HORSE RACING
Zandon and filly Nest are the morning-line favorites for the 148th Kentucky Derby and Kentucky Oaks, respectively, at Churchill Downs, which will host both marquee races at full capacity for the first time since 2019.
Zandon, trained by Chad Brown, drew 3-1 odds on Monday and will start from the No. 10 post among 20 horses for the $3 million marquee event for 3-year-olds. The colt moved to second in Derby points behind Epicenter after rallying from the back of the field to win last month’s Blue Grass at Keeneland in Lexington. He has two wins, a second-place finish and a third in four career starts.
Epicenter, initially expected to be the Derby favorite following consecutive graded stakes wins including the Louisiana Derby in March, is the 7-2 second betting choice after drawing the No. 3 post. Messier, one of two colts trained by Tim Yakteen after he took over this spring for suspended Hall of Famer Bob Baffert, is the 8-1 third choice and will start from the No. 6 post.
Yakteen’s other entrant, Santa Anita Derby winner Taiba, is a 12-1 choice from the No. 12 post.
This weekend’s races will go off without Baffert after Churchill Downs suspended him for two years following Medina Spirit’s failed postrace drug test and eventual disqualification as the winner of last year’s Derby.
For the Oaks, Nest drew the No. 4 post among 14 fillies and is the 5-2 favorite for Friday’s $1.25 million, 1 1/8th-mile race. The Todd Pletcher-trained horse is coming off a dominant 8 1/4-length victory over Cocktail Moments in the Ashland Stakes at Keeneland, her third in a row and second this year.
Kathleen O. is the 7-2 second choice from the No. 10 post, with Echo Zulu the 4-1 third choice from the No. 7 post.
TENNIS
MADRID OPEN: In his first match on clay in nearly two years, Andy Murray defeated Dominic Thiem 6-3, 6-4 to advance to the second round in Spain. It was his first win on clay since 2017.
Simona Halep continued to impress by overpowering American teenager Coco Gauff 6-4, 6-4 to make the quarterfinals.
Halep will face eighth-seeded Ons Jabeur, who defeated Belinda Bencic 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 in a match interrupted by rain after the second set.
On the men’s side, Jannik Sinner saved three match points in beating Tommy Paul 6-7 (4), 7-6 (4), 6-3. He next has Alex de Minaur, who beat Pedro Martinez 7-6 (2), 1-6, 6-3.
Nikoloz Basilashvili defeated Fabio Fognini in straight sets to set up an encounter with Spanish sensation Carlos Alcaraz, who already has three titles this season: Rio de Janeiro, Miami and Barcelona.
COLLEGES
SOFTBALL: Bates and Southern Maine split a doubleheader at Gorham to cap the regular season.
Lauren Leidemann had two hits and one RBI to lead USM (23-14) to a 7-0 shutout win in the opener. Hannah Shields had an RBI double and Lauren Merrill allowed six hits in five innings to grab the win.
Sarah Cooke, Eliza McNulty and Aleah Pagan each had an RBI for Bates (9-17) in the second inning of the second game, with Pagan later scoring on a wild pitch. Danielle Polirer picked up the win, striking out five. Samantha Hauck and Morgan Roast both had an RBI in the second inning for USM.
• James Madison has canceled the remainder of its softball season as the school tries to cope with the suicide of one of its star players last week.
Lauren Bernett, a sophomore catcher and cleanup hitter for the Dukes, died April 25 following a stellar weekend series against Drexel, for which she was named the Colonial Athletic Association’s player of the week. The Medical Examiner for the Western District of Virginia ruled the death a suicide.
MEN’S BASKETBALL: Texas shooting guard Andrew Jones, whose college basketball career was interrupted for nearly two years by leukemia, has announced he will skip a final season with the Longhorns and turn pro.
Jones ranks ninth in scoring in program history with 1,620 points. He announced his decision to enter the NBA draft in a statement posted Sunday night on social media.
• BYU forward Caleb Lohner is transferring to Baylor, a return to his home state after two seasons with the Cougars.
