Add Saratoga Race Course to the list of Curlin conquering grounds.

Making his debut at the track, the reigning Horse of the Year turned on the power late and captured the $500,000 Woodward Stakes on Saturday.

A 3-10 post-time favorite from the fifth post, Curlin remained behind Past the Point and Wanderin Boy until making his move at the final turn on the 1 1/8-mile track. Widely regarded as the worlds top horse on dirt, the 4-year-old went on to overtake Past the Point and win by 1 1/4 lengths in 1 minute, 49.34 seconds.

Here at Saratoga, if you can kick on from the quarter-pole home, its hard to run down any horse, much less these Grade 1 horses, said Robby Albarado, the jockey of Curlin. They stretched the race out pretty good. I had to make a little longer run with Curlin than I wanted.

On the backside, he tugged a bit, let me know he was there, and on the far turn, they were still far enough in front of him that I needed to get him moving. Not aggressively call on him, but just get him moving. And he did it. Like I said, he exceeds our expectations every time he runs.

With his 10th victory in 14 career starts, Curlin brought home $300,000 for majority owner Jess Jackson, raising his career earnings to $9,796,800. He trails only two-time Horse of the Year Cigar, who tallied $9,999,815 in his career.

Aside from the Dubai race and the Breeders Cup, this is the most important race weve won because of the historic nature of this race and its premier contribution to Curlins legacy, Jackson said. With all the superstition and the Graveyard of Champions, I was glad the horse showed what he is and we won. It was very important.

Good horses like Man oWar and Secretariat had problems here. Thats an honor roll of some of the famous and the greatest. Im glad he showed he was up to it. It certainly adds to his legacy.

The winner of last years Preakness Stakes and Breeders Cup Classic, Curlin paid $2.70, $2.40 and $2.10.

A 40-1 longshot, Past the Point hung on for second, returning $13.80 and $6.40.

We came out of the gate and looked around to see where everyone was in the race, jockey Edgar Prado said. When Curlin came at us, we tried to pick it up more. Curlin is tough. My horse kept trying against him and didnt want to give up.

I was so focused on watching my horse, I didnt even see Curlin, Past the Point trainer Eoin Harty said. I felt like I won. It was more than I thought I could do. It was a fantastic race.

Past the Point even drew praise from Albarado for his effort.

Im going to give credit to the horse who ran second, Albarado said. He ran a huge race to sustain himself after those quick fractions.

Wanderin Boy, who grabbed the lead out of the gate, was third and paid $3.50.

All Giving took the track from favored La Chica Rica at the start and just kept going. Winning the $50,000 Alma North Stakes at Timonium by 6 1/2 lengths. La Chica Rica, who had won five straight races, held second by another 6 1/2 lengths over Story of a Lion in the field of six Maryland-bred fillies and mares.

All Giving paid $5.60 as a strong second choice and covered the 6 1/2 furlongs in 1:16.79 under Jonathan Joyce.

All Giving, an Allen’s Prospect filly trained by Flint Stites, had not faced statebred company since she won the Conniver at Laurel in March. The victory was the ninth in 22 starts for All Giving, who is owned by Concepts Unlimited Stable and Catherine Smith.

Tribesman, making his first start since May 16, blasted to the lead immediately. And set sizzling fractions as he scored a 4 1/2-length victory in the $76,000 California State Fair Sprint on Saturday at Cal Expo.

Tribesman’s final time of 1:07.61 was one-hundredth of a second off Passing Game’s track record set in 1993 when timing was done by fifths of seconds.

He broke on top under Russell Baze and had a 1 1/2-length lead over Vaderator after an opening quarter in 21.28 seconds and a half in 43.01. He extended his margin in the stretch.

Jack Hes Tops, last early, checked when he ran up on heels at the quarter pole but finished strongly to edge Victory Kid by a nose for second.

Trainer Roger Hansen, who was concerned about the 4-year-old gelding’s fitness coming off the 3 1/2-month break, was pleased by the performance.

“He ran a nice race,” said Hansen. “He went pretty even all the way.” Tribesman won for the first time since capturing the $100,000 Phoenix Gold Cup on Feb. 16. He earned $45,100 for his seventh victory in 14 starts while lifting his career earnings to $286,781.

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Gin and Sin edges clear in Tri-State.

Gin and Sin, ridden by Bill Troilo, edged past front-running Voy Por Uno Mas at the furlong pole before drawing off to a 1 3/4-length triumph Saturday in the $50,000 Tri-State Handicap at Ellis Park in Henderson, Ky.

Bred and owned by Silverton Hill Farm and trained by Greg Compton, Gin and Sin finished 1 1/16 miles in 1:42.14 over a firm grass course. The victory was the second in a row on the Ellis turf, and the 12th of 45 overall, for Gin and Sin, an 8-year-old gelding by Go for Gin. He now has earned $530,377.

