VAN CLIEF SUCCEEDS BASSETT AS BREEDERS' CUP PRESIDENT

D.G. Van Clief Jr. has been elected president of the Breeders' Cup Ltd., it was announced Wednesday, succeeding James E. 'Ted' Bassett III, who will retire from the post Dec. 31. Bassett has served as Breeders' Cup president since April, 1988. He will continue to serve as a member of the organization's Board of Directors.

TATTERSALLS SELLS 1996'S HIGHEST PRICED HORSE

Luna Wells (IRE), winner of the Group I Prix Saint-Alary in France, became the highest priced horse to sell at auction in 1996 when the three-year-old filly sold for $3 million, Dec. 4 at the Tattersalls December sale in Newmarket, England. She was purchased by agent Guy Armegnol who declined to name his client. Luna Wells is likely to race next year in California. She was fifth in this year's Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe and 10 in the Breeders' Cup Turf.

Luna Wells's purchase price is the second-highest price in Tattersalls' 230-year history, second only to Classic Music, who sold as a yearling in 1988.

BAILEY WINS SUPER JOCKEY TITLE IN JAPAN

Jerry Bailey won Japan's World Super Jockeys' Series Sunday, defeating some of the world's leading riders. Bailey won two of the series' four races to finish with a total of 46 points, one point ahead of Japanese rider Shinji Fujita. A total of 12 riders from eight countries competed in the event staged Nov. 30-Dec. 1 at Hanshin Race Course near Osaka. Bailey's two winning mounts, aboard Lejiro Mabada and S.G. Flat, earned the rider $43,910 in prize money in addition to $8,782 per mount in each race.

Bailey, who established a North American record for annual earnings with more than $19.4 million in purses, is only the second foreign rider to win the series. Cash Asmussen, now riding in France, won the inaugural series 10 years ago.

SARATOGA EXPANDS ADVANCE RESERVATION PROGRAM

Operating under the premise that patrons like to sit in the same seats, the New York Racing Association will enable fans to purchase the same clubhouse seats for each day of the 1997 Saratoga racing season. To be eligible, requests must be submitted by mail and received by NYRA no later than Dec. 15. There is a limit of four seats per request. The price of seating in the clubhouse section is $6 per day or $216 per seat for the meet. Requests should be mailed to Advanced Reservation Program, P.O. Box 030257, Elmont, NY 11003.

PHILADELPHIA PARK TO HOST TRIM-A-TREE CHARITY DRIVE

Philadelphia Park will host its annual Trim-a-Tree charity drive, Saturday, Dec. 7. A total of 15 charities have taken part in the drive, including the Bucks County Association for Retarded Citizens, Girl Scouts, Deborah Hospital, Fall Township Senior Activities Center, Parents Without Partners and Jockeys Across America, among others. Each organization has decorated a tree in the Bensalem, Penn., racetrack's main lobby and each day of live racing will spotlight one of the charities. For a small donation, patrons will receive a free pass to the racetrack or Turf Club and a ornament from Philadelphia Park.

MEADOWLANDS TO HOLD TOYS FOR TOTS DRIVE

The Meadowlands Racetrack will host its sixth annual Marine Corps Reserve's Toys for Tots drive, Friday, Dec. 13. Patrons who donate new, unwrapped toys or make a donation of $2 or more will receive free admission to the racetrack and a free program.

AKSARBEN GETS SIMULCAST DATES

The Nebraska Racing Commission awarded AKsarben racetrack a hardship extension of its full-card simulcasting dates on Dec. 3. The Omaha, Neb., racetrack, which did not conduct a live race meet in 1996 and will eventually have a business center constructed on much of its property, was granted the extension which will run until May 31, 1997. The Nebraska Racing Commission approved 120 racing dates in the state in 1997 at four operating tracks, the minimum required by law to allow full card simulcasting of out-of-state tracks.

TRINITY MEADOWS GETS REPRIEVE FROM BANK

The scheduled foreclosure of Trinity Meadows Racetrack, Fort Worth, Texas, was delayed, Dec. 3, when a Texas bank granted a 30-day extension on the note, according to an article in the 'Thoroughbred Times' on-line service. The extension on the note, valued at more than $500,000, came after a group of investors, led by Curtis and Larry Lawley, promised to infuse capital into the track. The Texas Bank of Weatherford postponed the foreclosure until Jan. 2, 1997. If the proposed business plan does go through, the track could reopen as early as this winter.

DUBAI WORLD CUP GOES ON-LINE

Comprehensive information about the March 29, 1997 Dubai World Cup is now available on-line through the launch of the $4 million race's newly established site on the World Wide Web. The information available -- how to order tickets, purchase official World Cup merchandise, as well as a look back at Cigar's win in the inaugural running of the race -- can be obtained by accessing www.dubaiworldcup. com. In addition, general information about the city of Dubai, its culture and traditions, is also available.

RACING ON THE AIR

Dec. 6 'Racehorse Digest' 1:30-2:00 a.m. ESPN
Dec. 7 'Racehorse Digest' 6:00-6:30 a.m. ESPN
Dec. 11 'Racehorse Digest' 3:30-4:00 p.m. ESPN
Dec. 12 'Racehorse Digest' 1:30-2:00 a.m. ESPN
Dec. 14 'Racehorse Digest' 6:00-6:30 a.m. ESPN

RACING TO HISTORY

Dec. 7, 1957: A two-year-old colt named Silky Sullivan won the one- mile Golden Gate Futurity after making up 27 lengths, establishing a running style that became legendary. Horsemen still invoke the name of Silky Sullivan when referring to a horse that runs from far off the pace.

Dec. 8, 1989: Power to Geaux paid a record $2,922 for a $2 wager made at AKsarben on the simulcast of the 11th race from Fair Grounds. The previous record for a payoff on a $2 wager was set June 17, 1912, when Wishing Ring paid $1,885.50.

Dec. 10, 1977: In his second year of riding, Steve Cauthen became the first jockey to win $6 million in a single season when he rode a three-year-old filly, Little Happiness, to victory in the sixth race at Aqueduct. Cauthen was dubbed 'The Six Million Dollar Man,' and 'Stevie Wonder' by his admirers and was named 1977 Sportsman of the Year by Sports Illustrated, the Associated Press, ABC's Wide World of Sports and The Sporting News. He also received three Eclipse Awards, being voted an award of merit in addition to earning top honors as both a journeyman and apprentice jockey.

Dec. 11, 1983: John Henry became the first racehorse to surpass $4 million in career earnings when he won the Hollywood Turf Cup with jockey Chris McCarron at Hollywood Park.

Dec. 13, 1986: Jockey Kent Desormeaux had his first career stakes win, aboard Godbey, in the Maryland City Handicap at Laurel.

Dec. 15, 1973: Sandy Hawley became the first jockey in history to win 500 races in a single year when he rode Charlie Jr. to victory in the third race at Laurel.

Bayakoa Handicap, 3&up; (f&m;), $100,000, 1 1-16 Miles, Grade II, Hollywood
The Bayakoa features top fillies and mares. Three-year-old Listening has a victory in this year's Grade I Hollywood Oaks to her credit and will try older fillies in the Bayakoa. Both Cat's Cradle, winner of last year's Grade I Acorn Stakes, and Sleep Easy, winner of last year's Hollywood Oaks, are trying to return to the form they showed last year. Smolensk was a multiple group stakes winner in France on turf and will make her dirt debut.

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