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RIO DE JANEIRO >> It was all so strikingly familiar, the Olympic Games women’s 1,500 meter final playing out almost step for step as Genzebe Dibaba’s world-record shattering triumph at last year’s World Championships in Beijing. And with two laps remaining the Ethiopian, as if following the same script, took off just as she had a year earlier with a move so bold it was mind boggling. Then in the final 200 meters, Dibaba and the race ran off script. Kenya’s Faith Kipyegon flew past Dibaba and then continued to pull away from the world champion all the way to the finish line for a 4 minute, 8.92 second victory at the Olympic Stadium Tuesday night that raised as many questions as it answered. W...

BEVERLY HILLS — The best way Sarah Hammer can describe her sport is organized chaos. The Redondo Beach native and Temecula Chaparral High School graduate will be competing in bicycle track racing at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics. It is not just time-trial racing, one or two cyclists on the track at the same time. It’s more like NASCAR short-track racing with 43 cars banging into each other every lap on a half-mile oval. In this case, it is 20 cyclists practically ruing into each other on a 250-meter banked oval track. “It looks ugly,” Hammer said of some aspects of her sport. “People are blown up all over the place. It’s not that fluid like a beautiful team. “So one of the big things is y...

NEW YORK — Preakness wier Exaggerator is the 9-5 moing-line favorite in a field of 13 entered for Saturday’s $1.5 million Belmont Stakes, the final leg of the Triple Crown. The 3-year-old colt trained by Keith Desormeaux and ridden by his brother, Hall of Famer Kent Desormeaux, drew the No. 11 post position on Wednesday. Stradivari, who ran fourth in the Preakness in his stakes debut, is the surprising second choice at 5-1. Destin, sixth in the Kentucky Derby, is the third choice at 6-1. Both are trained by Todd Pletcher, a two-time Belmont wier. Preakness ruer-up Cherry Wine is 8-1. Kentucky Derby wier Nyquist, who finished third in the Preakness, isn’t ruing in the Belmont. He was sideline...

NEW YORK — Preakness wier Exaggerator has been made the 9-5 favorite in a field of 13 for Saturday’s $1.5 million Belmont Stakes, the final leg of the Triple Crown. The 3-year-old colt trained by Keith Desormeaux and ridden by his brother, Hall of Famer Kent Desormeaux, drew the No. 11 post position on Wednesday. Stradivari, who ran fourth in the Preakness in his stakes debut, is the surprising second choice at 5-1. Destin, sixth in Kentucky Derby, is third choice at 6-1. Both are trained by Todd Pletcher. Preakness ruer-up Cherry Wine is 8-1. Kentucky Derby wier Nyquist, who finished third in the Preakness, isn’t ruing in the Belmont. From the rail out, the field for the 11/2-mile Belmont i...

BALTIMORE >> Exaggerator has finally beaten Nyquist, and it came in the Preakness on Saturday to end any chance of another Triple Crown. Seizing the lead at the top of the stretch, Exaggerator splashed past the tiring Kentucky Derby wier and went on for a 3 1/2-length victory over Cherry Wine on a rain-drenched Pimlico Race Course. Exaggerator’s elusive victory over his nemesis came after four tough losses, including a ruer-up finish to Nyquist in the Derby. Nyquist finished third. “I had a dream trip today,” jockey Kent Desormeaux said. “It was an amazing race and Exaggerator is an amazing horse.” Sent off as the 3-5 favorite in the 11-horse field, Nyquist dueled with Uncle Lino for the lea...

LOUISVILLE, Ky. >> Go ahead and pity Kentucky Derby favorite Nyquist. He has the unenviable task of following in the hoof prints of Triple Crown champion American Pharoah, and so far isn’t getting the respect expected for the only undefeated horse in the race. Nyquist heads into the Run for the Roses on Saturday at Churchill Downs as the early 3-1 favorite in a full field of 20 horses. Deservedly so, based on a resume that includes being a champion at age two, victories at four different tracks in the East and West, and an ability to overcome all sorts of obstacles in his races. Still, Nyquist isn’t the buzziest of horses. Heck, even his owner J. Paul Reddam said that as a fan he’d bet again...

