First Race

"Gone Ridin' " reads the sign on Joe Aitcheson's door, beneath a wooden silhouette of a horse's head. "Be Back. Maybe. " It's an apt howdy-do from Aitcheson, 84, the winngingest steeplechase rider of all time. A member of the National Museum of Racing's Hall of Fame, he lives in a retirement community in Westminster, surrounded by keepsakes of a 21-year pro career in which he won a record 440 timber races and a record seven North American championships between 1961 and 1970. If they tallied the number of bones broken by jockeys, Aitcheson would likely hold that record, too. His knack of bouncing back from falls is legend.

After an absence of more than 50 years, the Foxhall Farm Trophy Team Chase is back home in Harford County, and organizers of the modern version of the event are going back almost a century for inspiration. They have their work cut out for them, as they plan for the steeplechase event next Sunday that was first held in 1920 by Foxhall P. Keene, a well-known equestrian. In his autobiography, Full Tilt, Keene wrote of the inaugural race: "I thought it was about 1919, I bought a lovely old house at Monkton, Maryland, which I named Foxhall Farms.

Calendar NASCAR NEXTEL CUP Auto Club 500 Site -- Fontana, Calif. When -- Sunday, 4:05 p.m. TV -- Ch. 45 (3:30 p.m.) Track -- California Speedway (2-mile D-shaped oval) Distance -- 250 laps, 500 miles 2005 champion -- Greg Biffle 2005 pole-sitter -- Kyle Busch Last year -- Biffle ran near the front of the field for the entire race and took the lead for good on Lap 228. He held off a last-ditch effort by runner-up Jimmie Johnson in the second race of the season. Three drivers from Roush Racing finished in the top 10: Kurt Busch (third)

After being sidelined since March 5, 2005, Declan's Moon returned to the racetrack yesterday and finished second in the first race of the day at Hollywood Park. The 4-year-old Maryland-bred gelding, who was the 2004 Eclipse Award winner as the top 2-year-old and was a Kentucky Derby favorite before a foot injury, was beaten by a nose by Desert Boom in a 6 1/2 -furlong, $100,000 optional claiming race in his first race in 16 months. "His winning streak came to an end," trainer Ron Ellis said by telephone after the allowance race that ended the horse's 5-for-5 run. "But he looked like his old self.

CHARLES TOWN, W.Va. -- The Charles Town Races canceled the card after the first race last night when track officials declared the three-quarter-mile racing strip unsafe.The decision was made after jockeys expressed concerns about the racing surface, which had been reduced to slop after Thursday's snow thawed.Racing is scheduled to resume today at 1 p.m., track conditions permitting."We regret the inconvenience to our fans that a cancellation of this nature causes, but the safety of our jockeys and horses must be our first consideration," track general manager Donald E. Hudson said.

MIDDLEBURG, Va. -- A sellout crowd of more than 50,000 is expected today for the 66th running of the Virginia Gold Cup, which includes the richest timber race in the world, with a purse of $35,000.A record $150,000 in purses will be offered in seven timber and brush races on the new Great Meadow race course between Middleburg and Warrenton. Gates open at 10 a.m., and the first race is at 1:30 p.m.

When Annapolis sailor Dave Dodge went to the U.S. Sailboat Show on City Dock last year, he was seriously looking to purchase a 35- or 36-foot competitive racing sailboat to replace his Contessa 33 Blue Thunder.He didn't find what he was looking for. Instead, he found an adventure of a different kind, and this year he's working at the sailboat show instead of visiting it."I looked at a lot of boats that time," Dodge said. "But either I had raced against them and beaten them, or they weren't built to the standards of quality I'd expect."

INGLEWOOD, Calif. - A man of many scripts - mostly compelling ones - Chris McCarron climaxed more than 28 years as a jockey yesterday by riding Came Home to a two-length win in the $107,500 Affirmed Handicap at Hollywood Park. It was the 34,230th race and the 7,141st win of McCarron's career, and the $64,500 winner's share boosted the 47-year-old Hall of Famer's record purse total to $264,351,579. McCarron's second win yesterday came two days after he had made his last out-of-town appearance by riding two winners and taking an all-star jockey competition at Lone Star Park near Dallas.

TodayMister Business, winner of the Miracle Wood Stakes over Laurel's main track, makes his debut on the turf course in the 33rd running of the $75,000 Woodlawn Stakes.Pimlico has scheduled an early opener for its first race -- gates open at 10: 15 a.m. -- so patrons can catch the 2,000 Guineas from Newmarket, England. They can stay to watch the Kentucky Derby simulcast and the Woodlawn live. Post time for the first race is 12: 30 p.m.Past winners of the Woodlawn have used it as a stepping stone to the Preakness.

Alberto Delgado rode two winners yesterday at Timonium Race Course and stayed one victory ahead of Freddy Castillo, who also rode two winners, in the meeting's jockey race.Delgado, who leads with seven winners in Timonium's first five days, rode Tripledogdare ($7.80) in the fifth race and Rumbuster ($4.80) in the 10th.Castillo, riding both winners out of the No. 1 slot and hugging the rail for wire-to-wire wins, has six winners.He scored on Blazing Finale ($5.80) in the first race and on Saiva ($4.60)