Espoir City coasted to victory in the $4,7 million Japan Cup Dirt on Sunday, with the favorite finishing comfortably ahead of Silk Mobius.

Espoir City led from the start and crossed the line at Hanshin Race Course in 1 minute, 49.9 seconds, 3-1/2 lengths ahead of Silk Mobius. Golden Ticket was third.

Belmont Stakes winner Summer Bird was ruled out of the race after a small chip was detected in his right front carpal bone during track work at Hanshin in late November.

Brazilian-bred mare Zardana rallied to win the $150,000 Bayakoa Handicap at Hollywood Park on Saturday, giving trainer John Shirreffs a record fifth victory in the race.

Ridden by Victor Espinoza, the 5-year-old long shot sat third on the back stretch in the field of 10 fillies and mares, moved up to second in the homestretch and beat Silver Swallow by 1 1/4 lengths, covering 1 1-16 miles in 1:42.24.

Zardana paid $24, $9.80 and $6.20. Silver Swallow paid $5.40 and $3.80. Cat by the Tale returned $4.40 to show.

The favorite, Teamgeist, was never a factor and finished sixth.

Zardanas win continued a huge year for females from Shirreffs barn. His 4-year-old filly Life is Sweet won the Breeders Cup Ladies Classic on Nov. 6, and the next day 5-year-old Zenyatta completed one of the greatest years ever for a mare, beating the boys in the Breeders Cup Classic to retire at 14-0.

Shirreffs won the Bayakoa twice with Manistique in 1998 and 1999, with Starrer in 2002 and with Hollywood Story in 2004.

Zardana has won seven times in 17 starts and earned $293,421.

A fire ripped through a horse barn at a county fairgrounds Saturday in southwest Ohio, killing two men and 43 horses, authorities said.

The barn roof had already collapsed by the time firefighters arrived at the Warren County Fairgrounds, about 25 miles northeast of Cincinnati, according to Capt. Krista Wyatt of the Lebanon Fire Department. The fire was reported about 5 a.m.

The bodies of the men were pulled from the barn and were badly burned, said Shane Cartmill, a spokesman for the Ohio State Fire Marshal. Officials were trying to identify the men Saturday afternoon.

Lamar Moody, lead trainer at Lebanon Raceway, a harness racing track based at the fairgrounds, said two of his employees were not accounted for.

No one was supposed to be in the stables overnight and it was not clear if the two men killed were working early or sleeping in the barn.

There was a sign on the building that said people we not supposed to sleep in there, said Victor Gray, a Lebanon resident who lost three horses in the fire.

The cause of the blaze was under investigation, but state fire investigators say they have ruled out criminal intent.

Horse owners stood stunned as they watched heavy machinery peal back the metal roof of the collapsed structure so firefighters could sift through the debris and extinguish what remained of the blaze. The barn was about the length of a football field.

In 1988, a fire in a similar part of the county-owned racetrack and fairgrounds killed 35 horses. No one was killed in that fire.

Big Push overcame a bobble at the start and a claim of foul to beat African King by two lengths in the $65,950 Chan Balum Stakes for 3-year-olds at Aqueduct.

David Cohen was aboard as Big Push overcame the early mishap Thursday to set the pace, running the six furlongs in 1:09.73 over the track labeled good.

Big Push paid $10.60, $3.80 and $2.60. African King, the 4-5 favorite, returned $2.70 and $2.20. Top Seed earned $3.10 to show.

Jorge Chavez, the rider of African King, lodged an objection against the winner, alleging interference on the backstretch. The stewards dismissed the claim following a review.

Trained by Steve Klesaris as the Fair Hills Center in Maryland, Big Push got his first win of the season on dirt.

Saucey Evening emerged from a four-horse pack at the 16th pole to win the $61,150 Starine Stakes on Thursday at Hollywood Park.

Ridden by Jose Valdivia Jr., Saucey Evening finished a neck ahead of Spirit Seeker with Hermiones Magic another neck back in third. Saucey Evening covered the one-mile Lakeside Turf Course in 1:35.61 and paid $23.20, $9.40 and $5 as the favorite.

Spirit Seeker returned $5.40 and $3.62, while Hermiones Magic paid $3.20 to show.

The victory, worth $39,810, increased Saucey Evenings career earnings to $351,939, with four wins in 12 starts for trainer H. Graham Motion.

Seven months after the first steroid testing at the Kentucky Derby, racing officials took steps Tuesday to ensure the right horses – not necessarily the best ones – are screened for performance-enhancing drugs at other races statewide.

In unanimously approving a new testing procedure, the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission became the first major racing jurisdiction to implement key elements from a 1991 study aimed at making drug testing more efficient.

Under the current system, stewards take blood and urine samples from the winner of every race and at least one other horse of their choosing, typically a beaten favorite or long shot who finishes in the money. Those samples are then analyzed by the states testing lab at the University of Florida and screened for steroids and other banned substances.

