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In brief

By PETE YOUNG, TIMES WIRES
© St. Petersburg Times
published October 31, 2002

Betting chief says big win looks legit

The head of a betting center believes a man being investigated for winning about $3-million in the Pick Six made legitimate bets on the Breeders' Cup and should get his money.

The New York Racing and Wagering Board began an investigation at the request of Breeders' Cup Ltd. and the National Thoroughbred Racing Association.

Donald Groth, president of the Catskill Regional Off-Track Betting Corp. in Pomona, N.Y., said a Maryland man made the bets over the phone 23 minutes before the first race.

"I certainly don't want to second-guess the investigation or the state, but all they should discover is that he was a lucky guy who had a lucky day," Groth said.

AMERICA'S CUP: San Francisco's Oracle beat U.S. rival OneWorld by 40 seconds off Auckland, New Zealand, in the challenger series. Stars & Stripes and defending challenger champion Prada also won.

COLLEGE BASKETBALL: The South Florida men's team was picked to finish fifth in the seven-team Conference USA National Division by the league's coaches. Memphis was picked to win the division and defending league champion Cincinnati to win the American Division. Also, C-USA announced it will change its two-division alignment to one beginning with the 2003-04 season. ... Alabama was an overwhelming pick to repeat as Southeastern Conference champion. Florida was picked to win the Eastern Division, and guard Brett Nelson was a preseason All-SEC pick. ... Illinois forward Brian Cook and guard Jerrance Howard will sit out the first two regular-season games for inadvertently participating in a nonsanctioned tournament, an NCAA violation.

OTHER COLLEGES: The host Saint Leo women's soccer team won its first Sunshine State Conference game, 2-0 over Florida Southern. The program is in its third season. ... The host Tampa men's soccer team lost 2-1 to Lewis.

TENNIS: Marat Safin reached the third round of the Paris Masters to earn a spot in the season-ending Masters Cup. ... U.S. Open and Wimbledon semifinalist Amelie Mauresmo withdrew from the WTA Tour championship. ... Magnus Norman is out for a month after knee surgery.

BOXING: A federal appeals court ordered a judge to resentence former heavyweight champion Riddick Bowe to at least 18 months in prison for abducting his wife and five children from their Charlotte, N.C., home in 1998. ... Super heavyweight Dominic Negus was banned indefinitely after testing positive for a banned steroid.

GYMNASTICS: Ukrainian Anna Bessonova was barred from competition for two months for failing a doping test.

SNOWBOARDING: Mathieu Bozzetto won a World Cup parallel slalom event in Soelden, Austria. Ursula Bruhin won the women's competition.

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