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

SCORES: The highest-priced winner was Sherluck, who defeated the 1-2 favorite Carry Back in 1961, paying $132.10. The shortest-priced winner was Count Fleet in 1943, who paid $2.10. There have been 16 horses sent off at odds of 100-1 or better since 1905, when betting records started. The longest-priced horse was Adobe Ed, who went off at 245.80-1 in 1971. He finished 12th in a 13-horse field. Two 100-1 shots finished in the top three: Bull Dandy (118-1) in 1944 and Wonderful (100-1) in 1917. Bull Dandy paid $19.30 to show; you couldn't cash a ticket on Wonderful, his was a three-horse race.

SELECTIONS: Betting favorites have won 46 percent of the time (58 for 127). Odds-on favorites have won 40 percent (12 for 30). In 1957, both winner Gallant Man (19-20) and third-place finisher Bold Ruler (17-20) were odds-on.

SENIORITY: The Belmont, first run in 1867, is the oldest of the Triple Crown events, predating the Preakness by six years and the Kentucky Derby by eight. It is the fourth-oldest stakes race run in North America, only the Queen's Plate (1860), Travers (1864) and Jerome (1866) are older.

SEX: There have been 19 fillies to run in the Belmont Stakes with two winners. Ruthless won the first Belmont in 1867 and Tanya took the 1905 running.

SHADE: There have been 52 bay, 47 chestnut, 23 dark bay or brown, two black, two gray and one roan Belmont Stakes winners.

SHOWSTOPPERS-SQUEAKERS: The widest margin of victory was Secretariat's 31-length win in 1973. The smallest margins were the nose victories of Granville (1936) and Jaipur (1962).

SIRES: Eleven Belmont Stakes winners have sired Belmont Stakes winners: Man o' War (1920) sired American Flag (1925), Crusader (1926) and War Admiral (1937); Commando (1901) sired Peter Pan (1907) and Colin (1908); Gallant Fox (1930) sired Omaha (1935) and Granville (1936). Count Fleet (1943) sired Counterpoint (1951) and One Count (1952); Seattle Slew (1977) sired Swale (1984) and A.P. Indy (1992); Duke of Magenta (1878) sired Eric (1889); Spendthrift (1879) sired Hastings (1896); Hastings (1896) sired Masterman (1902); The Finn (1915) sired Zev (1923); Sword Dancer (1959) sired Damascus (1967); Secretariat (1973) sired Risen Star (1988).

SITES: The Belmont Stakes has been run at four different New York racetracks. It was inaugurated in 1867 at Jerome Park, moved to Morris Park in 1890, to Belmont Park in 1905, to Aqueduct Racetrack in 1963 while Belmont was being rebuilt, and back to Belmont again for its 100th running in 1968.

SIZE: The largest field to start was 15 in 1983, the smallest was two in 1887, 1888, 1892, 1910 and 1920.

SLOP: There have been 33 off-tracks, the last occurring in 1986 when Danzig Connection triumphed on a track labeled sloppy.

SONG: The theme song for the Belmont is Sidewalks of New York, written by Charles Lawlor and James Blake in 1894.

SPEED: The fastest first quarter-mile in the Belmont was 23 seconds by Another Review in 1991. The fastest first 1-2-mile, 3-4-mile, mile, 1 1-4 miles as well as the final 1 1-2 miles were all set by Secretariat in 1973 as he went on to a 31-length triumph in a record 2:24.

SPELLING: The most popular first letter of a Belmont winner is C with 19 champions, the last being Colonial Affair in 1993. There have been 16 victories by horses with names starting with an S and 10 with a P. There have been no winners whose names started with a U, X or Y.

START: Post position one, with 21, has produced the most Belmont champions.

STEPHENS: Woody Stephens has trained the winners of five consecutive Belmont Stakes, winning from 1982-1986 with Conquistador Cielo, Caveat, Swale, Creme Fraiche and Danzig Connection. James Rowe has saddled the most Belmont winners, eight, while Sam Hildreth had seven and 'Sunny' Jim Fitzsimmons, six.

STOPPED: The Belmont has halted 12 potential Triple Crown winners after their triumphs in the Kentucky Derby and Preakness: Pensive (1944), Tim Tam (1958), Carry Back (1961), Northern Dancer (1964), Kauai King (1966), Forward Pass (1968), Majestic Prince (1969), Canonero II (1971), Spectacular Bid (1979), Pleasant Colony (1981), Alysheba (1987) and Sunday Silence (1989).

STRUTTING: The first post parade in the United States occurred in the 1880 Belmont. Before that the horses went directly from the paddock to the post.

