Kentucky Derby 2015: Alabama native Carla Gaines seeks historic win in 141st ...

Bolo won't rank among the favorites when the 141st Kentucky Derby goes off on Saturday afternoon at Churchill Downs. According to the odds at the online betting site Bovada, he's a 40-1 long shot right now. But to Carla Gaines, Bolo is an "amazing, amazing horse. Beautiful horse. What can I say? He's the main man."

It's understandable Gaines would feel that way. Not only does she love horses, she's Bolo's trainer, and for the first time in her more than 25 years training horses, she's preparing to saddle a Kentucky Derby entry.

The Birmingham native could make history with Bolo on Saturday. A woman has never trained a Kentucky Derby winner.

Although thoroughbred racing is a male-dominated sport, Gaines said she couldn't see a reason a trainer's gender would make a difference.

"Maybe men are a little stronger physically, but you're not stronger than a horse," Gaines told Blood-Horse. "You're never going to dominate a horse because you're male. It's just in your head how you deal with your animals and how you get along with them and how you cooperate with them."

But Gaines, 62, understands how unusual she is.

"I hear it a lot, though," Gaines said in a video interview for Churchill Downs. "'She's a great female trainer.' I say. 'You're supposed to say I'm just a great trainer.'"

Gaines didn't begin training horses until she was in her 30s. Equipped with undergraduate and master's degrees from the University of Alabamain psychology and sociology, she had set out to "change the world" as a counselor for troubled and at-risk children.

"My first job was with kids who had been in trouble, abused and neglected," Gaines told the Daily Racing Form. "I had one kid who shot his father, but his father was molesting his sister. He didn't know how to stop the pain."

Gaines sought solace on horseback.

"As soon as I was through work, I would get on my horse and take off riding down the trail," Gaines toldthe Independent of London. "It was just a great release."

Gaines fell in love with horses at her grandfather's farm, where her mother held her aboard a Tennessee Walking horse as a small child. By her teen years, Gaines was riding hunters and jumpers.

"I always had a passion for horses ever since I was very, very small," Gaines said. "My grandfather had a farm in rural Alabama. They brought us a couple of ponies, and so that's sort of how I started riding."

When Gaines felt her job overwhelming her, she took some time off with a horse-related adventure.

"After I while, I couldn't take it," Gaines said. "I just needed a sabbatical from the cruelty of humanity. I never intended to train. I planned on going back to my career. But I never went back."

Her sabbatical included joining friends who bought yearlings and prepared them in Louisiana for sale as 2-year-olds in the horse-racing centers of Florida and Maryland.

"I worked for two, three years as a psychologist or a counselor," Gaines said. "I kind of needed to get away from it for a while. When I went to the horses, it was supposed to be just a sabbatical and then I was going to choose another field in psychology or social work, and I just got hooked on this. My family was a bit mortified. ... But all you have to do is have a horse like Bolo, Curlin's Fox or whatever walk out of your barn every morning, and you think, 'I don't want to do anything else.'"

After moving to California to pursue her horse-racing dreams, Gaines worked as an exercise rider and became an assistant trainer. In a $4,000 claiming race at the Solano County Fair in 1989, Glory Quest won his first start under Gaines' training, and she was on her way to a 40-horse stable at Santa Anita.

"I was so proud of that horse," Gaines told Blood-Horse, "and he was this beautiful chestnut an old claimer. I worked on him and worked on him, then ran him for the first time at Vallejo. They grow corn on the track there in the winter."

Gaines earned her first Grade I victory when Nashoba's Key won the 2007 Vanity Handicap. She has 25 graded-stakes victories, including four Grade I wins, on her resume now.

RELATED:KENTUCKY DERBY 2015: MEET THE CONTENDERS AND WATCH THEM RUN

Bolo ended his 2-year-old season with a pair of victories on turf. As a 3-year-old, he's run third in the Grade II San Felipe Stakes on March 7 and the Grade I Santa Anita Derby on April 4, with Dortmund, one of the leading Kentucky Derby contenders, winning both races.

Bolo's dirt showings earned enough points to put him 19th in the Road to the Kentucky Derby point standings. Twenty horses can enter the race, and Bolo's owners decided to take the opportunity to Run for the Roses. Bolo flew from California to Kentucky on Sunday for the biggest race of his live.

"After he got enough points to actually participate, that's what we decided to do," Gaines toldthe Louisville Courier-Journal. "I know it's an incredibly tough year and there are some very good horses, but our horse is good, too."

