ARLINGTON TO HOST 2002 BREEDERS' CUP WORLD THOROUGHBRED CHAMPIONSHIPS

Officials of Breeders' Cup Limited and the National Thoroughbred Racing Association (NTRA) have announced that Arlington Park in suburban Chicago will bethe host site for the 2002 Breeders' Cup World Thoroughbred Championships.

The 19th Breeders' Cup World Thoroughbred Championships, consisting of eight races with purses and awards totaling $13 million, will be run next year on Saturday, October 26 and will be televised live by NBC Sports.

"We are delighted to announce Arlington Park as our site for the 2002 Breeders' Cup World Thoroughbred Championships," said D.G. Van Clief, Jr., president of Breeders' Cup Limited and vice chairman of the NTRA. "Arlington is an outstanding, world-class racing facility renowned for hosting top-flight international competition and providing its fans with an excellent presentation of Thoroughbred racing. We look forward to working with Arlington's management and staff under the direction of Dick Duchossois, and we salute the State of Illinois for its enthusiastic support of next year's Championships."

"It's important for horseracing to be represented in the country's third largest market with its premier event," said NTRA Commissioner Tim Smith. "We're looking forward to discussions with the Chicagoland corporate community about the great sponsorship and media opportunities presented not just on Championships Day, but all year long through the global, multi-division Road to the World Thoroughbred Championships. Churchill Downs, Inc., and Arlington Park will be great partners in that process, just as they have been stalwart supporters of the Breeders' Cup since 1984, and the NTRA since 1998."

"The announcement that the world's racing championship day, the Breeders' Cup World Thoroughbred Championships, is coming to the Chicago market and the state of Illinois is a proud moment in the history of Arlington Park and the Illinois racing industry," said Arlington Park Chairman Richard L. Duchossois. "It is the equivalent of racing's Super Bowl or World Series.

"Attracting the highest quality of international racing while showcasing the excitement of Thoroughbred racing have always been important goals for Arlington Park," added Duchossois. "The World Thoroughbred Championships will bring the world's best to Chicago and Illinois, while exposing our great city and state to a huge national and international audience. In addition to the large number of racing fans who will visit us and the significant local economic impact they will bring to the Chicagoland area, the live event will be televised nationally on NBC as well as to international viewers around the world."

This will be the first time that Arlington Park will host the Breeders' Cup World Thoroughbred Championships and the first time that the Championships will be held in the Midwest. During its 18-year history, the Breeders' Cup has been held at Aqueduct Racetrack and Belmont Park in New York, Churchill Downs in Kentucky, Hollywood Park and Santa Anita Park in California, Gulfstream Park in Florida and Woodbine Racetrack in Toronto.

Arlington Park, located in Arlington Heights, Ill., has been a fixture in American racing since it opened in 1927. The current facility, rebuilt in 1989 following a devastating 1985 fire to the original structure, has been admired the world over as one of racing's most spectacular venues. Next year, Arlington will conduct a 107-day meet (June 5-October 27). Over the years, the signature event of the Arlington meet has been the Arlington Million, which in 1981 became America's first $1 million Thoroughbred horserace.

CALDER SET FOR GRAND SLAM ON SATURDAY

The fields have been drawn for the four $100,000 stakes races to be run on Saturday's Grand Slam program at Calder Race Course in Miami. J. Mack Robinson's Crash Course, Gary Tanaka's Tijiyr and Alan Burkhard and Rich Meadow Farm's Slew Valley will among the favorites in a full field of 12 3-year-olds and up that will contest the Grade III, $100,000 Tropical Turf Handicap at 1 1/8 miles on turf.

Helen Groves's Batique and Jeanne Vance's Chaste will top a dozen fillies and mares in the Grade III, $100,000 My Charmer Handicap, also at 1 1/8 miles on turf.

Seven 2-year-old fillies will go to the post in the $100,000 Three Ring Stakes. Stride Rite Stable's Stormy Frolic, runaway winner of her last two starts, and Phil Combest's Ms Brookski figure to go off the favorites in the Three Ring, which will be contested at 1 1/16 miles on the main track.

Eight two-year-old colts and geldings will share the stage in the $100,000 What a Pleasure Stakes, also at 1 1/16 miles on the main track. David Hutson's Rulebook, who will have the services of Hall of Fame rider Jerry Bailey, and Starlight Stable's Notable Editor are the two horses to beat.

