The town and racing fans were rocked this weekend when jockey Fran Ferris confessed to a Sunday paper he fixed more than 200 races and pocketed up to 1,000 a race by giving tip-offs about which horses would lose. Ferris said the problem is widespread within horse racing * with strings of owners, trainers and jockeys caught up with corrupt betting. Owners and trainers put pressure on jockeys to go easy on horses so they can get better odds next time. The Irishman, who has ridden 180 winners...

I was in the jocks' room a couple of summers ago, and the conversation turned to injuries suffered while astride 1,200-pound horses that run almost 35 mph. Here's hoping that years from now when they talk about the 2007 Kentucky Derby, folks will remember more than just the horse. Borel passed the final pole at the Kentucky Derby, turned around and saw nary a challenger. I thought about somebody wanting to ride horses so bad that he would accept certain pain at the conclusion in exchange...

Sundays lessons focused on rescuing horses from a mudhole, a pond and handling an overturned horse trailer. Trouble was that they didnt have the specialized training needed to rescue horses or any large animal. Shortly after they arrived, the horse had moved about 100 feet farther into the swamp, said Torie Miller. There hasnt been a lot of training for first responders, Miller said, because rescue has always been handled by animal control officers. That was the case with Hurricane Katrina...

There will be demonstrations by vets and leading welfare charities, and an opportunity to exchange views with celebrity guest Frankie Dettori, government officials and equine industry representatives. The strategy has eight aims from reviewing disease surveillance methods to improving the education of those who work with horses and will be implemented over the next 10 years. The day is aimed entirely at educating owners and children and would-be owners toward better horse ownership. Horse...

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