SWARM: The largest crowd ever for the Belmont was the 82,694 who turned out to watch the unsuccessful Triple Crown bid of Canonero II in 1971.

SWEEPS: Eleven horses have won the Derby and Belmont: Zev (1923), Twenty Grand (1931), Johnstown (1939), Shut Out (1942), Middleground (1950), Needles (1956), Chateaugay (1963), Riva Ridge (1972), Bold Forbes (1976), Swale (1984) and Thunder Gulch (1995). Nine horses have won the Preakness and Belmont: Bimelech (1940), Capot (1949), Native Dancer (1953), Nashua (1955), Damascus (1967), Little Current (1974), Risen Star (1988), Hansel (1991) and Tabasco Cat (1994). Seven horses have won the Preakness and Belmont without having run in the Derby.

PAT DAY CARRIES OLYMPIC TORCH AT CHURCHILL
One of America's top jockeys, Pat Day, will carry the ceremonial Olympic Torch as it makes the journey toward Atlanta and the Summer Olympics. Day will take his turn as a torchbearer on Thursday, June 6, at approximately 7:45 a.m., when he will carry the torch under the Churchill Downs finish line. The jockey will enter the Louisville, Ky. , racetrack at the paddock runway and parade the torch before the stands and the historic Twin Spires, before crossing under the finish line. Churchill Downs is holding a special Dawn at the Downs Olympic Torch presentation ceremony, from 7:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m.

IT WILL BE SUNNY ON SATURDAY AT ARLINGTON, GUARANTEED! Australian-born track announcer Michael Wrona has had it with Chicago's recent rainy weather. 'I'm not used to weather like this,' he said. 'I'm tired of waiting for the weathermen to provided us with some nice weather, so I'm taking matters into my own hands.' That means if there is one drop more rain that .10 inches on Saturday, it's free admission for everybody. There will also be a sports memorabilia display and raffles all day long.

GARY STEVENS SIDELINED INDEFINITELY Jockey Gary Stevens has told Hollywood Park officials that he will be undergoing surgery to correct an injury to his left shoulder. Acording to Dr. James Tibone of the Kerlan-Jobe Orthopaedic Clinic, Stevens is suffering from a 'subluxing-dislocating left shoulder.'

KEENELAND JULY SELECT SALE CATALOG ON THE INTERNET Beginning with the July Select Yearling Sale, Keeneland will make their sales catalogs available on the Internet. Pedigrees for each of the 219 horses cataloged for the July 15-16 Selected Yearling Sale are available now along with an index to consignors, first dams and sires. Users throughout the world can access the information at www. keeneland.com and select the sales pages. Internet users looking to research sales horses will get a jump on buyers relying on the printed catalog, which won't be mailed until June 17.

'Through the Internet, prospective buyers anywhere in the world can access detailed information about Keeneland sales up to two weeks before the printed catalog is available,' said Roger Beasley, director of sales.

NYRA TO TEST HOME COMPUTER BETTING New York Racing Association announced Wednesday that they have signed an agreement with You Bet! Inc. of Los Angeles, Calif., to test a new system that will allow racing fans to access ionformation and place telephone wagers through NYRA-One accounts from their home computers. The test will be conducted in 400 homes later this year commencing with the Belmont Park fall chmpionship meet. If successful, the system will be made widely available early next year. Users of the system will be able to to access real-time odds,, complete and customized Equibase past-perfromances and audio-visual feeds.

'Computers and handicapping are a natural daily doub;le,' said Steve Crist, NYRA's vice president. The You Bet! software 'offers fans a way tp exploit the information ptential of personal computers and to build and place wagers electronically through our existing telephone wagering system. We're hoping that the entertainment factor of the computer will help extend the rach of the track.'

RACING ON THE AIR

RACING TO HISTORY

June 6, 1919: Man o' War won his first race ever, a 5-furlong contest over a straightaway at Belmont Park. He won by six lengths, running the distance in 59 seconds, and went off at odds of 3-5. In each of his 20 subsequent races, Man o' War was the odds-on favorite.

June 6, 1972: In preparation for his colt's July 4 racing debut, trainer Lucien Laurin put blinkers on two-year-old Secretariat for the first time. Secretariat responded by working a half-mile at Belmont Park in :47 3-5, the fastest work of his life up to that date.

June 6, 1987: Bet Twice became the first horse to receive a Triple Crown bonus after winning the Belmont Stakes over rival Alysheba. He earned $1 million in addition to the first-place money.

June 6, 1992: Carl Gambardella won his 6,000th career victory, aboard Nip of Gin, at Rockingham Park.

June 7, 1936: Hall of Fame trainer Jack Van Berg was born in Columbus, Neb.

