HORSE RACING
Beholder wins Zenyatta
Beholder won the $300,000 Zenyatta Stakes for the third consecutive year Saturday in her final prep for the Breeders’ Cup Classic next month, where she is expected to face Triple Crown winner American Pharoah. Ridden by Hall of Famer Gary Stevens, Beholder raced to her sixth consecutive victory. She won by 3 ¼ lengths, running 1 1/16 miles in 1:42.83 and paying $2.20, $2.10 and $2.10 as the 1-9 favorite in 93-degree heat at Santa Anita. My Sweet Addiction returned $5.40 and $3.40, while Savings Account was another 5 ½ lengths back in third and paid $5.60 to show. The Zenyatta was one of five Grade I races on the card, with winners earning automatic berths in various Breeders’ Cup races at Keeneland. In her previous start, Beholder won the $1 million Pacific Classic at Del Mar, beating colts by 8 ¼ lengths. She has won 15 of 20 career starts, including 11 of 12 at Santa Anita for Hall of Fame trainer Richard Mandella. The victory, worth $180,000, increased her earnings to $4,436,600. The Zenyatta winner earned an automatic berth in the BC Distaff on Oct. 30 at Keeneland, but Beholder will bypass it and take on colts in the $5 million BC Classic. In another Grade I race, Nyquist outlasted Swipe in a stretch duel to win the $300,000 FrontRunner Stakes by three-quarters of a length. Ridden by Mario Gutierrez, Nyquist ran 1 1/16 miles in 1:44.89 and paid $3, $2.40 and $2.10 as the 1-2 favorite. There was a stewards’ inquiry into the stretch run, when Nyquist came over on rail-hugging Swipe twice and appeared to brush him, but no changes were made. Swipe returned $4.80 and $3, while Hollywood Don was another 5 ¾ lengths back in third and paid $3.20 to show. Trained by Doug O’Neill, Nyquist earned an automatic berth into the BC Juvenile. The 2-year-old colt improved to 4-0, including victories in the Grade 2 Best Pal and Grade 1 Del Mar Futurity.
Big Blue Kitten won the $600,000 Joe Hirsch Turf Classic in a course-record time at Belmont Park. The 7-year-old ran 1 ½ miles in 2:23.39, erasing the mark of 2:24.36 set by Fantastic Light in 2001. Big Blue Kitten was trained by Chad Brown, who sent out three of the seven runners in the field. The trio all played prominent roles, starting with Shining Copper as the designated pacesetter. Shining Copper opened a huge early lead, ensuring a brisk early pace for his late-running stablemates. Big Blue Kitten and jockey Joe Bravo settled far back in sixth before launching a four-wide bid on the final turn. They surged past the pack at the top of the stretch and had enough left to hold off Slumber, the third Brown horse in the race, by three quarters of a length with Twilight Eclipse third. “I’m proud of both horses,” Brown said of his 1-2 finishers. “The race pretty much went the way I expected. Shining Copper has run admirably all summer as the pacemaker for us.” Big Blue Kitten earned $360,000 for owners Ken and Sarah Ramsey. The Joe Hirsch and the $400,000 Vosburg were Breeders’ Cup Challenge races, insuring the winners’ fees-paid spots in the season-ending championships next month at Keeneland. Big Blue Kitten was already set for the $3 million Turf, having previously won a Challenge race in the United Nations Stakes at Monmouth Park in July. Big Blue Kitten paid $7, $3 and $2.30.
Geothermal overtook favorite Departing in the stretch in a 1 ½ -length victory in the $175,000 Lukas Classic at Churchill Downs. Ridden by Robby Albarado for trainer Steve Margolis and owner A.L. Luedtke, the 6-year-old gelding ran 1 1/8 miles in 1:49.93 and paid $26.60, $7.20 and $3.40. Departing returned $3.20 and $2.80, and Smack Smack paid $4 to show.
