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

MGM GRAND OFFERS $2 MILLION BONUS FOR THREE-RACE SWEEP
The MGM Grand Hotel-Casino of Las Vegas will offer a $2 million bonus to the horse who can sweep the Santa Anita Handicap (March 2), Hollywood Gold Cup (June 30) and Del Mar's Pacific Classic (Aug. 10), it was announced Thursday by representatives of the three California racetracks, the Thoroughbred Owners of California and the MGM Grand Hotel-Casino of Las Vegas.

A sweep of the three $1 million races, to be called the MGM Grand Classic Crown, would result in the winning horse earning a total of $3.8 million in purses and bonus money.

The three races are Grade I events at a distance of 1 1-4 miles. The Santa Anita Handicap and Hollywood Gold Cup are handicaps while the Pacific Classic is a weight-for-age race. The bonus requires that a minimum of six horses start in each race.

In addition to the $2 million bonus for a series sweep, the MGM Classic Crown will include a $500,000 participation bonus to the top four point-earning horses, excluding the horse who sweeps the series. The points will be awarded as follows: 10 points for first, seven points for second, five points for third, three points for fourth and one point for fifth. There will also be a $100,000 bonus for the jockey who sweeps the series aboard the same horse, which will be donated to the Don MacBeth Memorial Jockey Fund and Shoemaker Foundation.

'We're very excited to be associated with the MGM Grand,' said Craig Fravel, executive vice president of Del Mar Thoroughbred Club on behalf of the three participating racetracks. 'Packaging three of North America's premier races will bring additional national attention to Southern California racing. We are particularly pleased with the spirit of cooperation between horsemen and racetracks which has resulted in a series which will generate a lot of excitement for fans -- it's a great opportunity.'

Allen Paulson participated in the press conference via telephone and indicated plans for his star Cigar to participate in this series as well as the $4 million Dubai Cup, March 27. 'Hopefully we can do both these things,' Paulson said. 'If he has a season like last year's he'll be able to go in both directions.'

BEST PAL RETIRED
Best Pal, North America's third leading money winner, has been retired by his owners, John and Betty Mabee. The eight-year-old gelding will make a non-racing farewell appearance at Santa Anita Park on Saturday, March 2, Santa Anita Handicap Day. He will then be moved to the Mabee's Golden Eagle Farm in Ramona, Calif., where he was foaled and raised. A trust fund will be established for Best Pal's lifetime care and maintenance by the Mabees. The gelding retires sound and healthy.

Best Pal posted 18 wins from 47 starts with earnings of $5,668,245. Only Alysheba ($6,679,242) and John Henry ($6,597,947) won more money.

JOCKEY RUSSELL BAZE TO BE HONORED ALL NEXT WEEK
Jockey Russell Baze, who made Thoroughbred racing history when he won 400 races for the fourth consecutive year, will be honored by three racing organizations next week. On Monday, Feb. 5, Baze will be honored by the California Thoroughbred Breeders' Association at its annual awards luncheon at the Wyndham Garden Hotel in Monrovia, where the 37 year-old jockey will be presented with a special award to acknowledge his achievement and contribution to the sport in California.

On Friday, Feb. 9, Baze will be honored at the Eclipse Awards dinner at the Hotel del Coronado in San Diego, where the jockey will receive a Special Eclipse Award in recognition of being the first jockey to win 400 or more races four consecutive years.

On Sunday, Feb. 11, the National Turf Writers Association will present Baze with the inaugural Isaac Murphy Award. Named for the legendary 19th century black jockey who won aboard 44 percent of his mounts, the NTWA will present the Isaac Murphy Award annually to the rider with the highest win percentage. Baze won with 29 percent of his mounts.

On Tuesday, Feb. 6, Thoroughbred Racing Communications, Inc. will host a media teleconference with Baze at 1:00 p.m. (EST). Members of the media wishing to participate in the conference call should phone (913) 661-9057 just prior to 1:00 (EST) on Feb. 6.

