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© St. Petersburg Times, published July 4, 2002
Street Cry, a hot commodity after victories in the Dubai World Cup and Stephen Foster Handicap, will be a 6-1 favorite as the first Breeders' Cup Classic future pool opens today.
As with the Kentucky Derby future wager, fans may bet on one of 23 horses or on the field (any horse not on the list).
Pools for the Classic, Distaff and Sprint are available 1-7 p.m. through Sunday and from Aug. 30-Sept. 2. The Turf, Mile and Filly & Mare Turf pools will be open Aug. 9-11 and the Juvenile and Juvenile Fillies Sept. 20-22.
Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner War Emblem, along with Sakhee and Mizzen Mast, are second favorites in the Classic at 10-1. The field is third at 12-1.
Azeri, winner of four consecutive Grade I's, leads the Distaff field at 5-1. 2000 champion Kona Gold is top choice in the Sprint at 5-1.
NEW JOB: Spain, one of the hardest-working moms on the planet, was retired from racing this week, atop the all-time earnings list for females and in foal as she begins her new career as a broodmare.
Spain finished 9-9-7 in 35 races with $3,540,542 in earnings. Most of that came in a $2-million slab, when she won the 2000 Breeders' Cup Distaff at 50-1. She passed Serena's Song, who also was trained by D. Wayne Lukas, by winning the Grade II Louisville Breeders' Cup.
Spain was bred to top sire Storm Cat after that win and will be sent by owner Prince Ahmed Salman and the Thoroughbred Corp. to Three Chimney's Farm near Midway, Ky.
Spain raced twice after being pronounced in foal, winning the Grade II Fleur De Lis Stakes and finishing third in the Grade II Molly Pitcher.
"I think (the Thoroughbred Corp.) took the position that adding on to the (earnings) record is nice, but it really has no significance (on her breeding career) and, God forbid, something would happen to her," Lukas told the Blood-Horse. "There were no more worlds to conquer, it looked like. So they were just comfortable with sending her to the farm."
CUTTING GRASS: Congaree, who finished third in the 2001 Kentucky Derby and won the Grade III Lone Star Park Handicap, has been scratched from today's Grade II Firecracker Breeders' Cup at Churchill Downs.
The reason: Jockey Pat Day and trainer Bob Baffert were not impressed with how he handled a workout on the grass last week. The $100,000, 1-mile race is not the place for him to make his turf debut, Baffert said, and he'll be shipped back to Santa Anita for possible starts on dirt at Del Mar. Baffert suggested the Grade I, $250,000 San Diego Handicap on Aug. 4 or the Grade I, $1-million Pacific Classic Handicap on Aug. 25 as possible races after a sixth-place finish in the Stephen Foster Handicap.
BURNED OUT: Blue Burner, the George Steinbrenner-owned Florida-bred who finished second in the Florida Derby, third in the Fountain of Youth and 11th in the Kentucky Derby, will not be doing much of anything for a while.
Trainer Bill Mott said the colt will remain at Steinbrenner's Kinsman Stud in Ocala for the foreseeable future.
"We had to remove a small chip from his knee," Mott told the Blood-Horse. "I don't see him running any time soon. We're not in a hurry with him, so we'll give him time and bring him back for the late fall and early winter races."
EBAY OR ECHESTNUT: Prospective buyers can bid on yearlings in the Aug. 11-12 Del Mar sale over the Internet. The relatively new opportunity is possible because of an agreement between the California Thoroughbred Breeders Association and a Lexington, Ky., service provider. Bids on the 159 cataloged yearlings will begin 10 p.m at www.equinespectrum.com.
Selling big-ticket sports items involves more than memorabilia these days. Mike Cusack Jr. is selling his faltering Anchorage Aces minor-league hockey franchise on eBay.
-- Information from other news organizations was used in this report.