Fast Break
Horse racing
Barbaro gets own stakes race
The Sir Barton Stakes has a new name – the Barbaro Stakes.
One of the several stakes on the Preakness undercard at Pimlico, the race was renamed in honor of the Kentucky Derby winner recovering from a shattered right hind leg suffered during the May 20 running of the second jewel of the Triple Crown.
“Barbaro has become the most popular racehorse in the country because of his courageous battle to overcome such a severe injury,” said Lou Raffetto, president of the Maryland Jockey Club.
The first Barbaro Stakes is set for May 19.
The Sir Barton Stakes, named after the first horse to capture the Triple Crown in 1919, debuted at Pimlico in 1993.
Figure skating
Cleveland to host 2009 Nationals
The U.S. Figure Skating Championships will be held in Cleveland in 2009, the second time in a decade that city will host the event.
Nationals are tentatively scheduled for Jan. 18-25, 2009, at Quicken Loans Arena. More than 250 skaters at the novice, junior and senior levels compete at nationals, and it draws fans from all over the country.
The 2000 nationals set an attendance record of 119,044. That mark was topped two years later in Los Angeles, where 125,345 fans attended nationals.
The 2007 nationals will be in Spokane from Jan. 21-28. St. Paul, Minn., will be the site of nationals in 2008.
SportsLink
Conference play just around bend
With a little break in the basketball season, it’s a good time to reflect on the fortunes of the area basketball teams.
Join online columnist Vince Grippi as he dissects Thursday night’s games involving all four area Division I men’s teams. For Washington State and Eastern Washington, the conference season starts Thursday. Gonzaga still has the Battle in Seattle on Dec. 30 against Nevada and a date with Virginia in Charlottesville on Jan. 3 before opening conference play Jan. 6. Idaho hosts South Dakota State on Dec. 30 and opens conference Jan. 4.
Keep up on all the local sports news online at spokesmanreview.com/ sports.