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

VISA TO SPONSOR TRAVERS

Visa and the New York Racing Association have announced that Visa has signed a four-year deal to become the presenting sponsor of the $750,000, Grade I Travers Stakes, to be run Aug. 23 at Saratoga Racecourse. The Travers is the concluding event in the 46-race Visa Triple Crown Challenge series, which began with the Jan. 5 Spectacular Bid Stakes at Gulfstream Park. The series will crown a Visa Champion horse, trainer and jockey and the winners will receive a replica of the permanent trophy on display at the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame in Saratoga Springs.

JOCKEYS ACROSS AMERICA IX SET FOR JULY 5

The Don MacBeth Memorial Jockey Fund will hold its ninth annual Jockeys Across America Day with fund-raisers at 80 North American tracks on Saturday, July 5, to raise funds for injured or disabled jockeys. Since its inception, more than 800 injured North American riders have been aided by the $2.4 million donated by the Fund.

'This is our most important fund-raiser all year,' said jockey Chris McCarron, who started the fund along with his wife Judy and comedian Tim Conway, 'because it raises the most money and it involves the most people.'

Jockeys will help raise money for the charity through their participation in such events as poster signings, autograph sessions, watermelon feasts, bake sales, clothes sales, golf and fishing tournaments, fashion shows, jockey foot races, jockey dunk tanks and tug-of-war contests between jockeys and trainers and owners.

MAN O' WAR HONORED AT DERBY MUSEUM

The Kentucky Derby Museum will celebrate the 80th anniversary of Man o' War's birth with an exhibit titled 'Man o' War: Legend and Legacy, ' from July 14 through Sept. 28. Though he never ran in Kentucky, Man o' War left an enduring legacy for the state's Thoroughbred breeding industry through his progeny, which included 1929 Kentucky Derby winner Clyde Van Dusen and 1937 Triple Crown winner War Admiral, among others. Memorabilia from Man o' War's racing career, now in public and private collections, will be on display, marking the first time many of these artifacts have been assembled in one place. The Kentucky Derby Museum is open seven days a week from 9:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m. and is located by Gate 1 of Churchill Downs.

LONE STAR PARK GETS HALL OF FAME RIDERS

Lone Star Park expects to have seven active Hall of Fame riders on hand Friday, June 27, when the new Dallas-area racetrack hosts the $100,000 National All-Star Jockey Championship. The participating Hall of Famers include Jerry Bailey, Pat Day, Eddie Delahoussaye, Chris McCarron, Laffit Pincay Jr., Gary Stevens (who will be inducted into the National Museum of Racing's Hall of Fame Aug. 4) and Jorge Velasquez. Also invited are Mike Smith, Shane Sellers and Kent Desormeaux and local riders Marlon St. Julien and Ronald Ardoin.

HOLLYWOOD PARK CREATES COMPETITION FOR BREEDERS' CUP

Hollywood Park officials announced Wednesday they are putting the final touches on a new stakes race designed to be an attractive alternative for those horses not originally nominated to the Breeders' Cup races. The still-unnamed race would be run Nov. 30, three weeks after the Breeders' Cup on Nov. 8. The weight-for-age event could conceivably entice such stars as Skip Away, Sandpit, Siphon, and Gentlemen, all of whom were not nominated to the Breeders' Cup at birth. In order to run in the Breeders' Cup Classic, those runners' connections would be forced to pay between $480,000 and $800,000.

The Breeders' Cup has had a strong impact on Eclipse Award voting, so the new Hollywood race could influence division championships and Horse of the Year balloting.

GRAYSON-JOCKEY CLUB RESEARCH FOUNDATION FUNDS 17 PROJECTS

The Grayson-Jockey Club Foundation has announced the allocation of $660,549 to fund 17 research projects during the 1997-98 fiscal year that begins July 1. Among the projects is a University of California- Davis study examining the effectiveness of antimicrobial treatments on animals infected with Equine Protozoal Myeloencephalitis. In addition to the UC-Davis study, Grayson-Jockey Club has funded from a previous fiscal year ongoing studies at the University of Kentucky into EPM, a serious neurologic disease.

