CAPTAIN STEVE TO TACKLE "NTRA CHAMPIONS" SERIES SATURDAY

Mike Pegram's Captain Steve, the winner of this year's Dubai World Cup and the leader in the latest NTRA Thoroughbred Poll of the nation's top racehorses, can grab not only the lion's share of the $750,000 purse with a win in Saturday's Stephen Foster Handicap from Churchill Downs in Louisville, but also six "NTRA Champions" series points which would move him into sole possession of fifth place behind current series leader Include.

Captain Steve's toughest challenge may come from Duckhorn, another likely Stephen Foster starter that has already earned "NTRA Champions" points and could move up in the standings with a good showing on Saturday.

The Stephen Foster Handicap, along with live coverage of the Dallas Turf Cup Handicap from Lone Star Park at Grand Prairie and bonus coverage of the Fleur de Lis Handicap from Churchill Downs, will air on CBS Sports from 4:30-6:00 p.m. (ET) as part of the "NTRA Champions" series. The series -- hosted by Dave Johnson with analyst Randy Moss, reporters Lesley Visser and Gary Seibel and field reporter Caton Bredar -- features 11 key races in Classic (dirt) and Turf division horseracing in the United States.

The four-program, five-hour series will be broadcast over a seven-week period during the months of June and July, and will include total purse offerings of $5,150,000 plus bonus money for those competing in the Classic division.

The complete Stephen Foster Handicap field from the rail out is: Captain Steve (jockey: Jerry Bailey, morning line odds: 6-5); Guided Tour (Larry Melancon, 8-1); Duckhorn (Jon Court, 10-1); Brahms (Pat Day, 8-1); Graeme Hall (Victor Espinoza, 4-1); Jadada (Calvin Borel, 30-1); Da Devil (Lonnie Meche, 30-1); Unshaded (Robby Albarado, 3-1).

NTRA TO PURCHASE FINGERPRINT MACHINE FOR NATIONAL RACING COMPACT

Implementing a key recommendation of an NTRA Task Force to support the national licensing of owners and other industry participants, the National Thoroughbred Racing Association (NTRA) has purchased for the National Racing Compact (NRC) a portable, digital fingerprint machine that will greatly streamline and simplify the licensing process. More

ALL-STAR JOCKEY CHAMPIONSHIP ONLINE PROMOTION NEARING COMPLETION

A special Internet and e-mail promotion in conjunction with the NTRA All-Star Jockey Championship to be held Friday, June 22 at Lone Star Park at Grand Prairie is nearing its deadline for fans to take part. Fans have until 11:59 p.m. (CT) on June 21 to log on to ntra.com, lonestarpark.com, nbc5i.com or drf.com and predict which one of the 12 competing riders will win the competition.

One of those correctly selecting the winner will receive a guaranteed cash prize of $7,500, with other prizes to be awarded as well to other contestants. Registered fans may also receive a series of customized e-mail messages that will preview the NTRA All-Star Jockey Championship and contain hotlinks to handicapping information and horseracing sites. e-Dialog, a Massachusetts-based direct marketing firm whose clients include the NFL and Ticketmaster, will be providing data collection and e-mail communication services for the promotion.

Meanwhile, Lone Star Park at Grand Prairie has announced that renowned sports artist LeRoy Neiman will be in attendance at the NTRA All-Star Jockey Championship, signing copies of an original, commemorative poster he has created specially for the event at the Dallas/Ft. Worth area track. Posters can be purchased for $29.95 at Lone Star Park at Grand Prairie or by calling 972-237-1194. All proceeds benefit the Jockeys Guild Disabled Riders Fund.

TEENAGER TO CALL RACES AT CANTERBURY DOWNS ON SATURDAY

Popular Canterbury Park track announcer Paul Allen will step away from the microphone for two races this Saturday at the Shakopee, Minn., racetrack, yielding the stage to a teenager.

Sixteen-year-old Jonathan Horowitz of Irvine, Cal., is scheduled to call one Thoroughbred and one Quarter Horse race in conjunction with the Minnesota Quarter Horse Racing Association Youth Day being held that day at Canterbury Park.

The youngest person ever to call a horse race in the United States, Horowitz already has experience announcing races at Santa Anita Park, Los Alamitos, Lone Star Park at Grand Prairie and Turf Paradise. Horowitz, who can often be found on the roof of Hollywood Park practicing his race calls, received his first opportunity at the microphone in 1999 at age 14, when he announced the $25,000 American Quarter Horse Youth Association Claiming Stakes. In August, Horowitz will be traveling with his family to England where he will call the Oak Tree Stakes at Goodwood Racecourse.

