Horse Racing

Jockey Jose Velez Jr. waited until the final eighth of a mile before turning loose R.D. Hubbard's Spring House and held on tight as the bay gelding shifted into overdrive and ran past the leaders to win the $85,000 Japan Racing Association Stakes over the soft turf course yesterday at Laurel Park. Spring House, who dropped back to last as the field raced into the first turn, threaded his way through traffic before angling out to the middle of the track and kicking on to the finish. He covered the 1 1/16 miles in 1 minute, 44.28 seconds, catching front-running long shot Ramazutti at the next-to-last pole and won by a length.

Preakness winner Rachel Alexandra is ready to run against the boys again, and that might mean a little more thoroughbred racing history is at hand. "I expect the best is yet to come," co-owner Jess Jackson said last week in the buildup to today's $1.25 million Haskell Invitational at Monmouth Park in Oceanport, N.J. Officials hope for a record crowd of more than 53,000 when the filly takes on Belmont Stakes winner Summer Bird and five other fellas in...

Post time at Pimlico Race Course for weekday cards has been changed to 2:05 p.m. for the remainder of the current meeting, which ends June 18. Weekend and holiday programs will retain their 1:05 p.m. start. "Because of the nature of [out of town] signals going later and the way the crowd is coming in, we decided to tweak this idea," said chief operations officer Jim Mango. "We want to see whether this helps our live handle. It's this simple. We have two races from 5 to 6 p.m. instead of two from 1 to 2 p.m."

Racing won't return to Laurel Park until after the new year because workers rebuilding the racing surfaces have encountered weather delays and continue to address foundation problems. Jim Gagliano, executive vice president of racing operations for the Maryland Jockey Club, said yesterday that the dirt track could open for training Dec. 20, and then, after at least two weeks of horses training on it, Laurel could reopen for racing in January. However, he said, dates won't be finalized until a final inspection of the racing surface takes place next Wednesday.

Some might have considered the Harrison E. Johnson Memorial Handicap the closest thing to a sure bet that there is in horse racing. But trainer Michael Trombetta said he was worried from the time he got up yesterday morning until Sweetnorthernsaint crossed the finish line. The Saint, runner-up in the 2006 Preakness Stakes, was taking on a field of five capable horses in the 1 1/8 -mile race on a muddy track. But while Capac, who finished second, closed coming out of the final turn to get his head alongside Sweetnorthernsaint's hip, the favorite never gave anyone any real hope for an upset and pulled away for an easy four-lengths victory in 1:53.

For a sport that was supposed to be moribund, at least in nTC terms of its national appeal, horse racing is making a nice little comeback.Fox and its cable component, Fox Sports Net, announced yesterday that it will provide exclusive coverage of a new series of races for horses 4 and older, starting next year, through the auspices of the National Thoroughbred Racing Association.The package of races, to be called the NTRA Championship Racing Series, will consist of eight to 10 middle-distance dirt races at various tracks and will take place from January through August.

Crossing Point broke with the pack but quickly sprinted away and was never challenged in winning yesterday's $50,000 Dave's Friend Stakes at Laurel Park. Crossing Point, ridden by Mario Pino for trainer Ben Feliciano Jr., completed the six furlongs in 1 minute, 9.75 seconds, beating Take Achance On Me by three-quarters of a length. "I've done a lot of work on this horse," Pino said. "He's tough to beat when he's on his game." Even-money favorite Deer Run finished third. Highly regarded Pioneer Boy pulled up. His injury is suspected to be a pulled suspensory ligament in the left front ankle.

Trainer Mike Trombetta said yesterday Sweetnorthernsaint, second in the Preakness Stakes, will not compete in the Belmont Stakes on June 10. "We're just going to take a step back and freshen him up for races in July and August," Trombetta said. "The Belmont might have been more tempting if the field had been six horses. As it is, with 11 or 12 entries, it is a pretty solid field and though my horse is still doing relatively well, I would have had a pretty tired horse after that race." Trombetta said the Triple Crown Series provided a lot of wonderful memories, even at the Kentucky Derby where circumstances combined for a somewhat disappointing result.

With Maryland's simulcasting signal challenged by those of nearly a dozen other tracks around the country, Maryland Jockey Club president and chief operating officer Lou Raffetto wants to improve the odds of getting bettors interested in playing the state's horses when Laurel Park opens Aug. 10 for 10 days of racing. Billed as "Ten Days at 10 Percent - Racing's Best Bet," Laurel ownership's takeout on Maryland's live races will be cut by about half, with the money going directly into the bettors' pockets.

TUCSON, Ariz. - Greg Avioli, deputy commissioner of the National Thoroughbred Racing Association, was talking about the Breeders' Cup, about the record wagering of $116 million, about the double-digit increase in TV ratings. "Everybody felt really good about the whole day," Avioli said. "And then came the next day." The next day, of course, produced the news of suspected fraud in wagering in the Breeders' Cup Pick Six. That scandal has dominated the racing industry ever since, and it dominated the 29th annual Symposium on Racing held here Tuesday through Friday.