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Singapore Profiles - Trainer Desmond Koh

Before becoming a local trainer in Singapore, Desmond Koh worked as an assistant trainer in the USA. Koh worked under Hall of Fame trainer Jack Van Berg for a while.

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Dixie Chatter Filly in Quick Barretts Breeze

A daughter of Dixie Chatter breezed a quarter-mile in :21, and 11 other 2-year-olds went a furlong in :10 at the May 10 under tack preview for the Barretts May 2-year-old sale in Pomona, Calif.

Hollywood Park to Close in December

Betfair Hollywood Park, in a May 9 letter, said it told the California Horse Racing Board it won't seek 2014 racing dates and will close at the end of its fall meet Dec. 22.

George Krikorian Appointed to CHRB

Governor Jerry Brown appointed George Krikorian to the California Horse Racing Board. The multiple graded stakes winning owner is president and CEO of Krikorian Premiere Theatres and president of George Krikorian Stables.

Gomez Signs Two-Year Endorsement with Fuse

The agreement with leading jockey is the company's first in Thoroughbred racing.

Medication Rules for Major Racing States

Therapeutic substances for major racing states, including substances, restricted administrative time, thresholds, and route of administration.

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Firm Turf Helps Halo Dolly Find Winning Form

Halo Dolly returned to winning form when teamed with Rafael Bejarano for the first time April 28, scoring a 1 1/2-length victory in the $100,000 Wilshire Handicap (gr. IIIT) on firm turf at Betfair Hollywood Park.

Surfcup Gets First Stakes Win in Snow Chief

The winner is a homebred for Don Dizney, who also bred and raced the winner's dam and granddam.

New Calif. Sports Betting Bill Gets Started

A revived bill to allow sports betting at California horse racing enclosures and other gambling establishments cleared its first committee test during the week of April 22.

Santa Anita Registers Increased Handle

The Arcadia, Calif., track received final handle figures for its winter-spring meeting April 25. Handle improved 3% to $710,813,700. That increase came during a first quarter that saw U.S. handle decline 2.81%.

Longtime Trainer Robert Wingfield Dies

Longtime California-based trainer Robert "Bobby" Wingfield died April 13, according to his son-in-law, Darrel McHargue, a racing steward at Golden Gate Fields. Wingfield was 84.

What's Going On Here: Clarity and Cooperation

A better presentation would be helpful, as would better information.

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Baffert: 'Deaths are Personally Troubling'

Trainer Bob Baffet said his team is working with the state of California to find the causes behind sudden deaths in his barn.

CHRB: No Spike in Sudden Deaths

Officials with the California Horse Racing Board vigorously contested reports that the state has seen any spike or even a significant increase in the number of sudden death cases statewide.

First Winner for Freshman Sire Idiot Proof

Freshman sire Idiot Proof was represented by his first winner March 18 when the 2-year-old filly On Autopilot won the first race at Mexico's Hipodromo de las Americas.

Baffert Horses Big Part of Sudden Death Spike

Sudden deaths in California from cardiac failure rose from six in fiscal year 2011 to 11 over the same period in 2012. Seven of the horses were in Bob Baffert's barn; a cause has not been determined.

Breeders' Cup Unveils 2013 Challenge Series

Breeders' Cup will offer 67 automatic qualifying races for its 2013 World Championships, including 48 grade or group I races around the world.

Trainer Shirreffs to Try East Coast String

Trainer John Shirreffs will leave the West Coast to run a string at Belmont Park at the end of April, according to a March 20 report from the Los Angeles Times.

CHRB Dismisses Positives, Cites Contamination

The California Horse Racing Board, citing feed contamination, has dismissed 48 positive tests for zilpaterol, which is used in cattle.

Exchange Wagering Facing Delay in California

Implementation of exchange wagering in California will be delayed for several months after the state's Office of Administrative Law rejected provisions approved earlier this year by the California Horse Racing Board.

Breeders' Cup Reduces Entry Fees, Pays Travel

The Breeders' Cup will pay $40,000 for horses shipping from outside North America, and $10,000 for domestic horses shipping to California, for the 2013 World Championships. Entry fees will also be dropped from 3% to 2%.

Handle Up, Revenue Flat at TVG

Improved handle failed to translate to increased revenue at advance-deposit wagering company TVG Network during the three-month period ending Jan. 31.

Biancone Signs for $570,000 War Front Colt

Trainer Patrick Biancone signed the ticket on a $570,000 War Front colt March 4 at the Barretts Select 2-year-olds in training sale.

Coolmore Buys Dunkirk Colt for $575,000

The strapping gray colt sold at the Barretts select 2-year-old sale March 4. Hip 67 was sold by Bruno DeBerdt's Excel Bloodstock as agent.

Suggestive Boy Wins Kilroe Mile Thriller

Pozo de Luna's Argentine-bred Suggestive Boy held off a late-flying Silentio by a nose in a thrilling edition of the $300,000 Frank E. Kilroe Mile (gr. IT) at Santa Anita Park March 2.

Barretts and Fairplex Park Combine

Barretts Equine Limited and Fairplex Park have been combined and renamed Barretts Sales & Racing. The Thoroughbred auction house and racetrack name change is effective immediately.