Among the six betting interests, four ranged between 2.40-1 and 2.90-1, with Gin and Sin paying $7.40 as third choice. Vanquisher, the lukewarm favorite under Corey Lanerie, rallied for second, a half-length before Voy Por Uno Mas.

The Tri-State was the final stakes of the Ellis meet, which ends Monday with the feature race, an overnight handicap, named for the late Luke Kruytbosch.

Vacare beat Gotta Have Her and Kris Sis by a half-length Saturday. In the $200,000 Palomar Handicap at Del Mar.

Ridden by Corey Nakatani, Vacare rallied beside Gotta Have Her turning into the stretch and edged away nearing the wire, running the 1 1-16 miles on the turf course in 1:40.64. Gotta Have Her and Kris Sis tied second place.

Vacare paid $5.20, $3 and $2.80. Kris Sis returned $2.60 and $3.40, and Gotta Have Her paid $3.40 and $4.40.

It was the seventh victory in 11 lifetime starts for Vacare, a 5-year-old daughter of Lear Fan trained by Christophe Clement for owners John and Sarah Kelly.

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Buffalo Man rallies to win Monmouth Park feature.

Buffalo Man rallied from far back in the stretch to win the $150,000 Red Bank Stakes at Monmouth Park on Saturday, edging the favored Icy Atlantic by three-quarters of a length.

Trained by Cam Gambolati and ridden by Carlos H. Marquez Jr., the 4-year-old colt covered the mile over a firm turf course in 1:33 and paid $12, $6.80 and $4.60. The win in the Grade III race was Buffalo Mans second stakes victory this year.

The game plan was to save as much ground as possible and wait as long as I could to ask the horse, Marquez said. We sat off the early pace and waited. I knew this horse has a good turn of foot, so as soon as we saw daylight in the lane, he turned it on and outkicked everyone.

Icy Atlantic, who also made a strong stretch run but fell just short, returned $3.40 and $2.40, while Giant Wrecker was a head back in third and paid $2.60.

In the co-feature, Julia Tuttle never trailed and held on for a length victory over the favored One Man to Beat in the $65,000 Twin Lights Stakes.

Ridden by Horacio Karamanos and trained by Ferris Allen, the 3-year-old filly ran 1 1-8 miles over the firm turf course in 1:46 1-5 and returned $7.60, $4.80 and $3.20. One Man to Beat paid $3.80 and $2.80, while Sales Tax was a length back in third and returned $3.

With heavy favorite Lucky Island compromised by a troubled start. First Defence rolled to a 6 3/4-length victory in the $250,000 Forego Handicap Saturday at Saratoga Race Course.

A 4-year-old Unbridled’s Song colt owned by Juddmonte Farms, First Defence set fractions of 22.53 and 44.61 and completed the seven furlongs in 1:21.55. He paid $17.60 as the 7-1 third choice in the field of 10. Greeley’s Conquest edged Ferocious Fires for second, with Lucky Island finishing sixth.

It was the first Grade 1 victory for jockey Channing Hill. Hill, 21, replaced regular rider Javier Castellano, who accepted an assignment at Delaware Park.

While Lucky Island, the 3-4 favorite, stumbled leaving the gate, was squeezed by horses on either side of him, and was taken back to last by jockey Alan Garcia, First Defence broke alertly on the rail and was quickly involved in a three-way battle for the lead.

“I was concerned about the one post, you know how they always break ,” trainer Bobby Frankel said. “But he broke right with the field, and he just dragged him up to the lead. I was surprised he ran as good as he did.”

Hill was impressed with the way First Defence raced to the decisive win. “Coming to the three-eighths pole I figured everyone was going to have to really start running to catch us,” he said. “What a nice horse. He went 44 like he was going 47 and he just cruised around there.”

First Defence, winner of the Jaipur over a yielding turf course at Belmont Park on June 15, and the runner-up to Abraaj in the A.G. Vanderbilt on July 26, opened up on the competition in the stretch.

“If you watch his last few races he hasn’t been finishing,” Frankel said. “I was waiting for him to start slowing down a little bit and he just kept on going.”

Lucky Island’s chances of extending his winning streak to five and challenging the recently retired Benny the Bull for the sprint championship were over quickly. Garcia moved the colt into contention on the turn, but he could not sustain his run.

“He said he stumbled, broke poorly, and then he got wiped out,” said trainer Kiaran McLaughlin. “He came flying to make up a lot of ground, but you can’t win spotting the field that much ground.”

Slew Tiznow beat Young Joe by three lengths Friday in the featured $108,700 El Cajon Stakes at Del Mar.