In the new procedure, samples will likely be taken from more horses, but fewer of them will actually be analyzed. For example, favorites who win as expected might only be screened half the time, randomly selected by the lab. Instead, there would be additional scrutiny of horses that finish lower but are deemed suspicious.

All samples – even those not screened – will be retained by the lab. If there is a positive test, every sample collected from the race in question would be analyzed.

The deterrent factor remains high, but we can be more efficient in our expenditure of a racetracks testing dollar, said Mary Scollay, Kentuckys equine medical director.

From March 4 through Aug. 31, Kentucky was billed $455,400 for post-race blood and urine testing. Scollay estimates costs will be 25 to 30 percent lower under the new system.

The change will have less effect on the higher end stakes races like the Kentucky Derby because there is a provision in the new guidelines requiring the sampling – and testing – of at least the top three finishers of any race with purses topping $100,000.

However, it is extremely rare for a positive test to turn up in a race of that level. In this years Derby, for example – the first to test for anabolic steroids – the top four finishers were deemed by the lab as clean of steroids and other illegal performance-enhancing drugs.

Irregularities are still rare – albeit somewhat more common – in the lower-end claiming or allowance races.

It just comes down to basics, said John Ward, a member of the racing commission. Why run a bunch of tests if we can be more efficient and still prove our business model is safe?

Racing commission executive director Lisa Underwood said Kentucky is the first state to dust off the recommendations from the 1991 McKinsey Report, which aimed to make testing better yet cheaper, but she predicts it wont be the last.

She is making a presentation next week to the Association of Racing Commissioners International, which represents racing jurisdictions across the United States and Canada, and several of those states also have indicated an interest in what Kentucky is doing.

It has taken a group of people who really wanted to make it happen get together and pool their brainpower, Underwood said. Were the first state to actually take the time and energy to do that.

Tony McCoy will ride Forpadydeplasterer when the Arkle Chase winner runs in the Keith Prowse Hospitality Tingle Creek Chase at Sandown Park on Saturday.

With Barry Geraghty opting to partner Big Zeb, McCoy steps in for the mount aboard a horse whose trainer, Tom Cooper, is anxious to learn whether he should persist with the minimum trip. The champion jockey has never ridden Forpadydeplasterer, the mount of Geraghty on his past five outings.

AP is standing by, Cooper said yesterday. Its an important run for us because we want to know where we stand. It could be that two miles in this class is on the short side, but to make a proper judgment you have to have the right conditions.

To that end Cooper is hoping the forecast rain stays away. Good-to-soft ground would be ideal, he said. Im very pleased with the horse. He has made considerable improvement from his last run, so we will have one try against the big boys and make plans from there.

The two-mile test has drawn a strong field despite Master Mindeds enforced absence. Paul Nicholls, the trainer of Master Minded, saddles Twist Magic as he strives to win the prize for the fifth consecutive year. Also in the line-up is Well Chief, who finished third to Moscow Flyer in the race five years ago and prevailed on his reappearance at Cheltenham last month.

David Johnson, who owns Well Chief, is looking forward to watching his injury-prone chaser, who is trained by David Pipe, in action. David is very pleased with him and there will be no excuses, Johnson said. I expect him to get there and run his race. Beyond that, may the best horse win.

However, Cooper nominated Big Zeb as the one to beat, although that horses suspect jumping offers a ray of light. He was very impressive at Navan last month but Saturday will be a different kettle of fish, Cooper said. We will see then how his jumping holds up.

A relatively unknown talent to British racegoers, Big Zeb fell on his only previous visit for the Champion Chase. And only a final-fence blunder stopped him from beating Master Minded at Punchestown in April.

He made a bit of a hash of the last and probably paid the penalty, Colm Murphy, trainer of Big Zeb, said. In his defence, he was a second-season chaser taking on the big boys and should be better for the experience. He was very good at Navan last time and has taken that race well.

Geraghty is able to continue his association with Big Zeb because Nicky Henderson, who retains the Irish jockey, has chosen to run Petit Robin in the Peterborough Chase at Huntingdon tomorrow week. Others to bypass the Tingle Creek include Tidal Bay and Crack Away Jack, who runs instead in the Henry VIII Novices Chase on the same Sandown card.

We wanted to have a look at the big one because the horse is so quick over his obstacles, Emma Lavelle, the trainer of Crack Away Jack, said, but I imagine we will run against the novices. The wet weather has frustrated Lavelles efforts to run Kangaroo Court, another promising novice who will now be rested until the ground improves.

Henderson remains baffled by the poor showing of Binocular at Newcastle last Saturday. His blood tests have come back fine, the trainer said, but I rather feel that something will come to light. I just cant explain it, and Im not inclined to blame the tactics or the slowly-run race.

Another hurdling stalwart has run his last race after Noel Meade yesterday elected to retire Harchibald, who ran lifelessly at Dundalk last week. He came back feeling a bit sore and we dont want to knock him about any more, Meade said of the horse who many felt should have won the 2005 Champion Hurdle.

No inspection is planned for todays rescheduled card at Fairyhouse, where Dunguib, Hardy Eustace and Catch Me are among those engaged in the three grade one races.