Former Jockey, Racing Official Volzke Dies

Merlin Volzke, a former jockey and California racing official, died peacefully at his home in Sacramento on the night of Feb. 21 night. He was 87.

California Again Amends Rule to Void Claims

A claim made on a horse running in California will be voided if the animal is placed on the official veterinarian's list as lame or unsound following the race, under a rule adopted by the state's horse racing board Feb. 21.

Affirmative to Farrell Jones Center in Calif.

Affirmative, a 14-year-old son of Unbridled, will stand in 2013 at Farrell Jones Layup Center near Hemet, Calif., for a private treaty.

First Foal for Bold Chieftain a Filly

Graded stakes winner Bold Chieftain was represented by his first reported foal when a filly was born Feb. 2 at Sue Greene's Woodbridge Farm in Oakdale, Calif.

Southeast Regional: Bart Time

From polo champion to Wasted Tears, Bart Evans knows horses.

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Acclamation Named Calif. Horse of the Year

Acclamation was named 2012 Horse of the Year by the California Thoroughbred Breeders Association, becoming the eighth multiple winner of the honor.

Street Life to Lovacres Ranch

Street Life, a multiple stakes winner by Street Sense, has been retired from racing to stand in 2013 at Terry Lovingier's Lovacres Ranch near Warner Springs, Calif.

2013 Breeders' Cup Logo Unveiled

The Breeders' Cup has unveiled the official event logo for this year's World Championships at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, Calif.

Two Promoted at Del Mar Thoroughbred Club

Two Del Mar Thoroughbred Club executives have been promoted "to reflect the organization's top-level leadership team's equal stature and balance."

Major California Runner Variety Road Dies

Variety Road, a California grade I winner who battled such stars as Broad Brush, Snow Chief, and Ferdinand, was euthanized Jan. 14 at age 30 because of the infirmities of old age.

137 Cataloged to Barretts March Sale

Barretts has cataloged 137 juveniles for its March sale of selected 2-year-olds in training that will be held March 4 in the Hinds Pavilion located on the grounds of Fairplex Park in Pomona, Calif.

Grade II Winner Informed Sires First Foal

The first reported foal by multiple grade II winner Informed is a filly born Jan. 18 at Pat Thompson's Ridgeley Farm.

Juveniles Shine at Barretts Mixed Sale

Two juveniles from the H & E Ranch consignment had local trainers buzzing at the Jan. 22 Barretts mixed sale in Pomona, Calif., and by sale's end Mike Harrington and Jim Cassidy ended up with them.

New Head of Calif. Operations for Stronach

Former CHRB chairman Keith Brackpool bought a minority equity stake in The Stronach Group. He is now on the company's board of directors and has been appointed chairman of its racing operations in California.

Midnight Interlude Added to Barretts Sale

Midnight Interlude, winner of the 2011 Santa Anita Derby (gr. I), headlines the supplemental catalog for the Barretts January mixed sale.

Retired Trainer Lin Wheeler Dies

Lin Wheeler, a retired West Coast trainer whose father, Robert Wheeler, is in the Hall of Fame as a trainer, died Jan. 5 at his California home.

Mel Stute to Return Home After Hospital Stay

Retired trainer Mel Stute will be discharged from a rehab facility in Pomona, Calif., Dec. 29, according to his son, trainer Gary Stute.

Tiz Flirtatious Has Sights on Graded Frankel

Tiz Flirtatious seeks her first graded stakes victory in the $150,000 Robert J. Frankel Stakes (gr. IIIT) at Santa Anita Park Dec. 30, and seems primed to take it off an impressive runner-up finish in the Nov. 25 Matriarch.

Silentio Shows Style with Sir Beaufort Win

Silentio, a lightly-raced son of Japanese-bred stallion Silent Name, registered victory in his stakes debut in the $150,750 Sir Beaufort (gr. IIT) on the turf at Santa Anita Park on opening day of the winter meet.

Retired Trainer Stute Continues Recovery

Retired trainer Mel Stute, 85, still recuperating in Pomona, Calif., from a spill in which he suffered a head injury, hopes to celebrate Christmas with a post-holiday visit at a satellite facility for Santa Anita's opener.

Headley Retires Grade I Winner M One Rifle

M One Rifle, winner of the 2009 Malibu Stakes (gr. I), has been officially retired to trainer Bruce Headley's equine complex in Arcadia, Calif.

Empire Way, Swiss Yodeler to Lovacres Ranch

Empire Way, a grade II stakes-placed full brother to two-time Breeders' Cup winner Royal Delta, and veteran California stallion Swiss Yodeler will stand in 2013 at Terry Lovingier's Lovacres Ranch near Warner Springs, Calif.

California Group Modifies Workers' Comp Plan

With workers' compensation rates on the rise again in California, the Thoroughbred group overseeing the statewide pool for horsemen expects to use about $1 million from the purse account to stem a 2013 projected funding gap.

Larry Mabee of Golden Eagle Farm Dies

California breeder/owner Larry Mabee died Sunday, Dec. 16, of prostate cancer at his home in Rancho Santa Fe, Calif.