'SUNDAY MORNING' TO PROFILE MOTT FEB. 11
CBS News' 'Sunday Morning' show, hosted by Charles Osgood, will include a feature on trainer Bill Mott when it airs Sunday, Feb. 11 (check local listings). The segment, produced by Bud Lamoreaux, will feature footage, shot in December, of Mott at Payson Park in Indiantown, Fla., with Cigar and at Gulfstream Park with the rest of his stable. The piece will also include footage and interviews collected during a cold and snowy visit to Mott's hometown of Mobridge, S.D. (pop. 3,768).

Lamoreaux, along with longtime CBS News cameraman Izzy Bleckman and audio engineer Dan Gianneschi, spent two days in Mobridge last week, encountering a typical Dakota winter: blizzard conditions and record cold temperatures. Reported Lamoreaux: 'When I went to leave the motel Thursday morning, the clerk told me, 'it's warming up: the temperature is 20 degrees below zero and the windchill is 81 below.' '

Bleckman, who traveled hundreds of thousands of miles 'on the road' with Charles Kuralt (and a few million more in the air for 'Sunday Morning'), said: 'I once photographed polar bears in Churchill, Alaska, but it wasn't as cold as Mobridge was. I've never seen that combination of cold, wind and snow before. The snow was blowing like desert sands.'

Lamoreaux, who usually protects his feature ideas until just before a piece is scheduled to air, says that this time he isn't overly concerned about advance publicity. 'No one else is crazy enough to go to Mobridge in January!'

WINNING AT SPORTSMAN'S PARK WORTH 10 PERCENT MORE
Sportsman's Park, in Cicero, Ill., will offer a 10 percent bonus on win bets placed on live races on Fridays. The 10 percent will be added to the regular payoff. The on-track bonus, designed to get more fans to the track, looks even better when compared with winning wagers placed at off-track betting parlor, where a 2.5 percent surcharge is taken out. Sportsman's Park will also institute a marketing and advertising program aimed at minorities, including handicapping materials and tip sheets printed in Spanish.

BREEDERS' CUP $12.6 MILLION NATIONAL STAKES PROGRAM ANNOUNCED
The $12.6 million Breeders' Cup National Stakes program was unveiled by officials with the Breeders' Cup Ltd. Monday, Jan. 29. The program will include 85 scheduled races at 45 racetracks across the United States and Canada beginning Saturday Feb. 3. There are 42 graded stakes races included in the program.

Breeders' Cup will allocate $5.5 million in purses and awards to the program. Breeders' Cup will contribute between $25,000 to $100,000 per race and each host racetrack must match at least the Breeders' Cup monies in its purse contribution. Breeders' Cup nominated horses will compete for the full purse, while non-nominated horses are eligible for the track's portion only. Since its inception in 1984, the Breeders' Cup has allocated more than $225 million in purses to owners and breeders through its racing programs.

'The Breeders' Cup National Stakes are unique in its opportunities to horsemen and racing fans across North America, as it offers quality racing at the stakes level on a year-round basis,' said James E. Bassett III, president of Breeders' Cup Ltd. 'We are very appreciative of the cooperation and support we have received from our partner racetracks across the United States and Canada.'

TEXAS SIMULCAST SPLIT DECIDED
A dispute over the split of simulcast proceeds between the Texas Thoroughbred Association and the Texas Quarter Horse Association was settled Monday by the Texas Racing Commission. The commission determined the Thoroughbred interests would receive 80 percent of all purse money at Class I tracks derived from simulcast revenues and the Quarter Horse interests would receive the remaining 20 percent. The commission also called for Class I tracks to designate one percent of simulcast proceeds to fund purses for Arabian, Appaloosa and Paint Horse races. Taking into consideration other stipulations in the split, overall Thoroughbred interests will receive 63 percent and Quarter Horse racing will get 37 percent of the total simulcast proceeds.