RACING ON THE AIR (all times Eastern)

June 16 Racehorse Digest, 5:30-6:00 a.m., ESPN

June 16 NTRA Champions series; Stephen Foster Handicap (Churchill Downs), Fleur de Lis Handicap (Churchill Downs) and Dallas Turf Cup Handicap (Lone Star Park at Grand Prairie), 4:30-6:00 p.m., CBS

June 20 Racehorse Digest, 1:00-1:30 p.m., ESPN

June 23 NTRA All-Star Jockey Championship (Lone Star Park at Grand Prairie), 12:00-1:00 a.m., ESPN2

June 23 Racehorse Digest, 5:30-6:00 a.m., ESPN

June 27 Racehorse Digest, 1:00-1:30 p.m., ESPN

RACING TO HISTORY

June 14, 1880: The first post parade of horses in any American race took place prior to the running of the Belmont Stakes. Horses had previously gone directly from paddock to post.

June 14, 1967: Jockey Craig Perret, age 16, won his first career race at Arlington Park. Despite starting well into the season, Perret finished the year third among the nation's apprentice riders in races won (with 114) and led all apprentices in the earnings category, with $610,003.

June 15, 1963: Five weeks prior to his 90th birthday, Hall of Fame trainer 'Sunny Jim' Fitzsimmons retired. "Mr. Fitz," as he was also known, trained such outstanding runners as Nashua, Bold Ruler, Johnstown and Triple Crown winners Gallant Fox and his son Omaha.

June 15, 1972: In preparation for his July 4 debut, Secretariat worked five furlongs from the starting gate in 1:00 1/5.

June 15, 1977: Future rivals Affirmed and Alydar met for the first time, in the Youthful Stakes at Belmont Park. Affirmed triumphed over Alydar, who finished fifth, and went on to win four of their six races together in 1977.

June 16, 1943: With a shortage of male workers due to the war, Garden State Park announced it would employ female mutuels clerks.

June 17, 1912: A record parimutuel payoff on a straight $2 wager was set when Wishing Ring, sent off at odds of 941-1, paid $1,885.50 to win at Latonia. The mark was only surpassed in 1989, when Power to Geaux paid $2,922 for a $2 wager made at Ak-sar-ben on a race that was simulcast from Fair Grounds.

June 17, 1967: Buckpasser's 15-race winning streak ended when he finished third to stablemate Poker in the Bowling Green Handicap at Aqueduct, his only attempt at turf racing. Buckpasser carried 135 pounds while Poker was assigned 112.

June 18, 1936: Omaha, the 1935 Triple Crown winner owned by New York banker William Woodward, lost the 2 1/2-mile Ascot Gold Cup by a head to filly Quashed at Ascot, England. A crowd of 200,000 was said to be present for the race, for which Omaha was the 11-8 favorite. Omaha had shipped to England aboard the Aquitania on Jan. 8, 1936 and won the May 30 Queens Plate at Kempton Park, England.

June 19, 1867: The inaugural Belmont Stakes was run at Jerome Park in the Bronx and was won by a filly, Ruthless, who defeated colts to earn $1,850 for her victory. Ruthless was one of a group of fillies known as the "Barbarous Battalion," daughters of the mare Barbarity, owned by Francis Morris of New York. The other "battalion" members-all full sisters-were Remorseless, Relentless, Regardless and Merciless.

June 19, 1880: Sheepshead Bay racecourse opened for a six-day meet. The track was the original site of the Suburban, Futurity and Realization Stakes, which eventually were transferred to Belmont Park.

June 19, 1942: Count Fleet won his first race, at Aqueduct Racetrack.

June 19, 1973: Officials of Arlington Park invited Secretariat to compete in a specially created race, the $125,000 Arlington Invitational Stakes.

June 19, 1992: Charlie Whittingham became the second trainer in history, behind D. Wayne Lukas, to top $100 million in purse earnings when he sent Little by Little to a second-place finish in the sixth race at Hollywood Park.

June 19, 1998: The NTRA All-Star Jockey Championship from Lone Star Park in Grand Prairie, Tex., was nationally televised for the first time on ESPN2. Shane Sellers won the 12-jockey competition.

June 20, 1908: With his final victory in the Tidal Stakes at Sheepshead Bay, Colin retired undefeated after 15 starts. No major American racehorse approached this record until 1988, when Personal Ensign retired with a perfect 13-for-13 career.

June 21, 1924: Exterminator, winner of the 1918 Kentucky Derby, concluded his seven-year racing career. Exterminator raced until he was nine, winning 50 of his 100 starts. He seldom carried less than 130 pounds in handicap races. Like other geldings Kelso, Forego, and John Henry, Exterminator improved with age, enjoying his greatest success when he was seven.

June 21, 1947: Assault won the Brooklyn Handicap and dethroned Whirlaway as the then money-winning champion of the world. The victory boosted his earnings to $576,670.

