IS ON THE TRADE RUMOR TRAIL
Preakness winner Rachel Alexandra worked a half-mile at Churchill Downs, but the filly's owner said it might be another week before he decides whether to enter her in the Belmont Stakes.
Jess Jackson said yesterday that Rachel Alexandra is "progressing well" and will work again next week before a decision is made on the third leg of the Triple Crown on June 6.
Jackson and Harold McCormick bought Rachel Alexandra after she won the Kentucky Oaks by 20 1/4 lengths May 1. She became the first filly in 85 years to win the Preakness on May 16, with jockey Calvin Borel guiding her to victory over Kentucky Derby winner Mine That Bird.
"She's recovering nicely and I think, for the time that's elapsed, only 9 days, she's right on - but we can't make a decision until we know," said Jackson, who owns Stonestreet Stable. "My concern is her attitude. She thinks she can run through a brick wall, so her attitude has to be monitored. If anything, we have to hold her back a little bit because she's so eager to run."
Rachel Alexandra worked the half-mile in 50.20 seconds under exercise rider Dominic Terry over a sloppy track. Also, Mine That Bird worked the same distance in 51 seconds under Borel.
If Rachel Alexandra does not run in the Belmont, which would give her a shot at becoming the first filly to win two-thirds of the Triple Crown, Jackson said the Mother Goose Stakes for fillies at Belmont Park on June 27 is an option.
In other horse-racing news:
* Jockey Rene Douglas might be paralyzed after being thrown from his horse, Born to Be, during a race at Arlington Park in suburban Chicago. His agent, Dennis Cooper, said Douglas spent 7 hours in surgery Sunday and afterward doctors told him the jockey could not feel his lower limbs. Cooper said doctors won't know his status for certain until swelling reduces in about 2 weeks.
* University of Louisville runner Wesley Korir set a course record in winning the Los Angeles Marathon. Korir covered the 26.2 miles in 2 hours, 8 minutes, 24 seconds.
* Texas has been selected as the top seed for the NCAA baseball tournament and will host one of 16, four-team double-elimination regionals that begin Friday.
* Former world cycling champion Tom Boonen will resume cycling next week and his team, Quick Step, said it could take legal action if necessary to get him into the Tour de France despite his second positive cocaine test in as many years. Team manager Patrick Lefevere told VRT network that since Boonen was not suspended by the world federation for the use of a recreational drug out of competition, he should be able to take part. *
* A soccer game between the United States and Iran this fall could be in the works. The possibility exists after the head of Iran's soccer federation said he received a proposal from his U.S. counterpart about an exhibition game in October or November. The U.S. Soccer Federation would say only that "it's normal for multiple federations to contact each other about the possibility of playing a match on available international dates."
* Gwynedd-Mercy freshman Dan Dunkleberger (Father Judge High) finished seventh in the 400-meter final at the NCAA Division III Outdoor Track and Field Championships at Marietta College, becoming the first Griffin named All-America. The only freshman to make the finals, he finished in 48.92 seconds.
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