June 7, 1941: Whirlaway won the 73rd running of the Belmont Stakes and became the fifth horse to win the Triple Crown.

June 7, 1986: Trainer Woody Stephens saddled Danzig Connection to win his fifth consecutive Belmont Stakes. Woody won the previous races with Conquistador Cielo (1982), Caveat (1983), Swale (1984), and Creme Fraiche (1985).

June 8, 1985: Brushwood Stable's Creme Fraiche became the first gelding to win the Belmont Stakes.

June 8, 1991: Julie Krone became the first female rider to compete in the Belmont Stakes. Her mount, Subordinated Debt, finished ninth as the third-longest shot in the field. Also on that date, Mane Minister became the only horse to finish third in all three Triple Crown events.

June 9, 1887: Only two horses competed in the Belmont Stakes. It was the smallest field in the race's history, which again had only two starters in 1888, 1892, 1910, and 1920, the year Man o' War won the Belmont by 20 lengths.

June 9, 1945: Hoop Jr. won the Kentucky Derby, which was run one month after a national wartime government ban on racing was lifted.

June 9, 1973: Secretariat won the Belmont Stakes by 31 lengths -- the longest winning margin in the race's history -- while setting a track record of 2:24, which has not been surpassed. The time was 2 3- 5 seconds faster than the mark set by Gallant Man in 1957. Secretariat's victory made him the ninth Triple Crown winner and first since Citation had swept the Derby, Preakness and Belmont in 1948.

June 9, 1979: Spectacular Bid lost his chance for the Triple Crown in the Belmont Stakes, finishing third to winner Coastal. Trainer Bud Delp alleged that the colt had sustained a foot injury after stepping on a safety pin the morning of the race.

June 9, 1984: Riding Swale in a wire-to-wire victory, Laffit Pincay Jr. won his third consecutive Belmont Stakes, becoming the only rider in this century to accomplish that feat. Pincay rode Caveat to victory in 1983 and Conquistador Cielo in 1982; all three of his mounts were trained by Woody Stephens. Jockey James McLaughlin also rode three consecutive Belmont winners, once from 1882-84, and again from 1886-88.

June 10, 1938: Hollywood Park opened in Inglewood, Calif. In its inaugural year, Hollywood Park attracted such racing stars as Lawrin, who had given jockey Eddie Arcaro his first Kentucky Derby victory, as well as Ligaroti and Seabiscuit, whose rivalry later reached its pitch in a match race contested at Del Mar Racetrack on August 12, 1938.

June 10, 1944: The only triple dead heat for first in a stakes race occurred at Aqueduct Racetrack in the Carter Handicap. The three winners were Brownie, Bossuet and Wait a Bit.

June 10, 1953: Trainer Charlie Whittingham, at age 40, saddled his first stakes winner when Porterhouse, ridden by Bill Boland, won the National Stallion Stakes at Belmont Park. Porterhouse was later named champion two-year-old of 1953.

June 10, 1972: Laffit Pincay Jr. won his 2,000th victory while riding at Hollywood Park.

June 10, 1978: Steve Cauthen, at age 18, became the youngest jockey ever to win the Triple Crown when his mount, Affirmed, won the Belmont Stakes. Also on that day, Alydar became the only horse to finish second in all three Triple Crown races.

June 11, 1921: Grey Lag, under Earl Sande, won the first Belmont Stakes ever to be run counter-clockwise. Previous Belmonts had been run clockwise over a fish-hook course that included part of the training track and the main dirt oval.

June 11, 1966: Jockey Angel Cordero Jr. recorded his first American stakes victory, taking the Christiana Stakes aboard two-year-old Hermogenes at Delaware Park.

June 11, 1973: Triple Crown winner Secretariat simultaneously made the covers of 'Time,' 'Newsweek ' and 'Sports Illustrated.'

June 11, 1977: Upon winning the Belmont Stakes, Seattle Slew became the 10th Triple Crown winner and the first Triple Crown winner to remain undefeated, with a career record of 9-for-9.

June 12, 1920: Man o' War won the Belmont Stakes, which was then run at a distance of 1 3-8-miles, in 2:14 1-5. He shattered the existing world record by 3 1-5 seconds and also set the American dirt-course record for that distance.

June 12, 1926: The August Belmont family first presented their permanent commemorative Tiffany trophy to the winner of the Belmont Stakes. The silver trophy was created in 1869 in recognition of Fenian's win in the Belmont.

June 12, 1960: Jockey Angel Cordero Jr. rode his first race at El Comandante in Puerto Rico.

June 13, 1874: English-bred Saxon became the first foreign bred horse to win the Belmont Stakes.

