News and notes from around the Thoroughbred racing world, compiled by Thoroughbred Racing Communications, Inc. (TRC) (212.371.5911..)

CIGAR ARRIVES AT GULFSTREAM
Probable Horse of the Year Cigar arrived at Gulfstream Park, Hallandale, Fla., Wednesday, Jan. 17. The Champion horse, who has been training at Payson Park in Indiantown, Fla., was scheduled to gallop on track today in preparation for his first start of the year in the Feb. 10 Donn Handicap at Gulfstream. Cigar won all 10 of his starts last year and set a single-year earnings record of $4,819,800.

BOB, BEVERLY LEWIS WIN BIG SPORT OF TURFDOM AWARD
Bob and Beverly Lewis, who have continuously proclaimed their passion for the sport of Thoroughbred racing while traveling throughout the country with their star-studded stable, have been voted the winners of the 1995 Big Sport of Turfdom Award. The award is presented annually by the Turf Publicists of America (TPA) to an individual who has brought positive recognition to the sport through his or her cooperation with the media. Although they have been avid racing fans since their college days at the University of Oregon, the Lewises joined the ranks of Thoroughbred owners just six years ago. Since then, they have spent millions of dollars at auctions and have owned or co-owned multiple stakes winners such as Timber Country, Serena's Song and Hennessy, all of whom are trained by D. Wayne Lukas. 'The Lewises go out of their way to accommodate media requests wherever they go,' said Jim Peden, president of the TPA, 'and they are widely and rightfully known as goodwill ambassadors for our sport. '

The Lewises will receive the award Friday, Feb. 9 at a TPA luncheon at Peohe's Restaurant in Coronado, Calif., just a few hours before they accept the Eclipse Award for Serena's Song, their champion three- year-old filly, at the Hotel del Coronado. 'We love the game and we're extremely honored and thrilled to receive this award,' Bob Lewis said. 'This will be our seventh year in the sport and meeting so many nice people, in and out of the media, has been an exhilarating experience for us.'

The TPA, an organization made up of approximately 150 Thoroughbred racing publicists and marketing executives. Past winners of The Big Sport of Turfdom Award have included: Tim Conway, Jim McKay, John Forsythe, Jack Klugman, Penny Chenery, Steve Cauthen, Bill Shoemaker and Julie Krone.

TRIPLE CROWN EARLY NOMINATIONS CLOSE SATURDAY
Early nominations for the 1996 Triple Crown close Saturday, Jan. 20. Nominations to the three races comprising the Triple Crown -- the Kentucky Derby, Preakness and Belmont Stakes -- may be made by a single subscription fee of $600. Nominations must be postmarked or hand delivered by Jan. 20. For nominations received or postmarked Jan. 21 through March 30, the fee is $6,000. All nominations should be payable to Triple Crown Productions, Inc. and delivered to them in care of Churchill Downs, 700 Central Ave., Louisville, Ky., 40208. There were 317 early nominees to the 1995 Triple Crown.

WINNING COLORS' FIRST STAKES-WINNING OFFSPRING
Winning Colors, best remembered as the roan filly who captured the 1988 Kentucky Derby, is now a stakes-producing broodmare. Her three- year-old filly, Golden Colors won the Flora Stakes at Tokyo Racecourse in Japan Jan. 14. The filly, by Mr. Prospector, is owned by Hirotoshi Nakamura who purchased the filly at the 1994 Keeneland July Yearling Sale for $1,050,000. Golden Colors' victory in the Flora Stakes earned her more than 18 million yen. It was the first and only start of her career.

HEYWOOD HALE BROUN ENJOYS RACING WITH HIS CARELESS HEIRESS
During his career as a roving sports essayists and commentator for CBS News, Heywood Hale Broun -- he of the multi-colored sports coats - - never had a problem making a name for himself. Now the loquacious Broun has helped an up-and-coming three-year-old filly make a name for herself.

The name Broun gave to the filly by Blushing Groom out of Duty Free is Careless Heiress, and she runs like she hasn't a care in the world. Broun purchased an interest in the filly from Scott Savin, who purchased the then unnamed filly in a two-year-old in training sale at Calder Racecourse last winter. Broun had the honor of assigning a moniker to the filly. 'It used to be that people would cudgel their brains to come up with just the perfect name for a horse,' said Broun. 'Now it seems the trend is to combine the sire and dam's names. I gave this filly's name a great deal of thought and am quite proud of it.'

Careless Heiress races under the ownership of Sibling Stable, comprised of Broun, Savin and Robert Levy. In eight starts Careless Heiress has posted four wins, a second and a third and earnings of $135,630. Broun proudly collects her winner's circle photos, but has not been at the track to see the filly win. 'Even hearing about her victories second-hand, the excitement still reaches me,' he said.

