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

BREEDERS' CUP CLASSIC PURSE NOW $4 MILLION
The purse for the Breeders' Cup Classic will be increased to $4 million it was announced today by officials at Breeders' Cup Ltd. The Classic will now share the distinction with the March 27 Dubai World Cup as the world's richest race.

'We have been evaluating the desirability of a purse increase for several years,' said D.G. Van Clief Jr., executive director of Breeders' Cup Ltd. 'The addition of $1 million to the Breeders' Cup Classic will serve to reaffirm its importance as the event's finale and demonstrate vitality in our overall program. In the future, we will continue to evaluate the possibility of further increases to the Championship purse.'

The winner's share of the Breeders' Cup Classic will be $2,080,000. Second place will receive $800,000, followed by $480,000 for third, $224,000 for fourth and $80,000 for fifth place.

The 1 1-4 miles Breeders' Cup Classic, sponsored by Mobil Corporation will be run Saturday, Oct. 26 at Woodbine Racecourse, Ontario, Canada.

CIGAR'S BAR SHOES REMOVED
Three days after trainer Bill Mott had specially-designed bar shoes fitted on Horse of the Year Cigar, he had them removed. 'He was having trouble with them,' Mott said Wednesday, 'so we took them off last night. He worked a lot better this morning -- 90 percent -- and he went a lot better this morning than he went yesterday with them on.'

The six-year-old galloped a mile and a half Wednesday morning. His scheduled breeze on Saturday may be postponed. According to assistant trainer Ralph Nicks Cigar's trip to the March 27 Dubai World Cup is still a strong possibility. 'He missed a little time before the Hollywood Gold Cup (in 1995) and was able to handle it,' remarked Nicks. 'If he's back on track this weekend I don't it will be a big issue.' If all goes well, Cigar will leave for the Dubai World Cup on March 16.

FIRST FOALS BY 1994 HORSE OF THE YEAR HOLY BULL ARRIVE
The first two foals, both fillies by Holy Bull, the 1994 Horse of the Year, were born within hours or each other at Jonabell Farm, Lexington Ky. The first to arrive, a half-sister to champion Phone Chatter, foaled March 2. The second, out of stakes winner Second Glance arrived a few hours later on March 3.

Champion Holy Bull was retired early last year and began breeding mares in late March. He covered a total of 68 mares, with 60 confirmed in foal.

LONGDEN REMEMBERS HIS LAST RIDE LIKE IT WAS YESTERDAY
In 1966, Johnny Longden's victory in the last race of his record- breaking career was voted the greatest moment in the 32-year history of Santa Anita Park by a panel of racing experts. Thirty years later, chances are the results of a poll at the Arcadia, Calif. track would be the same. On March 12, 1966, the 59-year-old Longden, riding in the 32,413th race of a 40-year riding career and bothered by arthritis and a pinched nerve, won the San Juan Capistrano Handicap by a nose on George Royal, who was the 6-1 third choice in the nine- horse field. He beat a horse named Plaque and when someone measured the official photo, the margin of victory was about a quarter of an inch. The crowd of 60,000 fans erupted in applause.

Longden subsequently enjoyed a successful training career that ended in 1990. He won the 1969 Kentucky Derby with Majestic Prince and is still the only person to win it as a jockey (he rode 1943 Triple Crown winner Count Fleet in 1943) and a trainer.

Longden, who turned 89 on Valentine's Day, now lives in Banning, Calif., not far from Palm Springs and about 100 miles from Santa Anita Park, and he still remembers the day of March 12, 1966 vividly. 'It doesn't seem like 30 years ago,' he said, 'it seems like it was yesterday.'

He had no way of knowing how dramatic his final ride would be. He was confident the horse would run well, but still maintains it would have been his last race even if he hadn't won.

'I thought George Royal had a good chance in that race because he liked the track and he liked the distance and he was training well coming up to the race,' he said. 'But I would have quit anyway. I'd made up my mind and I told people at a sports dinner in Pasadena the week of the race that Saturday would be my last day and I think they believed me.'