June 13, 1961: Ben A. Jones, who trained a record six Kentucky Derby winners, died.

June 13, 1992: Angel Cordero Jr. won his first race in two tries as a trainer, with Puchinito, in the fourth race at Belmont Park.

June 14, 1880: The first post parade of horses in any American race took place prior to the running of the Belmont Stakes. Horses had previously gone directly from paddock to post.

June 14, 1967: Jockey Craig Perret, age 16, won his first career race at Arlington Park. Despite starting well into the season, Perret finished the year third among the nation's apprentice riders in races won (with 114) and led all apprentices in the earnings category, with $610,003.

June 14, 1978: D. Wayne Lukas established his reputation as a trainer of two-year-old fillies when he sent Terlingua to victory in her first race ever, the Nursery Stakes at Hollywood Park. Owned by Texans Barry Beal and Lloyd French Jr., Terlingua subsequently won three additional consecutive races.

June 15, 1963: Five weeks prior to his 89th birthday, Hall of Fame trainer 'Sunny Jim' Fitzsimmons announced his retirement. 'Mr. Fitz, ' as he was also known, trained such outstanding runners as Nashua, Bold Ruler, Johnstown and Triple Crown winners Gallant Fox and his son Omaha.

June 15, 1972: In preparation for his July 4 debut, Secretariat worked five furlongs from the starting gate in 1:00 1-5.

June 15, 1977: Future rivals Affirmed and Alydar met for the first time, in the Youthful Stakes at Belmont Park. Affirmed triumphed over Alydar, who finished fifth, and went on to win four of their six races together in 1977.

BELMONT STAKES DAY AT BELMONT PARK
True North Handicap, 3yo, $100,000, 7 Furlongs, Grade III
Last year's Eclipse Award-winning sprinter, Not Surprising, tries to make it two in a row at Belmont in Saturday's six-furlong True North Handicap. Not Surprising won a handicap at Belmont on May 26 to break a one-for-five streak since the gelding won the seven-furlong Grade I, Vosburgh Stakes at Belmont in September.

True North Handicap, 3&up, $100,000, 6 Furlongs, Grade II

Early Times Manhattan Handicap, 3&up, $200,000, 1 1-4 Miles Turf, Grade I
The Early Times Turf Triple series concludes with the Early Times Manhattan Handicap. Mecke won the Early Times Turf Classic at Churchill Downs on Derby Day but came up short in the Early Times Dixie at Pimlico. His main challenge will come from Flag Down and Signal Tap, both of which battled it out earlier this year in Florida. Signal Tap was once a Triple Crown contender who has found new life on the grass, winning two stakes at Hialeah, including the Hialeah Turf Cup, earlier this year. Flitch, also a former Triple Crown contender, returns to the Belmont grass, where he won the Lawrence Realization Stakes last year.

The 128th Belmont Stakes, 3yo, $500,000, 1 1-2 Miles, Grade I
A record-tying field of 15 is entered featuring six horses who have followed the Triple Crown trail since the Kentucky Derby. The past history of the Belmont Stakes shows many winners who come into the race fresh and several of the 10 newcomers have a legitimate chance, such as Peter Pan Stakes winner Jamies First Punch and Illinois Derby champion Natural Selection. Two intriguing entrants are My Flag and South Salem. My Flag, the 1995 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies winner, will attempt to become the third filly to take the Belmont Stakes and the first since Tanya in 1905. English-based South Salem will be making his first U.S. start and this will be his first try on dirt.

Cinema Handicap, 3yo, $125,000, 1 1-8 Miles Turf, Grade III, Hollywood

Deputed Testamony Stakes, 3yo, $75,000, 1 1-8 Miles, Pimlico

Louisville Stakes, 3&up, $100,000, 1 3-8 Miles Turf, Churchill

Gamely Handicap, 3&up (f&m), $200,000, 1 1-8 Miles Turf, Grade I, Hollywood
Speedy grass fillies Pharma and Matiara look to renew their rivalry in the Gamely Handicap. Pharma is four-for-five this year and is one of the early favorites for an Eclipse Award. Matiara, a classic winner in France, looks to regain her spectacular European form and gain revenge over her defeat by Pharma last time in the Wilshire Handicap at Hollywood. Auriette, an emerging star, could upset the two co-highweights with a repeat performance of her victory in the Santa Barbara Handicap back in April at Santa Anita.

Just A Game II Breeders' Cup Handicap, 3&up (f&m), $150,000, 1 Mile Turf, Belmont

Modesty Handicap, 3&up (f&m), $100,000, 1 3-16 Miles Turf, Grade III, Arlington

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