TORONTO - A field of 12 Canadian-bred three-year-olds will do battle today at Woodbine in the $500,000 Breeders Stakes, the third jewel of Canadas Triple Crown of Racing. Jelani Jenkins Dolphins Jersey . The 124th edition of the Breeders, at one and one-half miles over the E.P. Taylor Turf Course, can be seen live on TSN at 4:30pm et/1:30pm pt. The winner earns $300,000. All horses carry 126 pounds. There is no Triple Crown on the line this year, though. Filly Lexie Lou won the first leg, the famous Queens Plate on July 6, but did not contest the second leg, the Prince of Wales at Fort Erie on July 29, which was won by Coltimus Prime. It marks the 11th straight year without a Triple Crown champion in Canada. Wando was the last to achieve the impressive three-race sweep in 2003. However, there is one horse in this years Breeders who has competed in the first two legs and accredited himself well. That is Ivan Dalos homebred Amis Holiday, who finished a closing second in the Plate, one and one-half lengths behind Lexie Lou, then was third in the Prince of Wales, four and one-quarter lengths behind Coltimus Prime. Although hell making his turf debut, the son of Harlans Holiday-Victorious Ami sizzled five furlongs in a turf workout last Sunday for trainer Josie Carroll, clocked in a bullet 59 1/5 seconds, handily. Said Carroll, a two-time winner of the Queens Plate with Edenwold in 2006 and Inglorious in 2011, "We made a last minute decision to enter him. He worked extremely well on the turf. He really seemed to take to it and we thought he deserved to give it a try. He came out of those last two races really well or we were going to wait for the Ontario Derby (September 21)." Amis Holiday, the 2-1 morning line choice who won last years Grade 3 Grey Stakes, is the fields leading money winner with $448,392 and will once again be handled by jockey Luis Contreras, who won the 2011 Breeders aboard Pender Harbour. Carroll will also saddle another Dalos homebred, Keen Gizmo, a one-time winner in eight starts, who was most recently third in a one mile allowance while making his turf debut, with Omar Moreno named to ride. Stronach Stables impeccably bred Unikat, trained by Brian Lynch and ridden by David Moran, will also command plenty of support at the windows, listed as the 4-1 second choice. The son of Galileo-Dreamtheimpossible enters off an impressive three and three-quarter length score in a mile and one-quarter maiden turf contest on July 9. His only previous starts came on turf at Gulfstream Park in Florida during February and March. Stronach has won three Breeders (Blitzer, 1992; Basqueian, 1994; Royal Challenger, 2006), while Lynch has won two (Royal Challenger, 2006; Miami Deco, 2010). Miami Deco, the last maiden to win the Breeders, was also its highest-priced winner, paying $132.10 to win. Lynch will also saddle J.M. Stritzl Stables Squeeze the King, with Eurico Rosa da Silva up. The son of Niigon, who has been supplemented to the race for $12,500, recently broke his maiden on turf on July 12 after just missing in his career debut in June on Polytrack. Rosa da Silva won last years Breeders on favoured Up With the Birds. Trainer Mark Casse, a six-time Sovereign Award winner who finally celebrated his first Plate win this year with Lexie Lou, will send out Stoneway Farms East Side, as he seeks a second Breeders win following Marchfield in 2007. East Side, a son of turf champion English Channel, with Justin Stein up, is a one-time winner in four outings and was most recently sixth to Coltimus Prime in the Prince of Wales. Completing the field is two-time winner Niigon Express, who finished a credible fifth in the Queens Plate and will have three-time (Wando, 2003; Royal Challenger,2006; Marchfield, 2007) Breeders winner Patrick Husbands aboard; Sine Metu, also a two-time winner for trainer and co-owner Tom OKeefe; one-time winners Bangkok and Big Red Bugsy, another supplemental entry, and maidens Interpol, Milwaukee Flash and Smart Spree, who was most recently fourth in the Prince of Wales and is trained by Mark Frostad, a four-time winner of the Breeders (Charlies Dewan, 1995; Chief Bearhart, 1996; Portcullis, 2002; Irish Mission, 2012). In addition to Amis Holiday, three others - East Side, Milwaukee Flash and Niigon Express will be seeing grass for the first time. Last years Breeders winner, Up With the Birds, who is competing Saturday in the Arlington Million in Chicago, went on to earn Sovereign Awards as Canadas top three-year-old colt and Horse of the Year for 2013. FIELD FOR THE $500,000 BREEDERS STAKESSunday, August 17, Race 9, Post time 5:12 p.m.One mile and one-half, E.P. Taylor Turf Course Post / Horse / Jockey / Trainer / Morning line1 / Keen Gizmo / Omar Moreno / Josie Carroll / 12-12 / Niigon Express / Patrick Husbands / Paul Attard/ 6-13 / Sine Metu / Gerry Olguin / Tom OKeefe / 10-14 / Squeeze the King / Eurico Rosa da Silva / Brian Lynch / 10-15 / Big Red Bugsy / Emma-Jayne Wilson / Ian Black / 12-16 / East Side / Justin Stein / Mark Casse / 20-17 / Bangkok / Gary Boulanger / Phil Gracey / 15-18 / Amis Holiday / Luis Contreras / Josie Carroll / 2-19 / Smart Spree / Steve Bahen / Mark Frostad / 12-110 / Unikat / David Moran / Brian Lynch / 4-111 / Milwaukee Flash / Sheena Ryan / Mike Doyle / 30-112 / Interpol / Jesse Campbell / Sid Attard / 20-1 Louis Delmas Jersey . -- Michael Phelps has competed in the second event of his comeback and failed to advance to the 50-meter freestyle final. Derrick Shelby Jersey . -- The Buffalo Sabres got the lead for a change, and held onto it thanks to a stellar performance in goal by Jhonas Enroth.BUFFALO, N.Y. -- Sabres President Pat LaFontaines two-month search for a general manager ended with an unexpected addition. In hiring Tim Murray to take over as GM on Thursday, LaFontaine also announced the addition of Hockey Hall of Fame executive Craig Patrick to serve as a special adviser to assist in transforming the NHLs worst team into a contender. "Its comfortable for me to be in the middle, having played centre my whole life," the former Sabres captain said, seated between Murray and Patrick. "To have these wingers is pretty special." Murray has the background, decisiveness and even a hockey pedigree LaFontaine was seeking in a general manager. The 50-year-old Murray is the nephew of Senators general manager Bryan Murray, and has spent much of his 20 years in the NHL being mentored by his uncle, including the past seven in Ottawa as an assistant GM. "I think we have the next great eye for talent," LaFontaine said. "Hes earned it. Hes done every job to get to this point. Hes had success everywhere hes been. And hes going to have success here in Buffalo." Patrick assumes a role similar to the one he held the previous two seasons with the Columbus Blue Jackets. Its LaFontaines belief that Patricks 30-plus years of experience -- including 17 with the Pittsburgh Penguins -- can provide focus to a team in transition after general manager Darcy Regier and first-year coach Ron Rolston were fired in mid-November. "Craigs going to help evaluate. Hes got the experience," LaFontaine said. "Hes won Stanley Cups. Hes gone through rebuilds." The Sabres front-office has begun taking shape in the two months since LaFontaine took over. "Im on a mission to bring the right people here," LaFontaine said. "Im still not done. We still have a lot of work." Now comes improving the team on the ice, which sits last in the NHL with 12-26-4 record entering its home game against Florida on Thursday night. Though Buffalo has shown improvement in going 8-11-3 under interim coach Ted Nolan, Murray made clear he has plenty of work to do. Murray intends to continue the process begun under Regier by building through the draft. And he wont be averse to trading any of Buffalos remaining core players -- including goalie Ryan Miller. "This teams in last place right now," Murray said. "Everybody can be traded." Miller, along with captain Steve Ottt and newly acquired forward Matt Moulson, are in the final year of their contracts. Earl Mitchell Dolphins Jersey. Another issue is the status of Nolan, who was hired by LaFontaine with the opportunity to continue on as coach once the new GM was hired. Murray is open to working with Nolan beyond this season. "Its a clean slate here," Murray said. "Theres no preconceived notions. Hes the coach of the hockey team, and Im looking forward to getting to know him." Nolan, who is back for a second stint in Buffalo, said he had no input on Murrays hiring, and is eager to getting to know his new boss. "My status has always been the same since Pat asked me to come here," Nolan said. "Im here to coach this team as best as I can. Im not worried about tomorrow, Im just worried about here today." Murray believes the Sabres have several pieces already in place, including a large stock of high draft picks and up-and-coming prospects in their system. "The cupboards not bare," Murray said. "This was an attractive, attractive time for me to just branch out on my own and try to put my stamp on the game of hockey." The Sabres could have as many as two first-round and three second-round selections in this years draft. The Sabres also have a solid group of prospects in their farm system. They include defencemen Rasmus Ristolainen and Nikita Zadorov, who were both drafted in the first round in June. Murray has a solid track record as a talent evaluator, and has had input in numerous personnel decisions during his previous stops in Detroit, Florida, Anaheim and the New York Rangers. In Anaheim, he had a hand in the Ducks selecting future star forwards Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry in the first round of the 2003 draft. "I would consider myself somewhat aggressive," Murray said of his philosophy. "I dont think it takes you two days to make a decision or two weeks to make a decision." Thats a departure from the conservative approach the Sabres took under Regier, who was criticized for being overly cautious when it came to shaking up his roster. Murrays decisiveness and directness is what owner Terry Pegula was seeking in his new GM. As for Patrick, Pegula has been a long-time fan of the executive he first got to know in Pittsburgh. "Craigs a smart man," Pegula said. "Hes probably forgotten more than most people know about hockey." wholesale nfl jerseyswholesale jerseys ' ' '
