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On a day when the center of racing attention was expected to be in the Persian Gulf, it wound up on the town of Florence, Ky., a stone's throw across the Ohio border from Cincinnati.
That's where major Kentucky Derby contender Concerto romped to his fourth straight victory, his sixth in his last seven starts, during Saturday's tragedy-marred Jim Beam Stakes at Turfway Park.
The $600,000 Jim Beam, a Grade II event and a major stepping stone to the Run for the Roses, became the weekend's marquee attraction after rains washed out the second running of the Dubai World Cup.
Representatives will meet this morning to re-schedule the World Cup, which reportedly will be contested Thursday night (Thursday morning in Las Vegas).
Concerto's latest conquest moved him alongside Florida Derby winner and nemesis Captain Bodgit as the leading contenders for the May 3 Kentucky Derby.
However, the post-race celebration was subdued because of the mid-stretch breakdown of Santa Anita invader Inexcessivelygood, who fell after suffering a compound dislocation of the right front ankle.
Inexcessivelygood was immediately euthanized.
Jockey Chris McCarron was diagnosed with three broken ribs and stayed in a Kentucky hospital overnight for observation.
Inexcessivelygood had taken a short lead from tiring pacesetter Jules entering the stretch when he was immediately challenged from the outside by Concerto.
As Concerto gradually began to pull away from Inexcessivelygood -- well clear of the rest of the pack -- the colt suddenly collapsed and fell.
In a split-second, the Jim Beam was transformed from the sweet music of a Concerto into a funeral dirge.
Trainer Nick Zito's uncoupled entry of Jack Flash and Shammy Davis picked up the pieces to finish a distant second and third, respectively.
Concerto paid $4.60 to win and covered the 1 1/8 miles in 1:48 1-5, roughly eight lengths off Hansel's 1991 track record of 1:46 3-5.
Concerto's only loss in his last seven outings was a 3/4-length defeat to Captain Bodgit in the 1 1/8-mile, Grade III Laurel Futurity on Nov. 2.
Owned by the Kinsman Stable of New York Yankees boss George Steinbrenner, Concerto will get his chance to extract revenge from Captain Bodgit in five weeks at Churchill Downs.
-- MEL SMOKES IN GOTHAM -- Smokin Mel, a lightly regarded Washington-bred eligible for an entry-level allowance race, pulled off a 15-1 upset in Saturday's Grade II $200,000 Gotham Stakes at Aqueduct.
The Gotham, a one-mile event for 3-year-olds and a prelude to New York's final Kentucky Derby prep, the Wood Memorial, proved to be a reasonably easy exacta for medication advocates to select.
One-two finishers Smokin Mel and Ordway were the only colts in the 11-horse field getting first-time lasix, the anti-bleeder drug often known to accompany enhanced performances upon initial usage.
Smokin Mel paid $33.20 to win, and the $2 exacta with Ordway was worth $157. Wild Wonder was third.
-- ALADDIN CLOSES BOOK -- On Tuesday, the Aladdin Hotel will join the Sahara Hotel and shut down its race book but continue to operate its sports book.
Several other properties reportedly are planning to cut the size of their race books by 50 percent or more.
-- ON THE HOME TV FRONT -- Negotiations to end the simulcast boycott from California tracks and bring live TV racing not only back to Nevada race books but into Las Vegas homes via cable TV are continuing.
Neither the Nevada Pari-Mutuel Association nor the Thoroughbred Owners of California will comment publicly on the progress of the talks, but a well-placed source says a major breakthrough is imminent, and a settlement may be reached as early as this week.
-- TOURNAMENT SIGN-UP -- Registration opens Wednesday at 5 p.m. in the Palace Station's Grand Ballroom for the 32nd World Cup Of Thoroughbred Handicapping Tournament, to be held Thursday through Saturday.
The entry fee is $800. Guaranteed first prize is $25,000, along with additional daily cash prizes.
Jay Richards' horse racing column is published Friday and Sunday.
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