Ridden by Rafael Bejarano, the 3-year-old ran a mile in 1:35.62 and paid $13, $7 and $3.80. Young Joe returned $7.20 and $3.60, and Cherokee Artist paid $3 to show.

The win was worth $65,220 for Slews Tiznow.

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Cocoa Beach wins Love Sign Stakes.

Cocoa Beach won the $91,950 Love Sign Stakes for fillies and mares Friday at Saratoga, beating Striking Tomisue by five lengths.

The Love Sign was Cocoa Beachs first start in the United States. The 4-year-old, bred in Chile, was an undefeated multiple stakes winner in four starts in her native country before being sold to the Dubai-based Godolphin Stable. She won two of four races in Dubai and handled six American opponents easily in the Love Sign.

Ramon Dominguez rode the Saeed bin Suroor-trained 3-5 betting favorite. She ran 1 1-8 miles in 1:51.50 for seventh win in nine career starts and earned $55,170 for Godolphin.

Cocoa Beach paid $3.20, $2.70 and $2.30. Striking Tomisue returned $12.20 and $7, and Peach Flambe paid $5.10 to show.

Jockey Sandi Gann, who won 1,207 races during her 20-year career, announced her retirement on Friday.

The 45-year-old Gann was honored at Emerald Downs as every jockey in attendance stood in the winners circle to salute her after the nights second race.

After beginning her career on quarter horses in 1985, Gann moved to thoroughbreds two years later and became the first female jockey to win a riding title at Turf Paradise in 1992. She rode 194 horses to victory at Emerald Downs and finished in the top 10 in both 2002 and 2003.

Gann posted her final victory on The Liver Is Evil on August 21 at Emerald Downs.

Curlin, the world best thoroughbred on dirt, faces seven challengers Saturday. In the $500,000 Woodward Stakes at Saratoga Race Course.

Only a second-place finish on grass in the July 13 Man o War Stakes at Belmont Park blemishes nearly a year of dominance for the champion 3-year-old of 2007. Curlin has won the Jockey Club Gold Cup, Breeders Cup Classic, Dubai World Cup and Stephen Foster Handicap.

He brings $9.46 million in earnings to his Saratoga debut, third highest all-time, and is positioned to overtake Skip Away, whose career total is more than $9.6 million. A win at the Woodward Stakes would move him closer to Cigar, who retired in 1996 with almost $10 million in earnings.

A victory would put Curlin in elite company. Past winners of the Woodward include Seattle Slew and Affirmed, the last two winners of the Triple Crown. Alysheba, Cigar, Mineshaft, Ghostzapper and Saint Liam, were all winners of this race in seasons when each earned a Horse of the Year title.

One of the great things about (principal owner Jess Jackson) keeping him in training is being able to run in a race with this history, said Scott Blasi, chief assistant to Steve Asmussen, who trains Curlin. There are only so many opportunities. Weve never dodged anyone, never had anything given to us. Hes always earned it.

While Curlin advances toward a successful defense of his Horse of the Year title, his opponents in the Wood, while stopping short of concession, agree that the 3-5 favorite in an imposing presence.

I have a lot of respect for Curlin, said Kiaran McLaughlin, who trains Divine Park, winner of the prestigious Metropolitan Handicap in May at Belmont Park. If both of us have a perfect day, hes better than us. But I am confident we have the best chance to beat him.

Trainer Todd Pletcher, who will challenge Curlin with 6-year-old A.P. Arrow, is hoping other forces are at work in his favor.

Were going to hope for the mystique of Saratoga and the Graveyard of Champions and all that stuff, Pletcher said. We need all of those stars to align and all the planets to align and we need everything, and then some, to go right. Hes a better horse at this stage, but well see. Things happen sometimes.

The Ottawa Senators traded defenseman Andrej Meszaros to Tampa Bayon Friday for defensemen Filip Kuba. And Alexandre Picard and a first-round pick in 2009.

Meszaros had nine goals, 27 assists and 50 penalty minutes in 82 regular-season games for the Senators last season, his third in the NHL.

The 22-year-old Slovak was a first-round pick in 2004.

Kuba, from the Czech Republic, had six goals, 25 assists and 40 penalty minutes in 75 games last season. Picard had three goals, three assists and 10 penalty minutes in 24 games with the Philadelphia Flyers and the Lightning last season.

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Lightning acquire D Meszaros from Senators.

The Tampa Bay Lightning strengthened their blue line Friday, acquiring restricted free agent Andrej Meszaros from the Ottawa Senators for fellow defensemen Filip Kuba and Alexandre Picard.

The Senators also obtained the San Jose Sharks 2009 first-round pick, which the Lightning acquired in a previous deal.

