RACING ROUNDUP : Jockeys Angel Vasquez and Karen Rogers Hurt at Aqueduct

NEW YORK —  Apprentice jockey Angel Vasquez Jr. sustained multiple injuries today when his mount, Best to Be Lucky, clipped heels and fell during the second race at Aqueduct.

Vasquez, injured several hours after Karen Rogers sustained a broken collarbone when she was unseated during a morning workout, was conscious when removed to Long Island Jewish Medical Center, a spokesman for the track said.

Rogers was released from the same hospital and went home. She was expected to be out six to eight weeks.

Rogers was injured when she fell from Persuasive when the unraced 2-year-old filly tried to jump the rail.

Today was the opening day of Aqueduct’s fall-winter meeting.

The closing day at Belmont on Saturday was marked by the death of three horses in two of the seven Breeders’ Cup races.

The Breeders Crown, considered the championship series of harness racing, will return to The Meadows at Meadow Lands, Pa., for the first time in three years in October or November, 1991.

The Meadows was host to single Breeders Crown races in 1984, 1985 and 1988. The 1984 race, in which Dragon’s Lair upset previously unbeaten Nihilator, was considered one of the sport’s top races of the 1980s.

The Breeders Crown was established in 1984 and designated eight championship races at eight different tracks. The format was changed later to accommodate television, and all 12 races this year will be held at the Pompano Harness Track in Florida on Friday night.

In 1991, eight races will be at Pompano and the other four will be at The Meadows, which is located near Washington, Pa., about 25 miles from Pittsburgh.

Irish invader Kostroma has arrived at Santa Anita with trainer Tommy Stack for the $400,000 Yellow Ribbon Stakes, highlight of the Oak Tree meeting, on Sunday.

The 4-year-old filly cleared quarantine Monday and is stabled in the Gary Jones barn.

“This is the first time I’ve been in California,” said Stack, a 42-year-old Irish trainer. “She didn’t ship that well--she’s dehydrated a little--so I’ll play her training by ear.

“My wife, Liz, named her after a town in Russia.”

Stack bred Kostroma and also trained and bred Corwyn Bay, winner of the Ancient Title Breeders’ Cup Handicap.