Broun feels that, should he travel to Florida to see Careless Heiress run, he may jinx her. 'I now have 10 to 12 winner's circle photos but I don't appear in any of them.' In an interview Broun gave TRC in 1989, he stated 'My whole ambition in becoming an owner was simply to have my picture taken in the winner's circle. And the one little one-horse stable that we once had did, in fact, have seven winners, but I was never there on those occasions. So although I have seven winner's circle pictures, I'm not in any of them.'

Broun has owned several horses through the years. Most recently he was involved as a breeder, owning shares in breeding stock but he missed the excitement of owning a Thoroughbred racehorse. 'I'm involved (in racing) because it's fun, adventuresome and I've always felt it's had a certain panache.'

Broun's ultimate wish for Careless Heiress is to see her run at Churchill Downs this spring. If she's good enough to run in the Kentucky Oaks, Broun will throw caution to the wind and be there in person to cheer his filly on. Who knows, he may be in a winner's circle photo yet.

FILM AT NATIONAL RACING MUSEUM HIGHLIGHTS CONTRIBUTIONS OF BLACK AMERICANS
The National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame will show 'African- Americans in Thoroughbred Racing,' a short film that highlights the contributions African-Americans have made to the sport of Thoroughbred racing. The film will be shown every Saturday in February in celebration of Black History Month. The film was produced by the Kentucky Derby Museum and shows the rich history and accomplishments of African-American jockeys and trainers. The Museum will show the film Feb. 3, 10, 17, and 24 at 11:45 a.m. The National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame is located in Union Ave., Saratoga Springs, N.Y.

(For additional information, please call the Museum at (518) 584- 0400.)

AKSARBEN WILL RUN LIVE RACING IN 1996 FOR NOW
AKsarben Racetrack received a reprieve of sorts Jan. 16 when the Douglas County Board of Commissioners voted 4-3 against canceling 1996 live racing at the Omaha, Neb., racetrack. The track isn't celebrating just yet, as the county may still pull the plug on live racing at its Feb. 6 meeting. Tim McNeil, AKsarben's vice president of marketing, gave the track a 50-50 chance at the Feb. 6 vote. The track needs $1.5 million in outside financing to cover operational costs. AKsarben is pinning its hopes on the Nebraska Legislature, which is considering a bill to allow the state's five racetracks to add slot machines.

BLOOD-HORSE MAGAZINE JOINS JAPANESE NEWS SERVICE
The Blood-Horse, Inc. has opened an office in Tokyo. The office is staffed by personnel associated with Sankei Shimbun News Service, Inc. , a subsidiary of the Fujisankei Communications Group, one of the top ten communications companies in the world. The Blood-Horse will make available every Tuesday selected stories and photographs from its weekly publication, 'The Blood-Horse' magazine which will be translated into Japanese by Sankei Shimbun News Service and distributed the material directly to major Japanese newspapers and magazines.

'With the growing importance of Asian countries and specifically Japan in the Thoroughbred industry, this marks a great opportunity to share both information and our perspectives on racing and breeding with Japanese owners, breeders and millions of racing enthusiasts,' explained Raymond S. Paulick, vice president and editorial director of The Blood-Horse, Inc. Fujisankei is a very powerful partner, and the company's strong media expertise will be helpful in expanding our editorial and circulation potential in Japan.'

THOROUGHBRED CONFERENCE TO BE HELD IN JAPAN
The Maryland Department of Agriculture through a grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, will sponsor a professional Thoroughbred conference in Japan June 17-24. The conference is open to recognized Thoroughbred organizations in the U.S. to meet Japanese breeders and racing representatives and exchange ideas. The conference will feature two-and-a-half days of seminars focusing key issues of the sport with both American and Japanese speakers. The conference will also feature visits to areas of interest in the Tokyo area, such as racetracks, training centers, the jockey school and museums. There will also be an option of extending the conference for a visit to the breeding facilities in Hokkaido, where 93 percent of all Japanese Thoroughbreds are foaled.

Because the program is funded through a grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the conference is only open to those representatives of recognized Thoroughbred organizations. The fee, which will include transportation, is expected to be approximately $5, 000 per person.

RACING ON THE AIR
Jan. 20 'Racehorse Digest' 1:30-2:00 a.m., ESPN
Jan. 20 'Racehorse Digest' 6:00-6:30 a.m., ESPN
Jan. 24 'Racehorse Digest' 3:30-4:00 p.m., ESPN
Jan. 27 'Racehorse Digest' 3:00-3:30 a.m., ESPN
Jan. 27 'Racehorse Digest' 6:00-6:30 a.m., ESPN

RACING TO HISTORY
Jan. 19, 1955: Swaps won the San Vicente Stakes, the first race of his 3-year-old campaign, by 3 1-2 lengths at Santa Anita Park. He went on to triumph over Nashua in the Kentucky Derby, but was in turn defeated by his rival in a $100,000 match race at Washington Park on August 31, his only loss of that year.

