Here and There...

TheTexas Thoroughbred Associationis hosting an online breeding season package auction to more than 75 Thoroughbred stallions on its website until Nov. 30. To participate in the private, secure auction, go to www.texasthoroughbred.com and click on the "Auction Ring" button on the left side of your screen. Following a simple registration process, you will be eligible to bid on as many breeding seasons as you wish. Each stallion season has a pre-set minimum bid that can be increased in $100 increments, as well as pedigree information and a direct link to the farm where the stallion is standing. Once you place a bid on a stallion season, you will be immediately notified by email if you are out-bid by another auction participant. All bids will close at 5 p.m. Central Time on Friday, Nov. 30, at which time the highest bidder of each stallion season will be declared the winner. Winning bidders will be notified by email on Dec 3. Payment in full is due by Dec31, 2001 for seasons selling for less than $10,000; for seasons selling for $10,000 or more, payment is due by Sept 1, 2002. ...Phase one of barn improvements at Thistledown will begin Dec. 3. The Cleveland-area track is planning to construct six new barns with 30 stalls each....The NTRA will present checks to 11 New York-area charities Thursday, disbursing $2.25 million from the NTRA-Heroes Fund ...Tim Capps, vice president of the Maryland Horse Breeders Association and executive director of Maryland Million Ltd., will rejoin the Maryland Jockey Club as an executive vice president effective Jan. 1. The Baltimore Sun quoted MJC president Joe De Francis as saying Capps would help build relationships between the MJC and horsemen and breeders. "This is a challenging time for the Maryland racing industry, but it is also a time of great opportunity," Capps said...Jim McAlpine, president and CEO of Magna Entertainment Corp., is scheduled to participate in a panel discussion entitled "Analyzing the Marketplace" at this year's Symposium on Racing, Dec. 4-8 in Tucson, Arizona. The panel that includes McAlpine will be held Dec. 6. Sponsored by the University of Arizona Race Track Industry Program, the symposium will he held at Lowe's Ventana Canyon Resort in Tucson, Arizona...Simulcasting has been suspended at Will Rogers Downs in Oklahoma, but live racing will continue, at least through the 2002 season. The track plans to hold a 12-day live meet in November next year. The simulcast parlor closed following the Oct. 27 Breeders' Cup World Thoroughbred Championships. Gordon Hare, executive director of the Oklahoma Racing Commission, said track management informed the commission of the decision to suspend simulcast operations at the commission's regularly scheduled October meeting. Hare said track officials cited the historically slow business during November and December as the reason for not offering simulcasts. Hare said Will Rogers Downs has a license to conduct simulcasting beginning Jan. 1.