'We are certainly not pursuing a 'disease of the moment' mentality, but we are always sensitive to the priorities of horse owners,' said foundation president Ed Bowen. 'EPM is clearly a major concern to a great many owners of horses, regardless of the breed. The physical impact of EPM on a horse can be severe and, of course, as a secondary concern, the economic ramifications of EPM are serious, complex, and widespread.

' EPM is a debilitating neurological disease spread by opossums and birds.

Included among the other projects funded for 1997-98 are evaluations of shoe wear and track surfaces.

THIS DATE IN RACING HISTORY

June 27, 1860: The Queen's Plate, the oldest continuously run stakes race in North America, was first run. Don Juan was the winner, after winning two of the three heats that comprised the event.

June 27, 1932: Calumet Farm recorded its first victory in a Thoroughbred race with two-year-old Warren Jr., who won by a nose at Arlington Park to earn $850.

June 27, 1986: Jockey Kent Desormeaux rode in his first race ever, finishing third aboard a $2,500 claimer named Ducknest Coal Mine, at odds of 35-1, in the second race at Evangeline Downs.

June 28, 1977: Steve Cauthen, on his first day as a journeyman jockey, won with his first three mounts at Belmont Park.

June 28, 1989: Arlington International Racecourse opened in Arlington Heights, Ill. It had been rebuilt after a fire destroyed the old facility, July 31, 1985.

June 29, 1968: Jockey Eddie Delahoussaye won his first race, at Evangeline Downs, aboard Brown Shill.

June 29, 1968: Gamely, Princessnesian and Desert Law-all owned by William Haggin Perry and trained by Jim Maloney-finished first, second and third, respectively, in the Vanity Handicap at Hollywood Park.

June 29, 1969: Jockey Ray Sibille won his first career race, at Evangeline Downs.

June 29, 1983: Jockey Angel Cordero Jr. won his 5,000th career race, aboard Another Rodger, in the ninth race at Belmont Park. He was the fourth rider in history, behind John Longden, Bill Shoemaker and Laffit Pincay Jr., to hit that mark.

June 30, 1973: Three weeks after he won the Triple Crown, Secretariat scored another victory, a nine-length win in the Arlington Invitational Stakes at Arlington Park, where he was sent off at the shortest odds in his career, 1-20. With no place or show wagering on the four-horse race, which was run with a three-horse field against Secretariat, the track had a minus win pool of $17,941. More than 40,000 spectators turned out for the event.

June 30, 1978: Spectacular Bid won his first race, at Pimlico, by 3 1/4 lengths.

June 30, 1990: Retired jockey Bill Shoemaker won his first race as a trainer, sending two-year-old filly Tempest Cloud to her maiden victory at Hollywood Park.

June 30, 1991: One year after his first victory as a trainer, Bill Shoemaker recorded his first Grade I win, with Alcando in the Beverly Hills Handicap at Hollywood Park.

July 1, 1966: Jockey Laffit Pincay Jr. won with his first mount in the United States, at Arlington Park, aboard two-year-old filly Teacher's Art, owned and bred by Fred W. Hooper.

July 2, 1989: Jockey Steve Cauthen became the first rider in history to sweep the world's four major derbies after winning the Irish Derby with Old Vic. He had previously won the Kentucky Derby with Affirmed (1978), the Epsom Derby with Slip Anchor (1985) and Reference Point (1987) and the French Derby with Old Vic (1989).

July 3, 1937: The Del Mar Turf Club, with crooner Bing Crosby as president and actor Pat O'Brien as one of the club officers, opened for racing.

July 3, 1977: Seattle Slew's nine-race winning streak came to an end in the Swaps Stakes at Hollywood Park, when he finished fourth, beaten 16 lengths by J.O. Tobin.