At the time, Longden was the winningest rider in Thoroughbred racing history. His two victories that day, from four mounts, were number 6, 031 and 6,032 and he says the win aboard George Royal was 'one of the highlights of my career.'

He also feels that, then and now, people overlooked the efforts of George Royal and his trainer Don Richardson. 'He was a better horse than people gave him credit for, and Don Richardson deserved credit for that victory because he did a good job training him.'

Longden, a native of England who was raised in Taber, Alberta, where he worked with mules in the coal mines, is still an avid fan of the sport. He goes to the track (Santa Anita) occasionally, but 'watches all the races on TV.'

DUBAI WORLD CUP ENTRANTS READY TO RUN
Two local entrants for the $4 million Dubai World Cup, to be run March 27 at Nad Al Sheba Racecourse, will run Sunday at Nad Al Sheba. Cezanne (GB) and Annus Mirabilis (FR) will compete in the Keeneland Mile and Maktoum al Maktoum Challenge, respectively. American hopeful Dare and Go, scratched from the March 2 Santa Anita Handicap due to an ankle injury, rolled over three rivals to win The Wicked North Handicap by 3 1-2 lengths at Santa Anita. Trainer Dick Mandella has named Alex Solis to ride Dare and Go in Dubai. Mandella's other starter, Soul of the Matter, owned by composer Burt Bacharach, worked a sharp mile in 1:36 at Hollywood Park Wednesday. Another American entrant, L'Carriere, ran fourth in last Saturday's Gulfstream Park Handicap, his first race since his second-place finish to Cigar in the Breeders' Cup Classic last Oct. 28. Australian Danewin ran the worst race of his 30-horse career in a sixth-place finish in the AJC Chipping Norton Stakes March 2. Jeune, winner of the 1994 Melbourne Cup, will run in Monday's Australian Cup after losing twice this year. European contenders Needle Gun, Pentire and Pennekamp are already in Dubai. Local hero Halling crushed four opponents March 3 at Nad Al Sheba under 133 pounds. He is now 4-for-4 at the racetrack where the Dubai World Cup will be held.

VIRGINIA LOTTERY GAME TO FEATURE VA STEEPLECHASE RACES
Officials with the Virginia Lottery and the Virginia Gold Cup announced this week the creation of a new statewide lottery game which will use the results of three steeplechase races run in conjunction with the Virginia Gold Cup Classic on Saturday, May 4 to determine its winners. The Virginia Gold Cup Lottery will be a $1 game and will be sold through the Virginia Lottery's 3,000-plus retail outlets for six weeks prior to the race day. Lottery players will attempt to correctly choose five numbers, the winner of one race and the first two finishers in two other designated races, in order to collect the prize money. Prizes will vary depending on the number of tickets sold statewide. Lottery officials estimate the top prize could be worth more than $75,000.

'We are very pleased to be working with the Gold Cup on this special game,' said Jim Nulph, director of marketing for the Virginia Lottery. 'It couples the Lottery's tremendous level of public participation and awareness with the Virginia Gold Cup's longstanding tradition of success, and we're hoping for a very successful outcome for both of us.'

JOCKEY CLUB CLOSES 1993 FOAL CROP WITH 37,095 REGISTERED
Officials at The Jockey Club announced today they have closed the North American registered foal crop of 1993 with 37,095 horses registered, a decline of three percent over the 1992 figure of 38,257 horses registered. This is the seventh consecutive decline in the size of the foal crop.

HORSE OWNER GIVES $12 MILLION TO UCLA CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL
A California Thoroughbred owner has pledged a gift of $12 million to the UCLA Children's Hospital. Rubin Brown, an 83-year-old electrical supply entrepreneur, asked only that the millions be used 'to help the kids,' said Kim Richardson, his spokesman. Brown's gift is the largest received by the Children's Hospital, located at the UCLA Medical Center in Westwood, and ranks among the 10 largest received in the history of the Medical Center.