LOUISVILLE, Ky. >> Doug O’Neill was all smiles after early 3-1 favorite Nyquist drew the No. 13 post for the 142nd Kentucky Derby. The number with an unlucky reputation didn’t faze the trainer. In fact, it brought back good memories. Nyquist left from the same spot when he won the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile last year at Keeneland, part of his 7-0 career record. “No matter if we drew the one or the 20, the thought is we were going to leave there with the intent of being forwardly placed and just play it by ear,” O’Neill said Wednesday after the post-position draw. “More than anything, I’m so happy with the way he’s training, the way he’s acting. He’s thriving on all the positive attention.” Four ...

The contenders in Saturday’s Kentucky Derby have big horseshoes to fill a year after American Pharoah. Is there another Triple Crown-caliber star among this year’s 3-year-olds? Do Nyquist and Exaggerator make Califoia colts the horses to beat again? What should fans and bettors expect to see in the 142nd Derby? Longtime horse-racing writers Art Wilson and Kevin Modesti exchange views. ART: We meet again, Kevin. Seems we always run into each other during these highlight moments in horse racing. Nyquist, in my mind, is the solid Derby favorite because of what he’s done to this point. I’m not as high as some on Exaggerator. I think he’s a nice colt, but his dominating performance in the Santa A...

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Nyquist has been made the early 3-1 favorite for the 142nd Kentucky Derby, with Exaggerator the second choice in the full field of 20 horses. Trained by Doug O’Neill, Nyquist is undefeated in seven career races. The colt drew the No. 13 post on Wednesday. Four horses have won from there since 1900, most recently Smarty Jones in 2004. O’Neill, jockey Mario Gutierrez and owner Paul Reddam teamed to win the race in 2012 with I’ll Have Another. Exaggerator drew the No. 11 post and is 8-1 for the 1 1/4-mile race Saturday at Churchill Downs. He’s trained by Keith Desormeaux, whose Hall of Fame brother Kent will be aboard. Creator, Gun Ruer and Mohaymen are the co-third choices at...

There’s a lot more to the Grand Prix than racing. In fact, we spent all of Friday at the track and only saw a minute or two of actual racing. Mostly, we horsed around at the Lifestyle Expo, ate our way around the circuit and people-watched. Here are some of the high points of our nonracing visit to the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach on Day One. Best swag There’s a lot of free stuff to be had at the Grand Prix, mostly in the Lifetyle Expo, where you usually have to jump through a hoop or two to score product. The Hustler Casino exhibit had a blackjack dealer you had to beat in order to win a beer cozy with a little pocket holding a bottle opener. We hit a 5-3 hand with a king, the dealer bus...

After Mor Spirit finished second behind Danzing Candy in last month’s San Felipe Stakes, the major steppingstone to Saturday’s $1 million Santa Anita Derby, jockey Gary Stevens sounded a bit like he’d won the race. Stevens figured he had lost the battle but was in good shape to win the war four weeks later. “I like where we’re sitting for the Santa Anita Derby,” he said. “I lost a battle today, but I like our position. Bob (trainer Bob Baffert) was happy, so I’m happy.” Santa Anita moing-line maker Jon White agreed with Stevens, installing Mor Spirit as the 8-5 favorite Wednesday when a field of 10 was entered for the 79th edition of the Santa Anita Derby, a race that has produced two of the...

Mohaymen will go into Saturday’s Florida Derby showdown against fellow unbeaten Nyquist as a slight favorite, at least in the moing line. Mohaymen snared the No. 9 post in Wednesday’s draw for the Grade 1, $1 million race at Gulfstream Park and was listed as the even-money favorite. Nyquist will start from the No. 4 spot and is the second choice at 6-5 in the 10-horse race, a rare pre-Kentucky Derby showdown between the colts widely considered to be the top contenders in this year’s Triple Crown class. “I think it’s so cool,” Nyquist trainer Doug O’Neill said. “Not only our two horses, Mohaymen and Nyquist, but you’ve got some other nice horses in the field as well. I think it’s great for th...