Unable to come to terms on a new contract with Meszaros, Ottawa found a trade partner in Tampa Bay, which has undergone an enormous transformation since a new ownership group led by Oren Koules and Len Barrie took over the franchise in mid-June. In addition to naming Barry Melrose their new coach, the Lightning have added goaltender Olaf Kolzig, defenseman Matt Carle and forwards Vaclav Prospal, Gary Roberts, March Recchi, Radim Vrbata and Ryan Malone, among others, to their roster.

We are very excited to acquire the rights of Andrej Meszaros, Tampa Bay executive vice president of hockey operations Brian Lawton said. Andrej is a perfect fit within our plan to rebuild the Lightning into a contender. He has a strong all-around game, he competes, he moves the puck and he can handle big, strong forwards defensively.

Perhaps more importantly, were pleased to add a 22-year-old player with almost 250 NHL games already under his belt. We know Andrej will continue to grow and improve as he matures with the rest of our defense.

Drafted 23rd overall by the Senators in 2004, Meszaros recorded nine goals and 27 assists in 82 games last season. The 6-2, 218-pound Slovakian netted a career-high six power-play tallies and ranked third on the team with 100 blocked shots.

Meszaros, who represented his country at the 2006 Winter Olympics, led all rookies in 2005-06 and finished third overall in the league with a plus-34 rating. Yet to miss a game during his three-year career, he collected 26 goals, 84 assists and 213 penalty minutes in 246 contests with the Senators.

Kuba, 31, notched six goals and 25 assists in 75 games with the Lightning in 2007-08. The 6-5, 225-pound Czech, who was an eighth-round pick of Florida in 1995, has registered 55 tallies, 207 points and 239 penalty minutes in 531 career contests with the Panthers, Minnesota Wild and Lightning.

Acquired from Philadelphia in February, the 23-year-old Picard scored three goals and set up three others in 20 games with Tampa Bay last campaign after going scoreless in four contests with the Flyers. The 2003 third-round pick has scored six goals and recorded 28 points in 92 career games with the Flyers and Lightning.

Wed like to thank Filip Kuba and Alexandre Picard for their service to the Lightning, Lawton said. Its hard letting go of players that we like, but as we all know, you cant get something for nothing.

The Columbus Blue Jackets on Friday signed left wing Maksim Mayorov to a three-year contract.

Financial terms were not disclosed.
Selected in the fourth round of the 2007 draft, the 19-year-old Mayorov spent last season in his native Russia with Ak Bars Kazan, recording one goal and 16 penalty minutes in 11 games. The 6-2, 198-pounder registered six tallies and 10 points in 28 contests with Leninogorsk of the Russian Junior League in 2006-07.

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Mats Sundin to play charity hockey game in Toronto next week.

Mats Sundin is coming back to Toronto to play in a charity hockey game.
While the Swede still hasnt decided if hell return to the NHL this season, he has signed on to participate in the Festival Cup at Air Canada Centre on Sept. 5.

The game will feature NHLers and celebrities playing in support of Right To Play, an international charitable organization that uses sport to improve the lives of children and communities affected by war, poverty and disease.

Speculation about Sundins future has grabbed headlines all summer. His decision to join several other recognizable NHLers will only add to the profile of the major charity event.

Thats huge, said Boston Bruins defenceman Andrew Ference, another participant.

Sundin has been notably absent from skating sessions in his native Sweden this summer while trying to decide whether he wants to return for another season. Hes spent the last 14 years in Toronto but has received contract offers from a number of teams, including the Maple Leafs.

However, his desire to get back on skates next week doesnt seem to be motivated by anything more than the chance to help a charity.

Ference was one of the first hockey players to get involved with Right To Play. He and Steve Montador travelled to Tanzania last summer and visited orphanages and schools where the organization has set up programs for children.

The 29-year-old spent most of this summer in British Columbia and is looking forward to making his way to Toronto next week to support Right To Play – All they have to do is call me and ask me for something like that and its an immediate yes, he said.

Joining him and Sundin at the Festival Cup will be fellow NHLers Joe Thornton, Jason Spezza, Steven Stamkos, Mike Green, Curtis Joseph, Matt Stajan, Robyn Regehr, Mike Cammalleri, Wojtek Wolski, Derek Roy and Sean Avery. The celebrities include Tim Robbins, Alan Thicke, Juno director Jason Reitman, D.B. Sweeney and Cameron Bancroft.

The honourary captains for the game are Doug Gilmour and Luc Robitaille.

Its a night that Ference is excited to be part of.

We dont have the time to go out and be the true workers, which are the volunteers that spend a year in Africa, he said. We dont have that liberty but we can definitely do our part back here just to get people to realize what its all about.

I think thats working.

And for that reason, he welcomes all the attention that is bound to come with Sundins appearance in Toronto.

With awareness, comes more support from the public, said Ference.

Tickets for the game cost $25 and can be purchased through Ticketmaster or at the Air Canada Centre box office.