UCLA officials said the money will be used to expand and improve pediatric neurological research and treatment, primarily benefiting children with severe epilepsy and developmental problems. The Children's Hospital will receive the money once Brown sells his company, Excel Electric, a four-state electrical company he started in the 1930s. The money has been placed in an irrevocable trust.

Brown, whose only link to the university is through a son who attended law school, 'wanted to do something good with his money,' said Richardson. The pair began exploring several options before deciding on the UCLA Children's Hospital. 'He just fell in love with the pediatric program at UCLA,' said Richardson. 'Somehow it really touched him.'

Brown has raced and bred horses for the past 50 years. He currently has six horses in training with Craig Lewis. Among Brown's best horses is multiple stakes winner Our Sweet Sham and stakes-placed Sticky Wile, who set a track record that still stands at Santa Anita for a mile in 1:32 3-5. According to Lewis, Brown also has approximately 12 broodmares. Lewis said Brown is known as a dapper dresser and is never without his signature bow tie.

EARLY TIMES TURF SERIES DRAWS RECORD 158 NOMINEES
The Early Times Triple Turf attracted a record 158 nominees. The series, which was inaugurated in 1993, includes the May 4 Early Times Turf Classic at Churchill Downs, the May 18 Early Times Dixie at Pimlico and the June 8 Early Times Manhattan at Belmont. The three races will be included in ABC televised coverage of the Triple Crown Series. Heading the list of nominees is turf champion Northern Spur (IRE), Celtic Arms, Romarin (BRZ) and Urgent Request (IRE).

NYRA AND LONG ISLAND TOURISM BUREAU TO HOST BELMONT FESTIVAL
Just like the Kentucky Derby and Preakness, the Belmont Stakes will have a festival. The New York Racing Association and Long Island Convention and Visitors Bureau will host the week-long event to boost awareness of the final leg of the Triple Crown, boost attendance at Belmont and promote tourism on Long Island. The Belmont Festival will begin May 31 and run through June 9, with the Belmont Stakes scheduled for June 8.

'The Kentucky Derby and the Preakness, the other two Triple Crown events, have festivals,' noted Barbara LaRocco, director of sponsorship and licensing for the NYRA. 'Our feeling for some time has been that the Belmont Stakes deserves a festival as well.

The Belmont Festival will aim to attract more than Thoroughbred racing fans. Events on Location Inc., which has worked with the Preakness Festival for the past six years, has been hired to run the event. The Belmont Festival will kick off with an opening gala at the Long Island Marriott Hotel. Other events scheduled include a horse show in Muttontown, an antique auto show at Old Westbury Gardens, a golf outing, a microbrewery beer festival at Belmont, a five-kilometer race in Floral Park and a horseshoe-pitching contest.

Officials said this year's festival will be small due to limited funds and time to plan and promote the event. Officials hope to draw corporate sponsors to help underwrite the event. The event will be promoted in the tri-state area with an $80,000 budget. 'We're trying to plant the seed this year,' said Dorothy Tripp, co-chair of the festival committee.

By comparison, last year's Preakness Festival attracted more than 1 million people over the nine-day event and produced revenues of $34 million. The Kentucky Derby Festival, with 70 events and 325 corporate sponsors and community groups and 4,000 volunteers. It draws 1.5 million people and is Kentucky's largest event.

KENTUCKY DERBY FESTIVAL ON WORLD WIDE WEB
The Kentucky Derby Festival has its own site on the Internet. Included in the web site is information on Kentucky's largest event, which draws 1.5 million people annually and ranks among the country's top festivals. The site can be accessed by typing www.iglou. com(slash)kyderbyfestival.

By accessing the site, visitors can obtain a calendar of the 70 events associated with the festival, order tickets, learn the latest festival news, view the official Derby Festival poster created by Louisville artist Karen Boone, get important travel information and learn about the Kentucky Derby. The Festival runs from April 19 through May 5.