Besides Jerry Bailey, jockeys Jorge Chavez, Mark Guidry, Eibar Coa and Rene Douglas are other nationally prominent reinsmen slated to take part in Grand Slam day. This year, Bailey became the first jockey ever to eclipse the $20 million mark in purse earnings in a single year.

Among the top trainers represented in one or more of the four stakes are Bill Mott, Christophe Clement, Rusty Arnold, Niall O' Callaghan, Scotty Schulhofer and Michael Dickinson.

Calder and the Churchill Downs Simulcasting Network will offer an All-Stakes Pick 4 wager on the Grand Slam race with a guaranteed wagering pool of $100,000.

OXYGEN NETWORK TO PROFILE JULIE KRONE TOMORROW

"Sports Aside," Oxygen's sports biography series featuring women athletes and their trailblazing careers, will profile Julie Krone, the first woman jockey inducted into Thoroughbred racing's Hall of Fame, tomorrow, December 7, at 10:00 p.m. (ET)

Inspired by Steve Cauthen's phenomenal victories, riding Affirmed to the 1977 Triple Crown, Krone broke through barriers in a sport dominated by men. By combining her fierce competitive spirit with an ability to communicate with her mounts in a way that would have made Robert Redford's character in the Horse Whisperer envious, Krone worked her way up from the position of stable hand and eventually became the most successful female rider in history, winning more than 3,500 races including the 1993 Belmont Stakes aboard Colonial Affair. Krone remains the only woman jockey ever to win a Triple Crown race.

"She took a lot of punishment and problems from the guys. Everybody got in her way," said fellow Hall of Fame jockey Angel Cordero, Jr. "Everybody wanted to stop her from winning, but she was tough enough to fight that. That's what made her great. She was little, but big in her heart."

RACING ON THE AIR (all times Eastern)

December 8 Racehorse Digest, 5:30-6:00 a.m., ESPN

December 10 Racehorse Digest, 12:30-1:00 p.m., ESPN2

December 15 Racehorse Digest, 5:30-6:00 a.m., ESPN

December 19 Racehorse Digest, 2:00-2:30 p.m., ESPN2

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. 9, 1999: Jockey Laffit Pincay, Jr., tied Bill Shoemaker's all-time record by registering his 8,833rd lifetime win aboard I Be Casual in the 4th race at Hollywood Park.

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. 10, 1999: Laffit Pincay Jr. became the world's winningest jockey when he registered his 8,834th career victory aboard Irish Nip in the 6th race at Hollywood Park and eclipsed the previous mark of 8,833 wins held by Bill Shoemaker.

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. 12, 1942: More than 20,000 racegoers turned out to watch 1941 Triple Crown winner Whirlaway win the inaugural Louisiana Handicap at Fair Grounds, staged in part as a war relief effort by the newly formed Thoroughbred Racing Associations.

Dec. 12, 1997: Jockey Russell Baze, the only jockey to win 400 or more races in a year more than three times, accomplished the feat for a sixth straight season at Golden Gate Fields.

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

Dec. 14, 1997: Maybe Jack drew off and won a match race against Pro on Ice at Suffolk Downs, making him the winningest horse of 1997 with 13 victories.

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.

Dec. 15, 2000: Congress passed a package of appropriations bills that included a clarification to the Interstate Horseracing Act (IHA). The amendment to IHA confirms that interstate simulcasting, commingling of pools and account wagering are, indeed, permitted under the IHA in all states that authorize these activities.

Dec. 17, 1936: Crooner Bing Crosby announced plans to construct a new racetrack, to be called the Del Mar Turf Club.

Dec. 17, 1993: Fire destroyed the grandstand of Fair Grounds, the nation's third-oldest racetrack.

Dec. 18, 1983: Hollywood Park held the first $1 million race for two-year-old Thoroughbreds, the Hollywood Futurity, which was won by Fali Time, ridden by Sandy Hawley.

WEEKEND STAKES RACES (unrestricted stakes worth $75,000 and up)

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 8
My Charmer Handicap, 3&up (f&m), $100,000, Grade III, 1 1/8 M (T), Calder
Tropical Turf Handicap, 3&up, $100,000, Grade III, 1 1/8 M (T), Calder
Three Ring Stakes, 2yo fillies, $100,000, 1 1/16 M, Calder
What a Pleasure Stakes, 2yo, $100,000, 1 1/16 M, Calder
Garland of Roses Handicap, 3&up (f&m), $75,000, 6F, Aqueduct

SUNDAY, DECEMBER 9
Native Diver Handicap, 3&up, $100,000, Grade III, 1 1/8 M, Hollywood Park