While Bolo will be a long shot, he's already beaten the odds to reach the Kentucky Derby. Now Bolo has only 19 horses left to beat to race into history with Gaines.

"There's one horse every year that's capable of pulling that off in what's a 30,000-, 40,000-foal crop," Gaines said, "and that's everyone's dream and desire."

Source: http://www.al.com/sports/index.ssf/2015/04/kentucky_derby_2015_alabama_na.html

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Awaiting word on today's Orioles game

No decision has been made as to whether the Orioles will play today's scheduled game against the Chicago White Sox. And if the Orioles do play a baseball game, were still not certain when or where it will occur.

All the possibilities were still being discussed late Monday night and early today. As of 9:20 this morning, no decision has been made and an Orioles spokesman said the team will relay any update immediately via email and social media.

On Monday, moments after the Orioles announced they were postponing their series opener against the White Sox, new commissioner Rob Manfred indicated the series could be moved to another site, also saying that Nationals Park, which is about 40 minutes south of Camden Yards, could be an option.

But now, it seems more likely that the Orioles will attempt to resume play at Camden Yards. Since Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings Blake has enacted a week-long 10 p.m. curfew starting today, the Orioles would likely play during the day rather than the scheduled 7:05 p.m. start time. A 1 p.m. or 4 p.m. start would allow the Orioles to play and finish before the curfew.

No decision has been made, but according to a source, the Orioles would rather do everything possible to attempt to play today in Baltimore before engaging any thought of relocating games to alternative sites.

The Orioles homestand runs through Sunday, and the Nationals next home game isnt until Monday, but moving the teams game to Nationals Park offers several challenges, including staffing and ticketing issues.

There isnt much precedent handling these situations. During the Los Angeles riots in spring 1992, the Dodgers three-game series against the Montreal Expos was postponed until the Expos next trips to Los Angeles in July, when the teams made up the games with three straight days of doubleheaders.

This is the White Soxs only trip to Baltimore this season. The Orioles play a three-game series in Chicago over Fourth of July weekend.

Much like Monday and dating back to Saturday the situation is a fluid one. The Orioles work closely with local authorities to gauge public safety and any potentially dangerous situation. Most times, they are advised by the local police and other times they are directed by local authorities, like Saturday nights lockdown.

Following Thursday's off day, the Orioles end their homestand with a three-game series against the Tampa Bay Rays. A protest in the city has been planned for Saturday.

The Rays are monitoring the events in Baltimore andThe Tampa Bay Times suggested that there could be a possibility of moving this weekend's games to Tropicana Field in exchange for playing a series scheduled for St. Petersburg later this season in Baltimore. Rays officials told The Times Monday night they had not been contacted about moving the games to the Trop or elsewhere.

eencina@baltsun.com

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Copyright 2015, The Baltimore Sun

Source: http://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/orioles/blog/bal-awaiting-word-on-tuesdays-orioles-game-20150427-story.html

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WWE News: Backstage Update On Brock Lesnar And Paul Heyman's Return To ...

Last night, during the Extreme Rules pay-per-view, WWE decision-makers booked an excellent show. Despite Daniel Bryans injury, Neville and Bad News Barrett put on one of the greatest pre-show matches in WWE history. It truly was Nevilles breakthrough match in WWE. Throughout the night, the Big Show and Roman Reigns impressed everybody.

Seth Rollins and Randy Ortons match started out slow, but the WWE champion impressed with an RKO for the victory inside a steel cage. He escaped the cage even though Kane interfered. There was one thing that was blatantly missing, Brock Lesnar and Paul Heyman.

In an earlier report by the Inquisitr, Brock Lesnar indeed signed a big contract, to which Vince McMahon catered. The business decision made perfect sense because Lesnar and Heyman are WWEs biggest attractions. Due to the popularity of the former-WWE champion and his main man, they will have to be back on WWE television soon.

According to Daily Wrestling News, the dynamic duo of Brock Lesnar and Paul Heyman will be back on WWE programming momentarily.

Dave Meltzer of The Wrestling Observer Newsletter notes that the plan is for Paul Heyman to be off WWE TV until July, likely when Brock Lesnar will also return. We noted before that there were rumors after WrestleMania 31 of Lesnar returning to feud with WWE World Heavyweight Champion Seth Rollins.

There are two pay-per-views that come between Extreme Rules and SummerSlam. They are Payback and Money in the Bank in succession. At Payback, it is rumored that Roman Reigns, Randy Orton, and Seth Rollins will take part in a triple threat match for the WWE World Heavyweight championship. It was leaked in a video that spread across the Internet a few days ago.