July 3, 1982: D. Wayne Lukas-trained Landaluce, ridden by Laffit Pincay Jr., won the first of her five consecutive victories at Hollywood Park. The daughter of Seattle Slew, owned by Barry Beal and Lloyd French, died of a viral infection in November of that year, but was posthumously voted champion two-year-old filly of 1982.

July 4, 1954: Two-year-old Ribot won his first race, the Premio Tramuschio. He concluded his career in 1956, with 16 wins in as many starts.

July 4, 1972: Two-year-old Secretariat, ridden by Paul Feliciano, ran fourth to winner Herbull in his racing debut, blocked badly throughout the race, at Aqueduct. It was the poorest placing of Secretariat's career.

July 4, 1976: Charlie Whittingham swept the top three spots in the American Handicap at Hollywood Park with his trainees King Pellinore, Riot in Paris and Caucasus. On July 26, he repeated the feat in the Sunset Handicap, with Caucasus first, King Pellinore second and Riot in Paris third.

July 4, 1978: Trainer D. Wayne Lukas won his first $100,000 stakes race-over the turf-taking the American Handicap with Effervescing, ridden by Laffit Pincay Jr., at Hollywood Park.

RACING ON TELEVISION

June 28, Racehorse Digest, 6:00-6:30 a.m., ESPN
June 28, 2Day at the Races, 7:30-8:00 p.m., ESPN2
June 28, Caesars International, Atlantic City, 4:00-5:00 p.m., ESPN
Grand Prairie Gold Cup, Lone Star Park
June 28, 2Day at the Races, 7:30-8:00 p.m., ESPN2
June 29, Irish Derby, Curragh, 5:00-6:00 p.m., ESPN
June 29, Hollywood Gold Cup, Hollywood, 6:00-7:00 p.m., ESPN

Arlington Classic, 3yo, $125,000, 1 1-8 Miles Turf, Grade II, Arlington

Bashford Manor Stakes, 2yo, $100,000, 6 Furlongs, Grade III, Churchill

Caesars International Handicap, 3&up;, $400,000, 1 3-16 Miles Turf, Grade I, Atlantic City

Debutante Stakes, 2yo fillies, $100,000, 5 1-2 Furlongs, Grade III, Churchill

Grand Prairie Gold Cup, 3&up;, $100,000, 5 Furlongs Turf, Lone Star

Hempstead Handicap, 3&up; (f&m;), $250,000, 1 1-16 Miles, Grade I, Belmont

Jersey Shore Breeders' Cup Handicap, 3yo, $75,000, 6 Furlongs, Grade III, Monmouth

Prairie Meadows Cornhusker Handicap, 3&up;, $200,000, 1 1-8 Miles, Grade III, Prairie Meadows

Hollywood Gold Cup, 3&up;, $1,000,000, 1 1-4 Miles, Grade I, Hollywood
Trainer Richard Mandella will send out four of the expected seven starters, saddling Gentlemen (ARG), Siphon (BRZ), Sandpit (BRZ) and Talloires. Standing in the way of this formidable quartet is turf star Marlin. Californian winner River Keen was entered but may not run. Trainer Bob Hess Jr. reported the horse has been coughing and may scratch. Will's Way, winner of the 1996 Travers Stakes was not entered in the race and will instead be pointed to the July 4 Suburban Handicap.

Triple Bend Breeders' Cup Handicap, 3&up;, $250,000, 7 Furlongs, Grade III, Hollywood

Beverly Hills Handicap, 3&up; (f&m;), $300,000, 1 1-4 Miles Turf, Grade I, Hollywood

Firecracker Breeders' Cup, 3&up;, $175,000, 1 Mile Turf, Grade III, Churchill

Queen's Plate, 3yo, $400,000, 1-4 Miles, Woodbine

Sands Point Handicap, 3yo fillies, $100,000, 1 1-8 Miles Turf, Belmont

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