SLAM! SPORTS: 2000 IN REVIEW

Tiznow, second in a maiden race May 11, five days after Fusaichi Pegasus won the Derby, won the $4.77 million Breeders' Cup Classic. Fusaichi Pegasus finished sixth in the race Nov. 6, his last before being retired to breeding under a syndication worth from $60 million to $70 million.

The big off-track story was the death of jockey Chris Antley from severe head trauma Dec. 2 at his home in Pasadena, Calif. Antley had struggled with drug and alcohol abuse and police were investigating the death as a homicide.

Antley, who won the Kentucky Derby on Strike the Gold in 1991 and on Charismatic in 1999, helped save Charismatic's life after the horse broke two bones in his left front leg while finishing third in the Belmont Stakes in a bid to win the Triple Crown.

The injury occurred in the deep stretch, and Antley pulled the colt up shortly after the finish, dismounted and held up the injured leg until veterinarians arrived. Charismatic was saved and retired to stud.

Also in 2000, three Hall of Fame jockeys reached milestones.

The retired Julie Krone became the first woman inducted into National Racing Hall of Fame

On July 4, Russell Baze got victory No. 7,000 aboard This Is the Moment at the Alameda Country Fair in Pleasanton, Calif.

Laffit Pincay Jr., the winningest jockey in history, got win No. 9,000 on Chichim in the California Cup Distaff on Oct. 28 at Santa Anita.

The Japanese-owned Fusaichi Pegasus won his first five starts as a 3-year-old, including the Kentucky Derby, and it appeared he would be the fourth straight colt to take a shot at winning the Triple Crown for the first time since Affirmed in 1978.

Fusaichi Pegasus, however, finished second to Red Bullet in Preakness. The colt, trained Neil Drysdale and ridden by Kent Desormeaux, missed the Belmont Stakes because of a minor foot problem and didn't race again until he won the Jerome Handicap Sept. 23 at Belmont Park. He next raced in the Breeders' Cup Classic.

Red Bullet also skipped the Belmont Stakes, won by Commendable. It was the first time since 1970 that the Kentucky Derby winner (Dust Commander) and the Preakness winner (Personality) did not start in the final race of the Triple Crown.

Tiznow, owned by Michael Cooper and Ceci Straub-Rubens, who died shortly after the colt's victory in the Breeders' Cup Classic at Churchill Downs, did not race as a 2-year-old.

The colt, trained by Jay Robbins and ridden by Chris McCarron, won a maiden race in his third start. He then had four wins and three seconds in seven starts, all stakes. He ran against older horses in winning the Pacific Classic at Del Mar and in the Breeders' Cup Classic.

Frank Stronach's Macho Uno, trained by Joe Orseno and ridden by Jerry Bailey, became the early favorite for the 2001 Kentucky Derby by making the Breeders' Cup Juvenile his third victory in four starts.

Lemon Drop Kid, Jeanne Vance's tough campaigner, also concluded his career in the Breeders' Cup Classic, finishing fifth. The 4-year-old colt, trained by Scotty Schulhofer and ridden by Edgar Prado, also finished fifth in the Jockey Club Gold Cup at Belmont after successive victories in the Brooklyn and Suburban handicaps at Belmont, the Whitney Handicap at Saratoga and Belmont's Woodward Invitational.

Hallowed Dreams won the Dixie Miss Stakes at Louisiana Downs on July 19 for her 16th straight win, tying the record held by Hall of Fame horses Citation and Cigar. But the 3-year-old filly, trained and co-owned by Lloyd Romero, lost her next start. One of Romero's sons is Randy, a former top jockey.

Other prominent racing people who died during the year included trainers Sonny Hine and Lucien Laurin and owners-breeders Allen Paulson and Fred Hooper.

Hine, who was 69, trained Skip Away, 1998 Horse of the Year, and Laurin, who was 88, trained Secretariat, 1973 Triple Crown champion.

Paulson, who owned Cigar, died at 78. Hooper, winner of the 1945 Kentucky Derby with Hoop Jr., the first horse he ever owned, died at 102.