Dash

Apparently, New Year's Eve is high time in restaurants for the old dine and dash. That's what industry types call the ugly, ugly practice of deliberately walking out on a check. The dine and dash tends to show up on New Year's Eve, especially at restaurants that are close to good vantage points for watching fireworks. Unlike a typical evening when tables finish up one at a time, diners New Year's Eve at these restaurants all want their checks at the same time, just around 11:40 p.m. Bad, bad people depend on the ensuing confusion.

Laurel Park Ben's Cat pounces, wins Laurel Dash Ben's Cat powered away from five foes to win the $75,000 Laurel Dash Stakes on Saturday on the slop at Laurel Park, a race that had originally been carded for the turf. Ridden by Jeremy Rose and trained by King Leatherbury, Ben's Cat tracked front-runners Ju Jitsu Jax and Royal Currier into the turn before passing both and pulling away to win the six-furlong test by two lengths in 1 minute, 11.11 seconds over the sloppy going.

Candyman E is coming to Laurel Park Saturday to run in the Frank De Francis Memorial Dash. He knows nothing about the De Francis or it's history. But his trainer Tony Dutrow does. Dutrow grew up here. His father, Dick, won the De Francis with Lite The Fuse in 1995 and 1996, and his brother, Rick, won with Benny the Bull in 2007. But Dutrow isn't interested in history. The only thing that concerns him is his horse and stretching his winning streak to four. "I'm very matter of fact here," Dutrow said.

Laurel Park Candyman E favored in De Francis Dash Ten sprinters, including 2-1 favorite Candyman E, have been entered for the 20th running of the $150,000 Frank J. De Francis Memorial Dash on Saturday at Laurel Park. The card also features the $75,000 Lady Baltimore Stakes and the $60,000 Twixt Stakes. Candyman E, the son of Candy Ride, has won three consecutive starts since arriving in the Tony Dutrow barn this July. Joe Bravo has the riding assignment. "He is in top form," Dutrow said of Candyman E. "I think he is best when he can sit off and make a run. An old friend thought the horse would be useful in the Northeast this summer and sent me to him. I am happy things have worked out well.

Horse racing Ravalo among 23 nominated for Dash Twenty-three sprinters have been nominated for the 20th running of the $150,000 Frank J. De Francis Memorial Dash at Laurel Park on Saturday. Among those pre-entered are graded winners Caixa Eletronica, Calibrachoa, Comedero, Despite the Odds, Starforaday and Ravalo. Trained by Donald Barr at Laurel Park, Ravalo, the 2009 De Francis Dash runner-up, surpassed the million-dollar mark earlier this year. Maryland Jockey Club stakes coordinator Coley Blind expects Maryland Million Sprint winner Sloane Ranger and recent allowance winner Wildcat Brief to compete in Laurel's most important race.

If the Orioles were Rick Besore's girlfriend, he would have broken off the tortured relationship long ago. Who could still love after the collapse of 2005 or the 2-16 start of 2010 or the dashing of this year's once-robust hopes? But on Monday, Besore stood with his brother Scott on the flag court at Camden Yards, shouting for his 92-loss team to spoil the playoff chances of the Boston Red Sox. Somehow, his bond with a club that will wrap up its 14th straight losing season tonight is stronger than almost any in his life.

Zoey Whittington, a multiple-season, All-Metro sprinter at Catonsville, won her third straight state title in the 400-meter dash Saturday. Her best time is believed to be the fifth-fastest by a high school girl in the United States this spring. She also anchored the Comets' gold medal-winning 1,600 relay team. As a guard in basketball, the senior averaged 16 points, five steals and four assists, and earned Most Valuable Player honors for her side at the Baltimore City-County Senior All-Star Game.

Despite what numerous drivers running errands on Saturday afternoon seemed to believe, a handicapped parking permit is not a family pass for choice parking. At the Glen Burnie Wal-Mart, Cpl. Eric Trumbauer snagged two such drivers at once. One woman, teary-eyed and apologetic, said she used her husband's handicapped placard because she was only running in to get dog food. The other, 31-year-old Trina Mendez, was less remorseful. "There's nowhere to [expletive] park," Mendez said, her painted toenails resting in the window as Trumbauer wrote a $140 citation.

Apart overtook Colizeo down the stretch to with the $100,000 William Donald Schaefer Memorioal by a neck. Jockey Garrett Gomez, who also won the race last year, circled three wide into the lane to overtake Colizeo, a Todd Pletcher-trained entry who led from the beginning. “I wanted to sit back a little and just make one run with him,” Gomez said. “When the pace slowed down a little to my liking, I was able to edge up a little closer to [Colizeo]. I always felt I had him within range.

Trainer Bill Mott didn't have any doubts about the talent possessed by filly Royal Delta heading into Friday's 87th running of the Black-Eyed Susan Stakes. But her inexperience and temperament gave him plenty of reason for concern. The Black-Eyed Susan was only the fourth start of her career, and it had already been a bit of an adventure. She was coming off a dominant win at the Keeneland Polytrack, but just two months ago she finished ninth in a 10-horse race at Tampa Downs. Was she a dirt horse?