In brief

Top jockey decides to retire

By wire services
Published August 4, 2005

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Hall of Fame jockey Pat Day retired Wednesday, a few months after returning from hip surgery.

In 32 years, Day, 51, who won the 1992 Kentucky Derby aboard Lil E. Tee, has 8,804 victories (fourth all-time) and earnings of $297,941,912 (first). He scheduled a news conference for today.

"He's just at a plateau in his life where the Lord's calling him off to do other things," Day's agent, Doc Danner, said.

Day decided while convalescing alone in a cabin along the Kentucky River this week, Danner said. The decision came after he missed his first Kentucky Derby in 21 years then cut back on his schedule.

Day finished second in the Derby four times. He was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1991 and won 23 races this spring at Churchill Downs, lifting his total at the track to a record 2,481.

After surgery in March to replace torn cartilage, Day resumed racing in mid May and earned his first stakes win about a month later, guiding Two Trail Sioux at the Grade II $330,000 Fleur de Lis.

His last race was the $1-million Delaware Handicap on July17. His final win came a week earlier at Churchill Downs.

USA Track & Field withdrew its proposal for lifetime bans for first-time steroid violations after the sport's world governing body promised to push for an increase of suspensions from two years to four for all serious offenses.

The IAAF fears life bans would lead to long court cases and undermine the World Anti-Doping Code, which calls for two-year suspensions.

OTHER RULES: Athletes who switch nationalities to compete for other countries must wait three years after being granted citizenship or one year if both countries agree. Previously, athletes waited three years without competing for their previous nation. ... The one false-start rule will remain instead of an immediate disqualification.

Defending champion Jane Park, runnerup Amanda McCurdy and 17-year-olds Morgan Pressel and In-Kyung Kim won in the first round of match play at the U.S. Women's Amateur in Roswell, Ga. Park, who will play for Southern Cal, beat Julie Huh 4-and-3.

McCurdy, who plays for Arkansas, beat Marlowe Boukis 4-and-3. Pressel birdied the first two holes to go 2-up and later won four in a row to beat Sooji Cho 7-and-5. Megan McChrystal led Kim, the medalist in stroke play, 3-up after four before losing 2-and-1.

Tampa resident James Blake reached the third round of the Legg Mason Classic in Washington with a 6-4, 2-6, 6-4 win over fourth-seeded Radek Stepanek. The 2002 tournament champion had 11 aces and overcame a second set in which he fell behind 3-0. He next faces 16th-seeded Thomas Zib.

ACURA CLASSIC: Sania Mirza upset Nadia Petrova, No.9 in the world, 6-2, 6-1 in a second-round match in Carlsbad, Calif. Mirza, who started the season No.169 but is now No.59, had to win three matches to get into the main draw. Also, French Open runnerup Mary Pierce beat Anna-Lena Groenefeld 6-1, 6-1.

ROGERS CUP: Marat Safin, ranked fourth in the world, pulled out of next week's event in Montreal. Safin had minor left knee surgery after Wimbledon and needs at least another week of rest, his agent said.

WNBA: Charlotte hired ex-NBA player Muggsy Bogues as coach. Bogues, whose jersey is retired at Wake Forest and who played 10 seasons with the Charlotte Hornets, takes over a team with the league's worst record at 3-21.

SOCCER: Zinedine Zidane, who helped France win the 1998 World Cup, will come out of international retirement to help it qualify for 2006. With four matches left, France (2-0-4) sits fourth in its group but only two points behind second-place Switzerland. Eight group winners and the two best second-place teams qualify. The other six second-place teams face off for bids.

[Last modified August 4, 2005, 01:05:20]