Pimlico Race Course.Poor But Honest, a former $5,000 claimer, claimed majority share of the $100,000 Polynesian Stakes with a 2 1/4 -length victory in track-record-tying time.Long shot Texturizer, recently claimed for $11,500, ran second, leaving proven stakes winners Ameri Valay and Richie The Coach as also-rans in the six-horse field.Also at Pimlico yesterday, 2-5 favorite Count On Numbers won the $50,000 Bernie P. Bond Stakes for 2-year-olds.

Today: Perfect to a Tee, which ended a four-race win streak in the H.E. Johnson Memorial Stakes last month, seeks to come back in the sixth running of the St. Brendan Stakes. The St. Brendan, at 1 1/8 miles for 4-year-olds and up, is worth $75,000. Perfect to a Tee had been installed as the favorite in the Johnson Memorial, but a wide trip eliminated the old-timer during the early stages. The St. Brendan has also lured the first three finishers of the Johnson -- S W Clarence, Thunder Flash and Sly Joe. Leave It to Beezer, Mary's Buckaroo, Salty Note and Testafly complete the lineup.

LAUREL -- Seven Lords notched his 15th victory of the year with a rallying, 1 1/2 -length triumph in the eighth race at Laurel Race Course yesterday, but still trails national leader Jilsie's Gigalo by one."Here comes my baby," said owner Richard F. Koch of New York, as Seven Lords entered the winner's enclosure.Koch bought the 5-year-old gelding in July; he has since won nine races for trainer Rene Araya. His record in 1990 is 15-for-27, with earnings of $118,590.Jilsie's Gigalo, a much-traveled gelding who has raced at 10 tracks since July, won last Sunday at Beulah Park in Grove City, Ohio.

The inscription on the tombstone reads: "Here Lies Mountain Rose II, an honest faithful horse who did his best to the end Destroyed Oct. 24, 1924."Like horsemen throughout the ages who fell in love with their courageous steeds, B. E. Chapman revered his Mountain Rose II. When the 11-year-old thoroughbred was put to death after breaking a leg in a race at Laurel Park -- they shot horses then -- Chapman buried him in a corner of the track's stable area.Now,...

Historical trends at play in tomorrow's Kentucky Derby:1: No favorite has won the Derby since Spectacular Bid in 1979. The likely favorites will be the coupled betting entry of General Challenge and Excellent Meeting. If Excellent Meeting is scratched, Prime Timber may be the favorite.2: No 2-year-old champion (a horse becomes a "champion" by winning an Eclipse award) has won the Derby since Spectacular Bid in 1979. Answer Lively, last year's 2-year-old champion, is 50-1 in the morning line.

Racing at Laurel Park ceases today and won't return until October. At least that's the plan of the Maryland Jockey Club and its parent company, Magna Entertainment Corp. Pimlico Race Course opens its spring meet Wednesday and runs through June 6. About then, Laurel will be closed and its horses relocated so that workers can rebuild the dirt and turf tracks, says Lou Raffetto Jr., MJC chief operating officer. Plans call for completely new surfaces. The 75-foot-wide dirt track will be expanded to 100 feet, and the 75-foot turf course will be widened to 150 feet, Raffetto says.

Today: Perfect to a Tee, which ended a four-race win streak in the H.E. Johnson Memorial Stakes last month, seeks to come back in the sixth running of the St. Brendan Stakes. The St. Brendan, at 1 1/8 miles for 4-year-olds and up, is worth $75,000. Perfect to a Tee had been installed as the favorite in the Johnson Memorial, but a wide trip eliminated the old-timer during the early stages. The St. Brendan has also lured the first three finishers of the Johnson -- S W Clarence, Thunder Flash and Sly Joe. Leave It to Beezer, Mary's Buckaroo, Salty Note and Testafly complete the lineup.

Trainer Linda Albert looked around the paddock at Laurel Park yesterday as her horse, Perfect to a Tee, was being saddled for the $100,000 Congressional Handicap."

The inscription on the tombstone reads: "Here Lies Mountain Rose II, an honest faithful horse who did his best to the end Destroyed Oct. 24, 1924."Like horsemen throughout the ages who fell in love with their courageous steeds, B. E. Chapman revered his Mountain Rose II. When the 11-year-old thoroughbred was put to death after breaking a leg in a race at Laurel Park -- they shot horses then -- Chapman buried him in a corner of the track's stable area.Now,...

If a one-time claiming horse could win the Kentucky Derby, then why not the Preakness and -- for that matter -- the Triple Crown?Long-shot Derby champion Charismatic charged to the lead on the final turn and sprinted home with the second jewel of horse racing's Triple Crown yesterday in the 124th Preakness Stakes at Pimlico Race Course.Police estimated the crowd at 100,311, the largest in history, with 65,000 packing the infield. It was a perfect afternoon for Baltimore's signature sporting event.

Horses of all kinds have won the Kentucky Derby over the years. Fillies, geldings and maidens. Grays, bays and chestnuts. But Charismatic, the winner of the 125th Derby 11 days ago, is the first whose win was made possible by drag racing.That's right, drag racing -- the sport of king-sized carburetors, not the sport of kings.What's it doing in, of all things, a Derby story? Did Charismatic train for the big race by sprinting down an oily concrete strip with a parachute tied to his tail?Uh, not exactly.

One hour before this year's Preakness, Charlsie Cantey of ABC stood outside the Stakes Barn at Pimlico and, live on national TV, interviewed D. Wayne Lukas.Cantey stood in nearly the same spot Friday, but her role was reversed. She answered -- not asked -- the questions after a 2-year-old filly she trains, Special Surprise, won the third race. It was Cantey's first win as a trainer."I've wanted to do this all my life," she said. "I guess the fear of failure always kept me from doing it -- until now."

LAUREL -- A vacation is a luxury that jockeys seldom have time to take. But when Mario Pino received a seven-day suspension on Friday, he and his wife, Christina, planned a trip to Florida.Pino collected plane fare and a lot more yesterday when he brought Wood So from just off the pace to win the $43,350 Stefanita Handicap at Laurel Race Course."This filly's easy to ride," said Pino, 30. "She was full of run turning for home and I was going to go outside, but the other horse came right up to me."

LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- The jockey spoke of miracles. The trainer talked of chance. And there you have the story of not only the 125th Kentucky Derby yesterday at Churchill Downs but also every other Kentucky Derby run before. Dismissed at 31-1, Charismatic survived what jockeys called the roughest race they'd ever ridden to win the Derby by a neck, holding off a charging Menifee at the wire. Charismatic's jockey, Chris Antley, was about the only rider who could say he'd had a good trip.

Historical trends at play in tomorrow's Kentucky Derby:1: No favorite has won the Derby since Spectacular Bid in 1979. The likely favorites will be the coupled betting entry of General Challenge and Excellent Meeting. If Excellent Meeting is scratched, Prime Timber may be the favorite.2: No 2-year-old champion (a horse becomes a "champion" by winning an Eclipse award) has won the Derby since Spectacular Bid in 1979. Answer Lively, last year's 2-year-old champion, is 50-1 in the morning line.