(Monday, December 14) The Breeders’ Cup Board of Directors is exploring the feasibility of a single permanent host site location for the Breeders' Cup World Championships.

Some horsemen and horseplayers were none too happy about having the Breeders’ Cup two years in a row over a synthetic surface at Santa Anita.

Where might the Breeders’ Cup land on a permanent basis?

There really are not many options.

It is very unlikely any track with a synthetic surface would get the nod, which eliminates the Southern California tracks and Arlington Park.

The Breeders’ Cup and the New York Racing Association are not exactly best buds.

That leaves Churchill Downs as the most logical and most viable option for a permanent home for the Breeders’ Cup.

The previous Breeders’ Cup held at Churchill Downs were outstanding events, the climate is good for European shippers, and most importantly for many, the surface is conventional dirt.

While I prefer rotating the Breeders’ Cup despite my disdain for synthetic surfaces, Churchill Downs would be an excellent choice to hold the Breeders’ Cup each year.

Loser of the Week: The losers of the week are trainer William Bradley and owner Nelson E. Clemmens, who sent out Sam P. in Saturday’s $50,000 Prairie Bayou Stakes.

His previous owner Starlight Stables sold Sam P. for $25,000 "for breeding purposes only."

When Starlight Stables learned that Sam P. was back in training in April under the ownership of Triton Farms, which is owned by George Hofmeister, they filed an injunction attempting to stop Sam P. from returning to the racetrack.

Sam P suffered a serious tendon injury in late 2008, which a veterinarian said was career ending.

Nelson E. Clemmens, who is listed as the owner in the charts, is listed as the “lessee”.

The five year old came back off a year layoff and ran seventh against Alw-3 optional claimers on Nov. 6, then was second at the same level on Nov. 24.

On Saturday, the five year old was sent off at 4/1 in the Prairie Bayou, was never a threat, and had to be vanned off after the race.

Sam P. was on the Triple Crown Trail as a three year old, finishing second in the Robert E. Lewis (G2) and third in the Santa Anita Derby (G1) before checking in ninth in the Kentucky Derby (G1).

Let’s hope Sam P. came out of the race in good shape and the current connections respect the wishes of the previous owners and send him to stud.

SoCal Shrinkage: Racing at Hollywood Park has been abysmal. From Friday through Sunday the average field size was 5.8, and half of the 26 races run over the three days had fields of four or five runners.

The biggest fields were eight, and over the three days there were only five of those.

Racing in Southern California is close to unbettable, and keep an eye out on the racing surface at Santa Anita, which opens on Dec. 26.

Training was canceled on Sunday due to poor drainage on the Pro Ride surface. Three inches of rain fell overnight on Saturday, leading to the problems.

Maryland Tracks Back to DeFrancis?: Pimlico and Laurel Park will be sold at auction in January by Magna Entertainment Corp., and one of the bidders will be former owner Joe DeFrancis and his sister Karin.

Brother and sister inherited the tracks from their father Frank J. DeFrancis, who died in 1989. They sold the tracks to Magna for $117 million in 2002.

DeFrancis continued to work for the tracks until Magna bought them out completely.

Many of the problems in Maryland go back to the Joe and Karin days, and only got worse when Magna showed up.

There will be other bidders, including developer Carl Verstandig, and Baltimore Orioles owner Peter Angelos.

Maryland racing needs new leadership and a new vision, and I’ll be hoping DeFrancis comes up short in the bidding.

No Tampa Bay for Florida residents at PTC: If you live in Florida, don’t expect to wager on Tampa Bay Downs through Premiere Turf Club. I found out the hard way, placing a wager on Saturday’s Lightning City Stakes, nailing the $64 exacta, then realizing by wagers had been declined.

I can’t blame PTC, it was the same last year. I guess Tampa Bay Downs horsemen expect me to drive the eight hours to get my wagers in.

I had planned to make Tampa Bay Downs my main track the next few weeks.

I am so aggravated by these insane rules that I might just say the heck with Tampa Bay, and during New York’s down time we’ll look elsewhere.