After the three of them fight for the prestigious belt, Rollins will be victorious and it will then set forth another challenger for Brock Lesnar who returns to the WWE in July. Thats also the same month as the Money in the Bank ladder match. Will Lesnar win WWEs briefcase?

Him winning it is one option, but its also very unlikely. For starters, that would waste another WWE Money in the Bank opportunity on a veteran that doesnt need it. Two, Dean Ambrose is rumored to win the briefcase this year.

Three, Brock Lesnar has a rematch clause that hes waiting to use upon his return. The WWE is in a win-win situation with their WWE championship at the moment. Lesnar will demand a rematch when he comes back and Dean Ambrose might win the case. That way, Seth Rollins, Brock Lesnar and Dean Ambrose will fight for the WWE title. Now, thats best for business.

[Image via betweentheropes.com]

Source: http://www.inquisitr.com/2046512/wwe-news-backstage-update-on-brock-lesnar-and-paul-heymans-return-to-wwe-tv/

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Nepal Earthquake: Americans Desperately Wait for Word on Loved Ones

American families are anxiously awaiting word from loved ones in Nepal, where the catastrophic earthquake over the weekend knocked out power and phone service for whole swaths of the country.

Four Americans are confirmed to have died in the earthquake, all of whom were at a base camp at Mount Everest: Tom Taplin, a Denver-born filmmaker; Marisa Eve Girawong, a Seattle camp doctor; Dan Fredinburg, an engineer for Google; and Vinh B. Truong. The State Department confirmed Truong's death Monday.

Diane Schumacher of Seattle last heard from her daughter Sydney, 19, by text from Kathmandu a week ago, just before she and a friend, Bailey Meola, headed off on a trek through the Langtang Valley, a national park 80 miles from the capital known for spectacular scenery.

They were traveling on their own, part of an adventure between high school and college, but they had plenty of experience in the outdoor life, Schumacher told NBC News by phone Monday.

"They are pretty strong, independent young ladies," she said.

The women were not expected to check back in until Sunday. The earthquake struck Saturday. It was measured at 7.8 magnitude and is known to have killed more than 3,800 people.

It was not clear Monday how many Americans were unaccounted for in Nepal. Dozens of families have registered with the International Red Cross, but that number includes Americans who have been heard from.

Google's Person Finder, which allows users to post under "I'm looking for someone" and "I have information about someone," said it was tracking 6,100 records as of Monday afternoon, but that figure covers people from many countries.

Schumacher said she reached an official at the national park headquarters who told her that the village had been destroyed by an avalanche and that people were moving higher to await rescue.

She said she was worried about reports that people are trapped and running out of food and that the Nepalese military does not have the resources to reach all the people who are trapped.

Diane Schumacher

Undated photo of Sydney Schumacher, a 19-year-old Seattle native, who is missing in Nepal.

Meola's mother, Rachelle Brown, told NBC News that she thinks the two may have been near the peaks in Langtang when the earthquake struck.

"We are feeling extremely concerned," she said.

Bailey, also 19, set out to travel the world instead of heading to college right after high school. During her senior year, she was anxious about deciding a course for her life, her mother said.

The trip took Meola from Seattle to Thailand, Singapore, Cambodia and Laos before she met up with Sydney and embarked for Nepal. She has stops in Austria, Italy and Ireland ahead of her. She worked hard to pay for her adventure.

"This was going to solidify what her purpose in life was going to be," her mother said.

Rachelle Brown

This is the last photo of Bailey Meola before she went missing in Nepal. She was Skypeing with her mother, Rachelle Brown, from Kathmandu.

Also trekking in Nepal were Jim Lane and Darlene Richmond, from Lummi Island in Washington state.

They have been traveling since April and are due to return home June 2. They last checked in with family on Wednesday, and they were expected to be out of contact for two weeks.

"They were going to be in the mountains, trekking through the Makalu region," said Darlene's sister Doreen.

The couple have traveled to exotic locales in the past for hikes. "That's what they like to do," Doreen said. She said the family is hoping they will check in to reassure everybody.

In Decatur, Georgia, the family of Marty Emanuel told NBC News that they were worried but optimistic. When the quake struck, Emanuel, 71, a retired art professor, was two days into a trek into the Langtang Valley, along Nepal's border with Tibet.