Jan. 20, 1972: Secretariat was shipped from Virginia to Florida to be trained by Lucien Laurin.

Jan. 20, 1979: Odds-on favorite Affirmed, with Steve Cauthen aboard, finished second in the San Fernando Stakes at Santa Anita, beaten 2 3- 4 lengths by Radar Ahead. It was their fourth consecutive defeat. Cauthen subsequently lost the mount on Affirmed to jockey Laffit Pincay Jr., who rode the horse for the remainder of its 4-year-old season, winning seven victories in as many starts. Affirmed was later voted Horse of the Year for 1979. Cauthen had ridden Affirmed to a Triple Crown sweep the previous year and the pair recorded 11 wins in their 16 races together.

SATURDAY
El Camino Real Derby, 3yo, $200,000, 1 1-16 Miles, Grade III, Bay Meadows
Cara Rafaela takes on eight colts as she tries to record her third stakes win. She won the Grade I Hollywood Starlet Stakes Dec. 16 after a disappointing loss in the Pocahontas Stakes at Churchill Downs. She was second in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies and is testing colts for the first time in her nine-race career. Mountain Skier, E C's Dream, Sergeant Stroh and Jazzmanian Devil were 1-2-3-4 in the Grade III California Juvenile Stakes, Dec. 26 at Bay Meadows. Cavonnier won two California-bred stakes race and was second in another. Others entered are: Stormy Diplomat, Air Bag and Mateo.

El Encino Stakes, 4yo fillies, $125,000, 1 1-16 Miles, Grade II, Santa Anita
Six stakes winners meet in the El Encino, led by Grade I victors Urbane and Sleep Easy. Urbane has never been worse than third in nine career starts, with four wins, including the Grade I Ashland Stakes at Keeneland. She finished second in her last start, the Grade II Bayakoa Handicap at Hollywood Park, Dec. 3. Sleep Easy has won only one of her last four races, but all were on turf. Her last race on the dirt was a smashing 14 1-4-length win in the Grade I Hollywood Oaks. Others entered are: Jewel Princess, winner of the Grade III Linda Vista Breeders' Cup Handicap at Santa Anita; Privity, a Group 2 winner in France who is winless in three starts in the U.S.; Irish stakes winner Sharp Point (IRE); and Evil's Pic, a winner of seven of 11 career starts, including five ungraded stakes.

Holy Bull Stakes, 3yo, $75,000, 1 1-16 Miles, Grade III, Gulfstream A field of eight three-year-olds are scheduled to meet, led by a quartet of Grade III winners. Cobra King, the winner of four of his six lifetime starts, including the Hollywood Prevue Breeders' Cup Stakes in his last start, Nov. 19. He will be challenged by Gomtuu, Canada's champion two-year-old, who accounted for the Grey Stakes, Editor's Note, third in last year's Breeders' Cup Juvenile and winner of the Kentucky Cup Juvenile Stakes. Cat On Tour, who has four wins in five starts, took the What a Pleasure Stakes Dec. 9. Others entered are: Unruled, Favorable Ruling, Tilden and Stauncher.

Native Dancer Handicap, 4&up, $75,000, 1 1-8 Miles, Laurel

SUNDAY
San Marcos Handicap, 4&up, $150,000, 1 1-4 Miles Turf, Grade II, Santa Anita
A strong field of turf horses is expected for the San Marcos, which marks the 1996 debut of Eclipse Award winner Northern Spur (IRE), winner of last year's Breeders' Cup Turf. A successful runner in France, Northern Spur (IRE) was third and 10th in the U.S. before a win in the Grade I Oak Tree Invitational at Santa Anita Oct. 8 before his score in the Breeders' Cup Turf. Facing the champion will be Urgent Request (IRE), who won the $1 million, Grade I Santa Anita Handicap on the dirt March 11 but hasn't been closer than 12 3-4 lengths since. El Florista (ARG) was a distant second in the slop in the Dec. 23 Grade III Native Diver Handicap in his only U.S. start. Celtic Arms (FR) has been a major disappointment recently, with two sixths and a 10th in the Breeders' Cup Turf. Parme was 10th in the Grade I Hollywood Turf Cup Dec. 10, but was beaten less than five lengths. Others expected are: Party Season (GB), ninth in the Hollywood Turf Cup; Virginia Carnival and Silver Wizard were second and third in the Grade II San Gabriel Handicap, Jan. 1; and Bon Point (GB), who has been consistent in lesser company.

Bay Meadows Oaks, 3yo fillies, $100,000, 1 1-16 Miles, Grade III, Bay Meadows

The Running Horse (http://www.webcom.com/~alauck/)