CHURCHILL DOWNS TO EXPAND ITS KENTUCKY DERBY WEB SITE
Just 15 months after it debuted on the World Wide Web, Churchill Downs will be expanding its internet site. The Louisville, Ky., racetrack recently hired Creative Alliance, a local advertising agency, to redesign and expand Churchill's web site. The new site will emerge in early February at a new address: www.kentuckyderby.com. The new site will offer more information for bettors and handicappers, including past performance statistics, results from prep races, odds from Las Vegas handicappers, workout reports and barn notes. There will also be more information on the Kentucky Derby and the festivities associated with the event. One section will offer suggestions for throwing the perfect Derby party.

According to Karl Schmitt, Churchill's communications director, the track's web site will tell 'net surfers' where they can watch and wager on the track's races. The service may one day become a companion to the track's experiment in in-home betting.

RETAMA PARK GETS DEADLINE FROM TEXAS RACING COMMISSION
Retama Park received a March 15 deadline from the Texas Racing Commission to raise funds. If the struggling racetrack near San Antonio doesn't have a new owner or investor by the deadline, it will not conduct live racing this year. If Retama doesn't have some sort of bank transaction with a prospective buyer by March 15, the commission will meet March 29 and decide on a course of action. According to Lee Katz, a crisis management consultant hired by Retama, the only way the track will start a live meet is with a new owner or investor.

Retama is scheduled to conduct live racing June 8. Sam Houston Race Park has expressed an interest in extending its meet past their June 7 completion date if Retama can't start its meet.

ONLINE TECHNOLOGY AND CASINOS ON TRA CONVENTION AGENDA
The annual Thoroughbred Racing Associations (TRA) convention will feature discussions and demonstrations of the latest online and interactive technologies and a look at casino gambling's impact on racing when the convention get under way at the Hotel del Coronado, in San Diego, Calif., Deb. 7-9. The seminar will culminate with Friday's Eclipse Awards Dinner and the announcement of the Horse of the Year.

RACING ON THE AIR (all times Eastern)
Feb. 1 'Racehorse Digest' 1:30-2:00 a.m., ESPN
Feb. 3 'Racehorse Digest' 6:00-6:30 a.m., ESPN
Feb. 3 San Antonio Handicap, Santa Anita, 9:30-10:00 p.m., Prime
Feb. 4 Strub Stakes, Santa Anita and Hutcheson Stakes, Gulfstream, 4:30-5:30 p.m., ESPN
Feb. 7 'Racehorse Digest' 3:30-4:00 p.m., ESPN
Feb. 9 'Racehorse Digest' 3:00-3:30 a.m., ESPN
Feb. 10 'Racehorse Digest' 6:00-6:30 a.m., ESPN
Feb. 10 Eclipse Awards Special 2:00-3:00 p.m., ESPN
Feb. 10 '2-Day at the Races' 6:30-7:00 p.m., ESPN
Feb. 10 San Vicente Stakes, Santa Anita, 4:30-5:00 p.m., Prime

RACING TO HISTORY
Feb. 1, 1941: Golden Gate Fields opened for its inaugural race meet. After a five-day 'season,' the track was forced to close because severe rainstorms washed out the racing surface. The advent of World War II prevented the facility from reopening until Sept. 9, 1947.

Feb. 3, 1990: Jockey Bill Shoemaker rode his final career race at Santa Anita Park, finishing fourth aboard Patchy Groundfog in 'The Legend's Last Ride.' He retired with 8,833 wins, a world record.

Feb. 4, 1926: Wheatley Stables, formed by Mrs. Henry Carnegie Phipps, recorded its first win ever, with a two-year-old filly named Sturdy Stella.

Feb. 7, 1894: The Jockey Club was incorporated.

Feb. 7, 1969: Diane Crump became the first woman jockey in America to compete in a parimutuel race when she finished 10th of 12 aboard a 48-1 shot, three-year-old Bridle 'n Bit, in the seventh race at Hialeah Park.

