Louis Quatorze

HALLANDALE, Fla. - Post positions were drawn yesterday for Saturday's Florida Derby, and then decreed irrelevant by the horses' trainers. They agreed that the 1 1/8 -mile race will afford the nine contenders the room and distance to settle in and gain desired position.Built For Pleasure will break from the No. 1 post. Cobra King, the morning-line favorite at 9-to-5, drew No. 2. Trained by 29-year-old Mike Puype, Cobra King has not raced since winning the Holy Bull Stakes Jan. 20.Trained by Sonny Hine, Skip Away drew No. 3. He is 6-to-1 in the morning line.

1873 Survivor1874 Culpepper1875 Tom Ochiltree1876 Shirley1877 Cloverbrook1878 Duke of Magenta 1879 Harold1880 Grenada1881 Saunterer1882 Vanguard1883 Jacobus1884 Knight of Ellerslie1885 Tecumseh1886 The Bard1887 Dubine1888 Refund1889 Buddhist1890 Montague1891-93 No races1894 Assignee1895 Belmar1896 Margrave1897 Paul Kauver1898 Sly Fox1899 Half Time1900 Hindus1901 The Parader1902 Old England1903 Flocarline1904 Bryn Mawr1905 Cairngorm1906 Whimsical1907 Don...

As 2003 draws to a close, the Maryland Jockey Club faces what Joe De Francis calls "the toughest year we've had in the last decade." De Francis, president and CEO of the company that owns Pimlico and Laurel Park, says it will be a close call whether the MJC finishes the year in the black or the red. Eleven cancellations of live racing because of inclement weather - and two partial cancellations - turned what would have been a mediocre year into a...

The four-horse field for Saturday's $600,000 Pimlico Special was set yesterday.Pimlico owner Joe De Francis said this year's race is as strong as the six-horse fields of the previous two years."

ETOBICOKE, Ontario -- On the morning after his final race, Cigar stood quietly in his stall, his long brown neck and head protruding into the shedrow. He looked to the right, where a half-dozen admirers gazed in from the end of the barn.A camera clicked. Cigar pricked his ears."It's been a great ride," said Gerard Guenther, the exercise rider who climbed onto Cigar's back nearly every morning and galloped him on tracks from coast to coast. "He's carried a lot of people to a lot of places."

William Harris ' Sweet Goodbye, the 1-5 betting favorite, cruised past five other fillies and mares to win Saturday's $70,000 Conniver Stakes at Laurel Park. The daughter of Louis Quatorze finished the seven-furlong race over a sloppy track in 1 minute, 23.95 seconds, defeating late-closing long shot Call of Lion by 2 1/4 lengths. "She is awesome," said winning jockey J.D. Acosta , who has been aboard the 5-year-old mare in all 14 career starts. "She has learned to run from behind, which has made her a much more complete runner."

Secretariat's races are legend. Could one of them now become law?Citing evidence that Secretariat was robbed of a record in winning the 1973 Preakness, racing mogul Joe De Francis said yesterday that he may appeal to the Maryland General Assembly to give the horse his due.Secretariat won the Triple Crown, setting records in the Kentucky Derby and Belmont Stakes. However, because of a malfunctioning timer, the colt was not credited with what many horsemen agree was a record for the Preakness.

Bob Baffert bowed before the king.It was the morning after his hard-luck Cavonnier had lost the Kentucky Derby by a nose to the D. Wayne Lukas-trained Grindstone, and Baffert had driven to Lukas' barn on the Churchill Downs backside to pay tribute.The white-haired Californian, a gleam in his eye, bowed repeatedly before Lukas, the king of America's glamour races, the Triple Crown series. And then Baffert, gracious in heart-wrenching defeat, promised to meet Lukas in Baltimore.Today, in the 121st running of the Preakness Stakes at Pimlico, the meeting takes place.