Fast Break
Horse racing
California will ban steroids
The California Horse Racing Board has unanimously adopted a regulation that effectively bans anabolic steroids in horses running in the state, paving the way for the Breeders’ Cup to be run steroid-free this fall at Santa Anita.
The board moved the anabolic steroids testosterone, boldenone, nandrolone, and stanozolol into a higher classification, so that now, without exception, any steroid violation will result in the disqualification of the horse.
Under new penalties, violations could result in a minimum 30-day suspension.
Among the board members who unanimously approved the change were actress Bo Derek and former A&M Records founder and thoroughbred owner Jerry Moss.
Steroid testing began July 1, and for now, the board will send out warnings to horsemen when testosterone, boldenone, nandrolone, and stanozolol are detected in official samples.
Meanwhile, the Aug. 17 conclusion of the San Mateo County Fair meeting will mark the finale of racing at Bay Meadows in Northern California. The San Mateo track is set for demolition later this year to make way for other uses. Most of the racing dates assigned to Bay Meadows will be moved to Golden Gate Fields in the San Francisco suburb of Albany.
Baseball
Those wild Dust Devils
The Tri-City Dust Devils’ staff has thrown 33 wild pitches in the first 31 games of the season, with the latest leading to two Boise runs Friday night during a 4-2 Northwest League loss to the Hawks at Gesa Stadium in Pasco.
The loss was the Dust Devils’ seventh in a row, matching their longest streak since last July. Tri-City lost nine games in a row in mid-August 2004.
Baseball
This is where he parts with them
The last living teammate of Babe Ruth isn’t wild about today’s ballplayers.
“I don’t like the appearance of a lot of the players,” 100-year-old Bill Werber told NBC News, adding that he hasn’t attended a game in four or five years.
“The hair’s too long,” said Werber, the oldest living former major league baseball player. “Their beards are too evident. They’re a grubby looking bunch of caterwaulers.”
No mention of how Werber felt about the Gashouse Gang of the 1930s or Charlie Finley’s Oakland A’s of the 1970s.