ARCADIA, Calif. — Curlin was made the early 7-5 favorite Tuesday in a field of 12 for the $5 million Breeders’ Cup Classic.
Curlin will break from the No. 9 post and likely would earn horse of the year honors for the second consecutive year if he defends his title Saturday at Santa Anita in his first race on a synthetic track.
“The synthetic is a huge question,” trainer Steve Asmussen said. “A higher percentage of horses train better over it than run well over it.”
Without retired Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner Big Brown in the field, Raven’s Pass, winner of the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes in his last start, was made the 6-1 second choice. Go Between, the Pacific Classic winner, was the third choice at 8-1.
Other favorites are: Zenyatta (Ladies’ Classic), Munnings (Juvenile), Street Boss (Sprint) and Goldikova (Mile).
Track coach Graham gets home confinement in doping case
SAN FRANCISCO — A judge sentenced disgraced track coach Trevor Graham to one year of home confinement for lying to federal sports doping investigators.
Graham once coached Marion Jones, Tim Montgomery and several other elite athletes who later were banned for taking performance-enhancing drugs.
Graham’s sentence is the second such no-prison term the judge has handed down in less than a month in connection with the Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative steroids scandal. Former elite bicyclist Tammy Thomas received a sentence of six months of home detention for lying to a grand jury about her steroid use.
Slugger Barry Bonds is scheduled to stand trial in March on similar charges.
Cardinals to part ways with Mulder
ST. LOUIS — The St. Louis Cardinals intend to cut ties with often-injured left-hander Mark Mulder, paying a $1.5 million buyout rather than exercising an $11 million option on his contract.
Mulder, 31, is rehabbing from two shoulder operations and was limited to 1 2/3 innings last season after initial optimistic forecasts he could join the rotation as early as May. He made $13 million the last two seasons while totaling six appearances and four starts covering 12 2/3 innings.
• Boston Red Sox manager Terry Francona will be heading for back surgery this offseason.
• Longtime Atlanta Braves announcer Pete Van Wieren retired at age 64, saying he wanted to step aside while he was still healthy enough to enjoy life beyond the baseball park.
Footnotes.
Reigning bull riding champion Justin McBride said he plans to retire after the PBR World Finals next month in Las Vegas.
• EliteXC, the mixed martial arts organization that put former street brawler Kimbo Slice and female fighter Gina Carano on national television, is going out of business.
• Detroit Red Wings defenseman Andreas Lilja is day to day after undergoing an appendectomy.
• FC Dallas midfielder Marcelo Saragosa will be sidelined three to four months after undergoing knee surgery. The Associated Press