HINES RECEIVES AWARD FOR FEMALE JOCKEY VIDEO
Tina Hines was recently recognized with an Award of Merit in the Great Lakes Region SHO-ME Awards in Indianapolis for her video entitled 'Five Women Jockeys.' The video features riders Donna Barton, Lori Wydick, Paula Bacon, Penny Chavez and Patricia Cooksey. The documentary aired last March in Louisville, Ky., in conjunction with 'Women's History Month' and last May as part of their Kentucky Derby wrap-up.

KENTUCKY OAKS ATTRACTS 136 NOMINEES
An all-time high purse of $500,000 attracted 136 nominees to the May 3 Kentucky Oaks. The Oaks, a classic race for three-year-old fillies, is the second most attended day at the races in North America. Only the Kentucky Derby has a higher attendance. The nominees are led by Breeders' Cup Juvenile winner My Flag and runner-up Cara Rafaela.

FULL CARD SIMULCASTING PASSES OKLAHOMA SENATE
Oklahoma state senators passed a bill Wednesday that will allow full card simulcasting at the state's three racetracks. Under Senate Bill 1260, Remington Park, Blue Ribbon Downs and Fair Meadows will be able to offer up to six full-card simulcasts per day. Under the proposal, state racetracks could conduct simulcasting during live racing days as well as dark days. The bill will now go to the Oklahoma House of Representatives for approval.

RACING ON THE AIR (all times Eastern)
March 7 'Racehorse Digest' 12:30-1:00 a.m., ESPN
March 7 'Racehorse Digest' 5:00-5:30 a.m., ESPN
March 10 Santa Margarita Invitational, Santa Anita 6:30-7:00 p.m., Prime Sports
March 13 'Racehorse Digest' 5:00-5:30 p.m. ESPN
March 16 'Racehorse Digest' 1:30-2:00 a.m. ESPN
March 16 'Racehorse Digest' 5:00-5:30 a.m ESPN
March 16 Florida Derby, Gulfstream Park 4:30-6:00 p.m., ABC
March 17 San Felipe Stakes, Santa Anita 6:30-7:00 p.m., Prime Sports
March 17 Louisiana Derby, Fair Grounds 4:30-5:30 p.m., ESPN2
March 18 Louisiana Derby, Fair Grounds 12:00-1:00 a.m. ESPN

RACING TO HISTORY
March 8, 1939: Jockey Jean Cruguet was born in Agen, France.

March 8, 1987: Carrying 126 pounds, Zany Tactics set the world record for six furlongs, 1:06 4-5, at Turf Paradise. On Feb. 21, 1993, his time was equalled by Honor the Hero, also at Turf Paradise.

March 8, 1985: Chris McCarron rode his 4,000th career winner, Hawkley (GB), in the fifth race at Santa Anita Park.

March 9, 1977: Seattle Slew made his three-year-old debut, at Hialeah. He won a seven-furlong race in 1:20 3-5, breaking the track record.

March 10, 1808: Diomed, the winner of the inaugural Epsom Derby in 1780, died in Virginia at age 31. He had been imported to the U.S. 10 years earlier and subsquently became an influential sire.

March 10, 1993: At age 41, jockey Eddie Delahoussaye had his 5,000th career winner, aboard Ackler in the fifth race at Santa Anita Park. He was the 14th rider in North American Thoroughbred racing to reach that plateau.

March 11, 1943: After siring 350 foals that won over $3 million, 26- year-old Man o' War was retired from stud duty.

March 12, 1966: In the last race of his 40-year career, John Longden won the San Juan Capistrano Handicap at Santa Anita Park, aboard George Royal. He retired with a then-record number of victories, 6,032.

March 14, 1973: In his final preparation for the March 17 Bay Shore Stakes, the first race of his three-year-old season, Secretariat worked three furlongs in a blistering :32 3-5.

March 14, 1976: Bill Shoemaker won his 7,000th career victory, aboard Charlie Whittingham-trained Royal Derby II, in the fifth race at Santa Anita Park.

March 14, 1987: Jockey Laffit Pincay Jr. became the first rider in the history of Santa Anita Park to win seven races in a single afternoon. In his only loss of the day, Pincay finished third aboard Bob Back in the eighth race.