June 21, 1975: S. Kaye Bell became the first woman to train the winner of a $100,000 stakes race when she sent Mr. Lucky Phoenix to win the Michigan Mile and One-Eighth Handicap at Detroit Racecourse.

June 22, 1935: Seabiscuit won his first race, at Narragansett Park.

June 23, 1985: With a victory aboard Greinton in the Hollywood Gold Cup, Laffit Pincay Jr. became the second jockey in history to surpass $100 million in purse earnings.

June 24, 1893: The field for the American Derby at Washington Park was held at the post for an hour and 40 minutes, the longest pre-race delay in history. Boundless, with "Snapper" Garrison aboard, won the $49,500 race, which was witnessed by a crowd of 48,000. Garrison and three other riders were each fined $250 for bad conduct at the start.

June 24, 1952: Jockey Eddie Arcaro rode his 3,000th career winner at Arlington Park. He was the first American-born rider to reach that mark.

June 24, 1972: In the fastest workout of the day for six furlongs, Secretariat went the distance in 1:12 4/5 at Belmont over a sloppy track. He would make his debut 10 days later, in a July 4 race for maiden runners at Aqueduct.

June 24, 1973: Charlie Whittingham swept the top three spots in the Hollywood Gold Cup Invitational Handicap when his trainees Kennedy Road, Quack and Cougar II finished first, second and third, respectively.

June 24, 1977: Alydar, at odds of 2.10-1, broke his maiden by 6 3/4 lengths at Belmont Park.

June 24, 1979: Affirmed, ridden by Laffit Pincay Jr., became the first horse to top $2 million in earnings after he won the Hollywood Gold Cup.

June 24, 1990: Criminal Type became the first horse to win consecutive $1 million races after capturing the Hollywood Gold Cup. He had previously won the $1 million Pimlico Special on May 12.

June 25, 1999: Hall of Fame jockey Laffit Pincay, Jr. was the winner of the NTRA All-Star Jockey Challenge at Lone Star Park.

June 25, 2000: Kentucky Derby winner Fusaichi Pegasus was syndicated by Coolmore Stud for a reported $70 million.

June 26, 1938: Nearco ended his career a perfect 14-for-14 by winning the Grand Prix de Paris at Longchamp.

June 26, 1986: Jockey Sandy Hawley won his 5,000th career race, aboard Mighty Massa, at Canterbury Downs.

June 26, 1992: Jockey Dave Gall became the eighth rider in history to ride 6,000 winners when he rode Nana's Nice Boy to victory at Fairmount Park.

June 26, 1994: Jockey Chris McCarron rode his 6,000th career winner, Andestine, in the Milady Handicap at Hollywood Park. He was the 11th rider to reach 6,000 and the third-youngest, behind Bill Shoemaker and Laffit Pincay Jr.

June 26, 2000: Hall of Fame trainer Lucien Laurin, conditioner of 1973 Triple Crown winner Secretariat, died at the age of 88.

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.

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

SATURDAY, JUNE 16
Stephen Foster Handicap, 3&up, $750,000, Grade II, 1 1/8 M, Churchill Downs
Fleur de Lis Handicap, 3&up (f&m), $300,000, Grade III, 1 1/8 M, Churchill Downs
Dallas Turf Cup, 3&up, $300,000, 1 1/8 M (T), Lone Star Park at Grand Prairie
Princess Stakes, 3yo fillies, $150,000, Grade II, 1 1/16 M, Hollywood Park
Regret Stakes, 3yo fillies, $150,000, Grade III, 1 1/16 M (T), Churchill Downs
Chicago Breeders' Cup Handicap, 3&up (f&m), $150,000, Grade III, 7F, Arlington Park
Hill Prince Stakes, 3yo, $100,000, Grade III, 1 1/8 M (T), Belmont Park
Vagrancy Handicap, 3&up (f&m), $100,000, Grade III, 6½ F, Belmont Park
Vinery Matchmaker Handicap, 3&up (f&m), $100,000, Grade III, 1 1/8 M (T), Monmouth Park
Alberta Derby Stakes, 3yo, $100,000, Grade III, 1 1/16 M, Stampede Park
Victoria Stakes, 2yo, $100,000, 5F, Woodbine

SUNDAY, JUNE 17
Leonard Richards Stakes, 3yo, $200,000, 1 1/16 M, Delaware Park
Affirmed Handicap, 3yo, $150,000, Grade III, 1 1/16 M, Hollywood Park
Sands Point Handicap, 3yo fillies, $100,000, Grade III, 1 1/8 M (T), Belmont Park
Ontario Matron Stakes, 3&up (f&m), $100,000, 1 1/16 M, Woodbine
Budweiser Emerald Handicap, 3&up, $75,000, 1 M, Emerald Downs
Haggin Stakes, 2yo, $75,000, 5½ F, Hollywood Park