Baylor Coach Scott Drew said the 6-foot-8, 235-pound forward had signed a financial-aid contract with the Big 12 Conference school. Lohner put his name in the transfer portal last month.
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL: American Athletic Conference player of the year Diamond Battles is following her coach to Georgia.
The Lady Bulldogs announced Battles is transferring from Central Florida, allowing her to continue playing for new Georgia coach Katie Abrahamson-Henderson.
Battles was a unanimous choice to the All-AAC first team this past season, also claiming defensive player of the year and MVP honors in the league tournament.
She will be a fifth-year senior for the Lady Bulldogs, who are preparing for their first season under the former UCF coach. Abrahamson-Henderson was hired by Georgia after Joni Taylor left for Texas A&M.
FOOTBALL: Scott Frost will be barred from coaching for five consecutive days this season as part of Nebraska’s negotiated settlement with the NCAA for allowing an unauthorized staff member to do hands-on special teams coaching two years ago.
The NCAA contacted Nebraska after a media report on the January 2021 resignation of special teams analyst Jonathan Rutledge and possible violations he committed in his role. Rutledge is now special teams coach at Division III Catholic University.
The NCAA said Monday that Frost failed to demonstrate he monitored Rutledge’s activities. Videos of practices showed Rutledge worked directly with players during special teams drills. Rutledge also was found to have assisted with or made tactical decisions during games in 2020.
During his five-day suspension, Frost will not be allowed to be present in the facility where practices are held or communicate with football staff or players. Frost also will be barred from studying video with players or coaches or participate in team meetings or recruiting. He also must attend an NCAA regional rules seminar at his own expense.
• Alabama cornerback Eli Ricks was arrested in Mississippi on charges of speeding, not having insurance and a first offense possession of marijuana.
The Jones County Sheriff’s Department’s online records show that Ricks was booked at 5:14 p.m. Sunday. The bond was listed as $0.
Alabama Coach Nick Saban was not immediately available for comment on the arrest.
SOCCER
USA CUP: Lambeau Field will host a soccer match for the first time in its storied history July 23 when Bayern Munich and Manchester City face off in an exhibition.
The event is being billed as the USA Cup and is part of FC Bayern Munich’s summer tour, which also includes a July 20 match with D.C. United in Washington. Manchester City will face Club America on July 20 at NRG Stadium in Houston.
RUSSIA: Russian soccer teams were kicked out of the Women’s European Championship, the next men’s Champions League and qualifying for the 2023 Women’s World Cup by UEFA.
The latest round of sporting sanctions during Russia’s war on Ukraine follow FIFA and UEFA suspending Russian national and club teams in February from playing in international competitions, including the men’s World Cup playoffs.
CZECH REPUBLIC: Coach Jaroslav Silhavý has been given a contract extension despite the team’s failure to reach the World Cup in Qatar.
Czech soccer federation head Petr Fousek said that Silhavý will remain in charge through 2023 for European Championship qualifying, and his contract will be automatically extended if the Czech Republic qualifies for the 2024 tournament in Germany.
The 60-year-old Silhavý was hired in 2018 and led the Czech Republic to the quarterfinals of the 2020 European Championship, which was postponed until 2021 due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The Czechs also advanced to the top League A in the Nations League but the team failed to advance to one of the playoff finals in European qualifying for the World Cup in March after a 1-0 loss to Sweden in extra time.
OLYMPICS
WHITE HOUSE: President Joe Biden plans to host the 2020 U.S. Olympic Team at the White House on Wednesday, staging a much-delayed, in-person celebration for participants of the Japan Games – which were themselves pushed back a year by the coronavirus.
The president and first lady Jill Biden will host the Olympians on the South Lawn, the White House said.
Jill Biden made her first solo overseas trip as first lady by traveling to Tokyo to attend the 2020 Olympics in July 2021 – though access remained restricted because of the pandemic.
Last summer, the Bidens hosted a virtual celebration for Team USA from the Tokyo Olympics from their home in Delaware. The president said then that he’d like to host the team at the White House in the future.
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