Weekend Express took the lead nearing the top of the stretch and beat Ginger Goose by 2 ¾ lengths Saturday in the $40,000 allowance feature at Monmouth Park. Trained by Tim Hills and ridden by Vicente Gudiel, the 3-year-old gelding ran 1 1/16 miles over the firm turf course in 1:41 1/5 and paid $8.60, $5 and $3.40. It was the fourth winner on the card for Gudiel and third victory in 11 career starts for Weekend Express. Ginger Goose returned $13.40 and $5.40, and Here’s to Mike was a nose back in third and paid $2.60.
BASEBALL
Cards shut down Martinez
St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Carlos Martinez is done for the year because of a shoulder strain. The 14-game winner lasted just seven pitches Friday night against the Milwaukee Brewers, his last action of 2015. He will not pitch in the postseason, even if the Cardinals make a late-October run. General Manager John Mozeliak said Saturday an MRI showed the damage. Rest rather than surgery was prescribed with a recovery time of between one and two months. The team anticipates he’ll be ready to go for spring training. Mozeliak said if the injury occurred Aug. 1, the 24-yearold right-hander potentially could have pitched in the postseason. “Unfortunately, where we are on the calendar it’s just not going to work out,” Mozeliak said. Manager Mike Matheny said Martinez was “broken up” by the news.
Brad Ausmus is going to return as the Detroit Tigers’ manager in 2016. General Manager Al Avila made the announcement Saturday despite reports the decision had already been made to fire the second-year manager. Avila said he understood Ausmus was dealing with severe roster limitations as the Tigers dropped to last in the American League Central after four consecutive division titles.
Infielder Juan Uribe might not be available to the Mets early in the playoffs because of an injury involving his chest cartilage. Manager Terry Collins said Uribe aggravated the injury on a swing during a 12-5 victory over the Reds on Friday night. The 36-year-old infielder had to leave the game with what the manager called a significant setback. X-rays were negative. Collins said Saturday that the initial medical reports aren’t encouraging.
FOOTBALL
New Jersey player dies
A New Jersey high school star quarterback died after suffering an injury on the field, school officials said Saturday. Three-sport athlete Evan Murray of Warren Hills Regional High School died after he was hurt in a game against Summit High School on Friday night. Murray had been the football team’s starting quarterback for three years. A statement from interim Superintendent Gary Bowen said the school community is “deeply saddened” by his death. Bowen declined to take questions from reporters Saturday, saying a cause of death has not yet been determined. Authorities said an autopsy was planned. People who attended the game said the 17-year-old Murray walked off the field under his own power after taking a hit in the backfield late in the second quarter. A short time later, he apparently collapsed. Murray felt “woozy” after the tackle but tried reassuring his teammates he would be fine as he was lifted on a gurney and taken to a hospital, witnesses told the New York Daily News. “He tried giving a thumbs-up to the rest of the team, and all of us cheered,” said Kaitlin Bell, 16, a junior varsity cheerleader. “Our coach was telling us he was going to be all right. We didn’t expect anything would happen.”
A Texas high school assistant football coach was critically injured after striking his head when a play went out of bounds during a game. Mark Bachtel was airlifted to Baylor Medical Center in Dallas where he remained in critical condition Saturday, according to a spokesman for the hospital. Bachtel, an assistant coach for Scurry-Rosser High School, was injured on the sidelines Friday night during a game versus Malakoff. Scurry-Rosser ISD board member Nancy Duggan said the play knocked Bachtel off his feet and he struck his head on the ground, resulting in multiple skull fractures and severe head trauma, according to The Dallas Morning News, which quotes inForney.com.
BOXING
Wilder retains WBC title
Deontay Wilder used a flurry of head shots to finally subdue Johann Duhaupas, stopping him 55 seconds into the 11th round to defend his WBC heavyweight title Saturday night in Birmingham, Ala. Duhaupas suffered a cut on the bridge of his nose in the first round, and after that Wilder (35-0) worked almost exclusively on the Frenchman’s face and head. Despite being punched repeatedly, Duhaupas (32-3) rarely seemed fazed. He nearly fell in the fifth round, but other than that appeared to brush off the onslaught. It wasn’t until Wilder unleashed nine consecutive head shots early in the 11th round that the referee stopped the fight.