Emanuel is in great shape and trained extensively, hiking Stone Mountain not far from home, said his son Ben. Emanuel was with a local guide whom he met on a previous trip and was already expected to be out of cell range for two weeks.

"He's very resourceful," Ben Emanuel told NBC News. "He's done a lot of wilderness travel, and you have to be self-reliant. Same goes for his guide, Dilli not only resourceful but well-connected."

Marty Emanuel has traveled in retirement and went to Nepal with his wife a year and a half ago.

"He's gotten attached to Nepal," he son said. "He really, from their first trip, really enjoyed getting to know the people there. He said wonderful things."

Ben Emanuel

Marty Emanuel and his grandson. Emanuel, 71, of Decatur, Ga., is a retired art professor who is trekking in Nepal.

First published April 27 2015, 9:53 AM

Source: http://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/nepal-earthquake/nepal-earthquake-americans-desperately-wait-word-loved-ones-n349041

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Atlanta-area doctors to board flight to Nepal with MAP International drugs

BRUNSWICK | A shipment of $330,000 badly needed antibiotics and other drugs is leaving MAP International bound for Nepal to help those injured in the 7.8-magnitude earthquake with more shipments planned, officials from the Christian relief organization said.

The 30 24-pound boxes will be headed to Nepal in an unusual way, first in a van up Interstates 95 and 16 and then aboard a commercial flight in the hands of the volunteer physicians who will use them in Nepal, said Kipp Branch, MAPs senior medicines officer.

This is one of those wild stories, Branch said.

The medicine will be loaded aboard a van provided by the Dan Vaden Chevrolet dealership in Brunswick and driven to the Bass Pro Shops store outside Atlanta where it will be picked up and driven to Atlanta, Branch said.

There a team of 15 physicians from Active Communities that Serve World Relief, or ACTSwr, will board a flight and each will check in two of the 24-pound boxes as luggage, Branch said.

Theyre going to tape two boxes together. Theyre going to carry it, he said.

That way, the doctors who will use the supplies will have them when they arrive in Nepal, he said.

Each of these boxes has $11,000 worth of medicines, heavy on antibiotics, he said.

There are also gloves for sanitary settings, vitamins and other supplies, Branch said.

That is atypical of MAP, which usually bundles boxes of medicines on shipping pallets and moves them by ship or air freight to get them into the hands of partner medical teams that arrive separately or sometimes already in the affected country. Branch said this is just an initial shipment, that MAP is preparing to ship more.

An emergency health kit is being procured from the Netherlands that has enough medicine to treat 10,000 people for up to three months and workers in Brunswick will be packing a shipping container that will be sent by ocean freight. Branch said that medicine may go by another means because of some humanitarian air flight opportunities.

But Rotary Club conventioneers will be paying the freight for some shipments, MAP President and CEO Steve Stirling said.

An amazing thing happened this weekend, said Stirling, who spoke to a gathering on Jekyll Island of Rotary Club District 6900 members from Atlanta and western Georgia.

Stirling said his talk kept being delayed, which he interpreted as the hand of G*d because the longer he waited the more was known about the disaster.

At the time, the death toll was 1,000, about a quarter of what was known Monday morning, and Stirling said he challenged the Rotarians to raise the $25,000 needed to ship a 20-foot container of $2.1 million in medicine for Nepal.

Country music star Larry Gatlin led the donations with the $150 in cash he had in his pocket, Stirling said.

He said, Whatever you guys dont raise, Ill fill the gap, Stirling said.

Rotarians apparently dont like leaving gaps to fill so by Sunday the conventioneers had donated $29,000, Stirling said.

The medicines will meet a great need because dangerous infections often set in from injuries like those suffered in earthquakes, he said.

Also, there are drugs to treat diarrhea, the primary killer of children in such disasters, Stirling said.

These are really life-saving drugs, he said.

The 20-foot container will follow the early air shipments to continue treating injured and sick Nepalese in the coming months, Stirling said.

Terry Dickson: (912) 264-0405

Source: http://jacksonville.com/news/georgia/2015-04-27/story/atlanta-area-doctors-board-flight-nepal-map-international-drugs

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Mourners Remember Freddie Gray After Night of Massive Protest

Protests in Baltimore over the death of a black man who died a week after his arrest gave way to a Sunday morning church service and a wake to remember the 25-year-old.

Mourners filed quietly in and out of Vaughn Greene East Funeral Home to honor Freddie Gray, who died April 19 after an April 12 arrest by Baltimore police left him with an allegedly severed spine.

