Headlines: January 29
– The Happy Handicapper narrows his Kentucky Derby picks to 14 (BN) … Gary West notes that picking Triple Crown contenders has become a “Sisyphean puzzle.” (ST)
– Jockey Patti Barton remembers her appearance on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson. She earned a pencil flip for telling “the Cliff Thompson story.” (LAT)
– New York Governor George Pataki’s proposal that anyone bidding for NYRA should expect to pay a $250 million franchise fee “is a not-very-veiled way of telling NYRA it’s not being invited back in the game after its turn ends.” (CN)
– Jay Cronley thanks those who finance racing: the slot machine players. (ESPN)
– NBC is airing the Sunshine Millions today, with coverage starting at 4 p.m. (Eastern Time). (BH)
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