Saratoga

John's Call, the 10-year-old turf runner from Maryland, will attempt in tomorrow's $500,000 Sword Dancer Invitational Handicap at Saratoga to become the oldest thoroughbred to win a Grade I stakes (non-steeplechase) in this country. Trained by Tom Voss at Atlanta Hall Farm in Baltimore County, John's Call will face as many as nine opponents in the 1 1/2 -mile grass marathon. The race will be televised on ESPN during a one-hour broadcast beginning at 5 p.m. Post time is 5:18 p.m. Last year, at age 9, John's Call skipped over a boggy turf course to capture the Sword Dancer by more than nine lengths.

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - Lemon Drop Kid drew the No. 1 post position and was installed the 9-5 morning-line favorite in the prestigious Whitney Handicap tomorrow at Saratoga. Scotty Schulhofer, trainer of the 4-year-old colt, said he would have preferred an outside post in the six-horse field. He said his jockey Edgar Prado, the former Maryland riding star, would be charged with making sure Lemon Drop Kid does not become trapped along the rail. "That's up to Edgar," Schulhofer said. "He'll find his way out of there."

Champion steeplechase jockey Jonathan Kiser died yesterday from injuries suffered in a fall at his family's home in Whiteford on Thursday. He was 22. Kiser fell from a rope swing in a tree and suffered a severe head injury. He was flown by helicopter to the University of Maryland Shock Trauma Center in Baltimore on Thursday night. A hospital spokeswoman said Kiser was in critical condition early yesterday and confirmed his death in the afternoon. Kiser, champion National Steeplechase Association jockey in 1997 and 1999, was recognized as one of the most talented riders to join the circuit in some time.

On August 18, 2007, ROBERT E. ROBERTSON. A memorial service will be held at Old St. Paul's Episcopal Church, Charles and Saratoga Streets on April 28 at 2 P.M.

SARATOGA COFFEE 222 Saratoga, 222 E. Saratoga St. / / Open 7 a.m.-5:30 p.m. Monday-Friday, 8 a.m.-1 p.m. Sunday / / 410-332-7155 ........................ THIS NEW, QUAINT COFFEE SHOP IN THE recently renovated 222 Saratoga condominum building has a charming setting. The shop carries both an assortment of deli sandwiches and natural beverages. "We carry Italian sodas, natural juices and teas," says Maria Tembra, assistant manager. "We pulled away from the Coke and Pepsi kind of thing because no one here drinks that stuff."

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. -- Led by Belmont Stakes winner Colonial Affair and Jim Dandy winner Miner's Mark, a field of 12 is shaping up for Saturday's Travers at Saratoga.Without a dominant horse among the nation's 3-year-old males, it seems that everyone wants to take a chance at the $1 million race. The others expected for the 1 1/4 -mile classic are Silver of Silver, Wild Gale, El Bakan, Devoted Brass, Kissin Kris, Wallenda, Cherokee Run, Sea Hero, Virginia Rapids and Foxtrail.Wild Gale, who finished third in the Kentucky Derby, worked seven furlongs in 1:28 4/5 yesterday.

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - Funny Cide returned to Saratoga Race Course yesterday with a fever after his third-place finish in the Haskell Invitational Handicap, said trainer Barclay Tagg. The Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner turned in an unusual, lethargic performance Saturday in the Haskell at Monmouth Park in New Jersey. He arrived back at his Saratoga barn about 12:30 a.m. yesterday. "He's got a fever, and he's tired," Tagg said. He said the gelding's temperature was 102 degrees.

For the next six weeks, Mondays are joining Wednesdays as "simulcast-only" days on the weekly horse-betting menu at all Maryland wagering outlets.Mondays formerly were darks days, but the change is being made so that Maryland fans can wager on Monday cards at the popular Saratoga, N.Y., and Del Mar, Calif., summer meets as well as on Monday cards from Philadelphia Park and Arlington International Racecourse.Maryland Jockey Club officials had said last week that the network would stay dark on Monday this summer, but changed their minds to accommodate fans who want to bet on the signals.

On Friday, January 20, 2006, MISS LILLIAN JULIA WALSH, beloved aunt of Gloria Ries, Mary F. Walsh and Charles Cooper. Friends may call at the LOUDON PARK FUNERAL HOME, 3620 Wilkens Ave., on Tuesday, January 24 from 2 to 4 and 6 to 8 P.M. A funeral mass will be celebrated 10:30 A.M., Wednesday, January 25 at St. Alphonsus Shrine, Park Ave. and Saratoga St. Interment Most Holy Redeemer Cemetery. In lieu of flowers donations to St. Alphonsus Restoration Fund, 114 W. Saratoga St., Baltimore, MD 21201.

A city man was fatally shot about 2:30 a.m. yesterday inside Kristyles Barber Shop in the 400 block of W. Saratoga St., said police spokesman Sgt. Kevin Daniels. Daniels said Bernard Stepney, 19, of the 5500 block of Cedonia Ave. and his assailant had gotten into an altercation at another location minutes before the shooting. After Stepney went to the barbershop, a man shot him several times, then fled, running east on Saratoga Street. No one else was injured in the incident.