Gray, in an open casket, was dressed in a white shirt, black pants, white sneakers and a white Los Angeles Dodgers baseball cap, according to The Associated Press. Inside the coffin was a pillow embossed with Gray's picture and the quotation "Peace, Y'all."

Earlier, church-goers were encouraged to worship with the Gray family at Empowerment Temple AME Church, where Pastor Jamal Bryant delivered the message "Somebody's Gonna Have To Pay," according to the church's Facebook page. Attendees were asked to wear gray in memory of the young man.

Empowerment Temple will pay for Gray's funeral, scheduled for 11 a.m. ET Monday.

Meanwhile, Baltimore police said extra officers were patrolling the streets after "a small contingent" of the at least 1,000 people who demonstrated Saturday became violent. The protesters were "mostly peaceful," police said in a statement, but some vandalized stores and police vehicles, leading to 34 arrests.

While Saturday's protest was the largest since Gray's death, residents have been taking to the streets to demands answers since he died.

Authorities haven't disclosed what caused Gray's injuries. A cellphone camera captured him being pinned to the ground and then loaded into a police van. Police Commissioner Anthony Batts said Friday that Gray wasn't seat-belted while he was being transported in the van and that officers should have gotten him medical care immediately following his detainment.

IN-DEPTHSOCIAL

Elisha Fieldstadt

First published April 26 2015, 1:38 PM

Source: http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/mourners-remember-freddie-gray-after-night-massive-protest-n348651

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Here's the first photo of Jared Leto as the Joker

DC Comics is currently celebrating the 75th anniversary of Batman's arch-nemesis, the Joker.

What better way to celebrate than by revealing the first official look at the next incarnation of the Clown Prince of Crime?

Director David Ayer shared the first image of Jared Leto as the Joker via Twitter on Friday evening. The Oscar-winning actor will play the famed villain in next year's "Suicide Squad" film.

Leto will be the first person to play the role of the Joker since the late Heath Ledger in 2008's "The Dark Knight."

What do you think?

This is different than any iteration of the Joker we've seen before.

Here are a few ways the character has looked on screen in the past.

Cesar Romero popularized the the iconic green hair, white makeup, and red lips on screen in the '60s television series, "Batman."

Jack Nicholson went through a long makeup process to show off the Joker's wide grin for Tim Burton's 1989 film "Batman."

AP Photo / Warner Bros.One of the most famous versions of the character is Mark Hamill's (yes, that Hamill) version of the wise-cracking clown in "Batman: The Animated Series."

Warner Bros./Batman: The Animated SeriesHarley Quinn's first appearance in season one, episode 22 of "Batman: The Animated Series." The Joker is known best for wearing his iconic purple suit and for his bleached-white skin. He looked pretty similar in the "Batman: Arkham" video game series.

YouTube screencap

Heath Ledger brought an entire darker look to the character in Christopher Nolan's "The Dark Knight," dying his long locks a shade of green. The Joker never looked more ragged, sinister, and chaotic.

Warner Bros.

In recent years, the Joker character featured in the DC Comics has taken on a similar darker edge.

In the Batman storyline, "Death of the Family," the Joker wore a mask of his own face strapped onto him. It's the most twisted version of the character yet.

DC ComicsHere's another look at Leto's Joker.

@DavidAyerMovies/TwitterThere's a lot to unpack here.

He's different from any Joker before for a few reasons:

1. He's shirtlessThe only instance I can recall seeing the Joker shirtless was during a gag on the animated series where he was wrapped in a towel ready to take a bath.

2. He doesn't have the bleached-white skinA huge part of the Joker's origin story is that he fell and/orjumped (depending on the story) into a barrel of chemicals that permanently dyed his skin white, made his hair green, and turned his lips ruby red.

3.He's covered in tattoos.The tattoos covering Leto's body are all iconic symbols representing the Joker. The classic "Ha Ha Ha" writing, which became a big part of marketing "The Dark Knight," the wide grin, and the deck of cards alluding to his calling card. There's a J on his face for Joker, or Mr. J, as his girlfriend Harley affectionately refers to him. Another tattoo on his hand looks like it may be chattering teeth. There's also a skull mask wearing a jester hat. Is he the court jester of death? One more tattoo near his stomach looks like it may say Joker.

It's not clear whether this will be the final look for Leto or if the tattoos may just be to promote the 75th anniversary.

"Suicide Squad" will be released August 5, 2016.

Source: http://www.businessinsider.com/jared-leto-joker-first-photo-2015-4

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