Feb. 8, 1941: Whirlaway began his three-year-old season with a win in a six-furlong allowance race at Hialeah.

Feb. 9, 1940: After a year's absence from competition, seven-year- old Seabiscuit, champion handicap horse of 1937 and 1938, returned to racing at Santa Anita, where he finished third in a handicap race. Seabiscuit ran three more races in 1940, concluding his career with a win in the Santa Anita Handicap.

Feb. 9, 1974: Jockey Chris McCarron rode his first winner, a five- year-old gelding named Erezev, at Bowie Racecourse. By year's end, McCarron had established a then-record number of winners for a single season: 546. Fifteen years later, on Nov. 30, 1989, jockey Kent Desormeaux eclipsed that mark.

Feb. 9, 1991: The American Championship Racing Series, designed to showcase older horses, was inaugurated with the Donn Handicap, won by Jolie's Halo.

SATURDAY
San Antonio Handicap, 4&up, $300,000, 1 1-8 Miles, Grade II, Santa Anita
Three of the first four finishers in the Jan. 15 San Pasqual Handicap are back at Santa Anita for the San Antonio. Alphabet Soup stamped himself as a horse to be watched after ending 1995 with a 7 1-2-length win the Grade III Native Diver Handicap at Hollywood Park and picked up where he left off with his win in the Grade II San Pasqual. Soul of the Matter was fourth in the Breeders' Cup Classic in his last start and only had four races in 1995 due to nagging injuries. He posted two wins and a second in graded stakes company. Kingdom Found won the listed Ack Ack Handicap Dec. 31, his last race, but hasn't been meeting this type of company. Luthier Fever was second in the San Pasqual with Earth Colony was fourth. Dare and Go won the Grade I Strub Stakes last year and was second in the $1 million Santa Anita Handicap March 11 and was out of action until a second on Jan. 5 in a Santa Anita allowance race. Patio de Naranjos (CHI) has been running on the turf.

Assault Handicap, 3&up, $75,000, 1 1-8 Miles, Grade III, Aqueduct
Shirley Jones Handicap, 3&up (f&m), $100,000, 7 Furlongs, Grade III, Gulfstream

SUNDAY
Hutcheson Stakes, 3yo, $75,000, 7 Furlongs, Grade II, Gulfstream Breeders' Cup Juvenile winner Unbridled's Song makes his three-year-old debut against several promising contenders. The lightly raced Unbridled's Song has won two of his three lifetime starts. Seacliff was unbeatable in Florida last year but finished 10th in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile. He returned to winning ways with a score in the Grade III Spectacular Bid Stakes at Gulfstream, Jan. 7. Gold Fever was a disappointment in the Grade I Moet Champagne Stakes at Belmont last October but also bounced back to easily win his next two starts. Appealing Skier had won all three of his career starts before a disastrous 12th-place finish in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile. Others expected are Hardball, Allowance Ruler and Choice Shift.

Strub Stakes, 4yo, $500,000, 1 1-4 Miles, Grade I, Santa Anita
Helmsman, Gold and Steel (FR), The Key Rainbow, Mr Purple, Big Sky Jim, Pinflorin (FR) and Score Quick, the top seven horses in the Grade II San Fernando Stakes, and Oncefortheroad, ninth, all return. Joining them is Afternoon Deelites, who was injured in the Kentucky Derby but made a triumphant return to the races Dec. 26 with a win in the Grade I Malibu Stakes at Santa Anita. Also expected is Mighty Magee, winner of the Grade III Aqueduct Handicap Jan. 15, and Flying Chevron, winner of the Grade I NYRA Mile in 1995.

Santa Catalina Stakes, 3yo, $100,000, 1 1-16M, Santa Anita
Palos Verdes Handicap, 4&up, $200,000, 6 Furlongs, Grade III, Santa Anita

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