In addition to attracting nationally known horses and trainers - last year, the sixth-place horse in the Kentucky Derby ran in the Virginia Derby - some local trainers also eye the race. But, as Albemarle-based bloodstock agent Debbie Easter pointed out, horsemen want more racing days only so long as the purses stay high. The top trainers around the country are actively looking for 3-year-old turf horses. Officials hope the attention the turf course and the racetrack in general will...

By Melonie Magruder / Special to The Malibu Times Malibu's January fire, sparked by extremely dry weather conditions and, perhaps, a carelessly thrown cigarette butt, and the recent fire in Lake Tahoe underscored the vulnerability of not just human residents, but that of a teeming animal population, including horses and other large mammals. By Melonie Magruder / Special to The Malibu Times Malibu's January fire, sparked by extremely dry weather conditions and, perhaps, a carelessly thrown...

The food fight has been going on for a year, with Ithaca claiming the sundae was invented there in 1892 by drug store owner Chester Platt. After some local researchers turned up evidence that appeared to melt Wisconsin's case, Assemblywoman Barbara Lifton, D-Ithaca, dished up a resolution (co-sponsored by several other members including Jack McEneny of Albany), sprinkled with some choice nuggets, including: After some local researchers turned up evidence that appeared to melt Wisconsin's...

In 1996, he patented his first product, The Stableizer, an equine restraint and training system, which is designed to fit over a horse s head and go behind the ears and under the top lip next to the gum. When a simple pressure is applied by a red button on the device, the horse is distracted from other parts of the body being worked on and endorphins and related compounds are released from acupuncture points one behind each ear and the other under the top lip. When a simple pressure is...

From the outset it was the race every owner wanted to win, and the whole history of the thoroughbred species was dictated by the genes of the first past the post in the Derby. Not that any of these great races can hope to compete in terms of spectators against the world's biggest sporting event - as any trivia freak will tell you, the Tour de France is undoubtedly the most humungous of them all. For a whole variety of reasons, the Derby lost its prestige and its hold on the public...

Subscribe . Today's Paper & More. But this vital industry -- from breeding farms down to hay growers -- is in increasing jeopardy due to growing competition from racetracks with slot machines in neighboring states such as Pennsylvania, the steady decline in the fan base for horse racing and ubiquitous development pressures. Hunterdon farm owner says county's abundant show barns and training facilities an advantage. But this vital industry -- from breeding farms down to hay growers -- is in...

Forrence, 36, said he yelled out to the bear to try to make it stop, so he could get a better look and maybe capture the animal on his cellphone camera. This year, she said, three sightings already have been reported to animal control officials, and the Police Department has logged a couple of sightings, too. In Manchester, a bear that had climbed a tree had to be tranquilized by police and carried off into the woods last month after nearly 1,000 people had gathered to watch, said...

Xcellent and Mike Smith, whose left-handed whip resembled a windmill, were along the rail, with Lava Man on the outside as the horses fought each other to the wire in a photo finish. Both horses were really duking it out and throwing it down. Big Booster came flying late through the stretch, but was another three-quarters of a length back in third. Lava Man prevailed Saturday despite carrying high weight of 124 pounds. Nakatani had no doubt about the outcome, waving his whip right-handed...

Churchill Downs, home of the annual Kentucky Derby, is excluded from the ban as are tobacco manufacturers conducting research and development. Louisville is among several cities in Kentucky - a state that has led the nation in burly tobacco production - that has banned smoking in recent years. Louisville, Kentucky's largest city and one-time tobacco hub, had a less-stringent ban in place that allowed smoking in bars and restaurants that receive less than 75 percent of their revenue from...