Zenyatta

Rapid Redux, who has won 18 consecutive starts, can tie the all-time North American record of 19 straight victories held by Zenyatta and Peppers Pride with a victory today at Laurel Park. The 5-year-old gelding will face four rivals in the sixth race, a $20,000 starter allowance at seven furlongs, and has been made the 3-5 morning-line favorite. Post time is 3:47 p.m. HRTV will have live coverage, and the race will be streamed on drf.com. J.D. Acosta will ride Rapid Redux for the fourth consecutive race.

When the American Thoroughbred Horse of the Year for 2011 is announced in Los Angeles Monday night, the winner will most likely have been chosen for his or her consistency - a survivor in a year when there was no clear-cut star to emerge on the track and, in the words of the owner of the favorite to win the award, "a lot of upsets. " The connections of Havre de Grace, the now 5-year-old mare named after the Harford County city and its old race track, are hoping to hear her name called, and they certainly have reason to be confident.

The Breeders' Cup, which took place last weekend, is now the biggest meet in thoroughbred racing, featuring the best horses from around the world competing over two days at one track. It provides a financial boost to the sport and expands its reach by bringing it into living rooms all over the world. But it should also be a time to take stock of the challenges the sport faces and the changes it needs to make. The time has come for a national racing commissioner with broad powers to create uniform drug policies, curb abuses, police the stables and create a coordinated business plan to move the industry forward.

Nicole Stall boarded the first plane to Maryland she could catch when she heard of Benjamin Boniface's death last June. She was there to grieve the death of a boy she had known since his birth. But also to work. In the days after the 20-year-old's death in an early-morning car accident on the farm, she went to the barns where she had fallen in love with horses as a teenager. “I was completely out of it,” said William K. Boniface, known to most as Billy. “She just went out to the stallion barn, kept it running.

Men's college lacrosse Byrd Stadium to host quarterfinals in 2013 The NCAA Division I Men's Lacrosse Committee has selected College Park and Indianapolis to serve as hosts for the 2013 Division I men's lacrosse quarterfinals. Byrd Stadium will host games May18, with the rest of the round the next day at Lucas Oil Stadium. The 2013 semifinals and championship will be held in Philadelphia at Lincoln Financial Field from May 25-27. College basketball Morgan men picked No. 1 in MEAC; Coppin third The Morgan State men's basketball team was picked to finish first in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference by the league's coaches and sports information directors.

Lost in the ecstasy of Zenyatta's heroic effort and the agony of her narrow loss in the Breeders' Cup Classic last year was the pain in Garrett Gomez's shoulder. Gomez won with a great ride aboard a great horse named Blame. In 19 previous tries, no other horse had been able to withstand the closing rush of the greatest equine closer of our time, and when unbeaten Zenyatta came up about three inches short this time, the bigger story was her effort and her close call. When the reality of what had happened set in on the massive crowd at Churchill Downs, the mood turned immediately dark, just as day had turned quickly to night.

Rapid Redux, the 5-year-old gelded son of Pleasantly Perfect, is expected to go for a record-breaking 20 th consecutive victory Monday night at Mountaineer Park in Chester, W.Va. Owned by Towson native Robert Cole Jr., Rapid Redux is tied with 2010 Horse of the Year Zenyatta and New Mexico-bred Peppers Pride for the North American record. Those two mare won 19 straight races over four-years.  If Rapid Redux wins, he will have set the new mark in less than a year. He's entered to run in the eighth race Monday, which has a post time of 9:55 p.m.

Wizards Jamison's hot 2nd half gives Washington winning streak Antawn Jamison scored 21 of his 28 points after halftime, Caron Butler made two big baskets down the stretch and the Washington Wizards put together a rare winning streak Monday with a 97-92 victory over the visiting Portland Trail Blazers. Jamison was 3-for-10 from the field at halftime, but he shot 7-for-11 in the second half in a game that was close throughout. The victory gave the Wizards two wins in a row - only the fourth time they've accomplished that in a distressing season that includes last week's guilty plea to a felony gun charge by three-time All-Star Gilbert Arenas.

Rapid Redux, the 5-year-old gelded son of Pleasantly Perfect, tied the North American record for consecutive victories at 19 with a win Thursday on Laurel Park's muddy and sealed track. The win puts Rapid Redux in the company of New Mexico bred Peppers Pride and 2010 Horse of the Year Zenyatta. “I freaked out as he was coming down the stretch,” said owner Robert Cole, Jr., a Towson native who claimed Rapid Redux for $6,250 a year ago. “It was a little tougher than I was expecting.

Horse of the Year Rachel Alexandra could be heading back to work. Owner Jess Jackson is considering running the 4-year-old filly in the $400,000 La Troienne Stakes on Friday at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Ky. Rachel Alexandra, who won last year's Preakness, hasn't run since finishing second to Zardana in the New Orleans Ladies on March 13, a performance that ended plans for her to meet unbeaten mare Zenyatta at the Apple Blossom....