March 17, 1973: In his three-year-old debut, Secretariat won the Bay Shore Stakes at Aqueduct by 4 1-2-lengths.

March 19, 1942: The Thoroughbred Racing Associations of the United States was formed, with John C. Clark as president.

March 19, 1949: Jockey Bill Shoemaker rode his first career race at Golden Gate Fields. He finished fifth, aboard Waxahachie, in an 8- horse field.

WEEKEND STAKES
SATURDAY
Bayou Breeders' Cup Handicap, 4&up (f&m), $100,000, 1 1-8 Miles Turf, Fair Grounds
Carousel Handicap, 4&up (f&m), $50,000, 6 Furlongs, Grade III, Oaklawn
Grey Lag Handicap, 3&up, $75,000 1 3-16 Miles, Grade III, Aqueduct
La Habra Stakes, 3yo fillies, $100,000, 6 1-2 Furlongs Turf, Santa Anita
Pan American Handicap, 3&up, $300,000, 1 1-2 Miles Turf, Grade II, Gulfstream
Celtic Arms (FR), who had yet to win in nine U.S. starts, broke through Feb. 17 by winning the Grade II Gulfstream Park Budweiser Breeders' Cup Handicap, defeating Broadway Flyer, Flag Down and Awad. He is trained by Ben Cecil, who replaced the late Rodney Rash. English-based Broadway Flyer's U.S. debut was a good one. He has run in England, France, Italy, Germany and the U.S. Flag Down had won two straight Grade II races to finish 1995. Awad had the inside track to an Eclipse Award last year but poor showings in the Turf Classic and Breeder's Cup Turf ended his hopes. He was fifth in the Japan Cup. Cinch and Vladivostok are minor stakes winners. General Gus and Malmo have yet to win a stakes race.

SUNDAY
Santa Anita Oaks, 3yo fillies, $200,000, 1 1-16 Miles, Grade I, Santa Anita
Cara Rafaela and Antespend head a field that could be a short as four or five starters. Antespend has won six of her seven career starts with two stakes wins in two tries in 1996. She took the Grade I Las Virgenes Stakes at Santa Anita Feb. 18, defeating Cara Rafaela by 2 1-2 lengths. Cara Rafaela has only won once in her last five tries, taking the Grade I Hollywood Starlet Stakes Dec. 16. Hideen Lake, third in the Las Virgenes, is also scheduled to run.

Santa Margarita Handicap, 4&up (f&m), $300,000, 1 1-8 Miles, Grade I, Santa Anita
Jewel Princess, who has won her last two starts, both Grade II stakes at Santa Anita, heads a field of at least six. Sleep Easy, fifth and second to Jewel Princess in her last two, and Twice the Vice, second to Serena's Song in the Grade I Santa Maria Handicap Feb. 17, will be her main competition. Other probables include Top Rung, British Bauble and Biltmore Breeze. Serena's Song, who ran seventh in the March 2 Santa Anita Handicap, is a possible entrant.

Orchid Handicap, 3&up (f&m), $200,000, 1 1-2 Miles Turf, Grade II, Gulfstream
Electric Society (IRE), Northern Emerald, Chelsey Flower, Curtain Raiser, Mistress s., Nellie Custis and Caromana, first, second, third, fourth, fifth, seventh and eighth in the Feb. 14 Grade III The Very One Handicap at Gulfstream all return. The main new challenger is Privity, who was third on the dirt in the Grade II La Canada Stakes at Santa Anita. She had been challenging the best males and females last year since coming over from France. Others include allowance winners High Mio Royal, Sweet Sultana and Memories (IRE) as well as Double Wow.

Conniver Handicap, 3&up (f&m), $60,000, 7 Furlongs, Laurel
Honeybee Stakes, 3yo fillies, $75,000, 1 1-16 Miles, Grade III, Oaklawn
New Orleans Handicap, 4&up, $200,000, 1 1-8 Miles, Grade III, Fair Grounds
Next Move Handicap, 3&up (f&m), $75,000, 1 1-8 Miles, Grade III, Aqueduct

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