Free Republic

USC and UCLA, two of the Pac-12's flagship programs, are planning to leave the conference for the Big Ten as early as 2024, and a move is considered imminent, sources confirmed to ESPN on Thursday. There is still a formal notification process, as the two schools have to let the Pac-12 know their intentions to leave. USC and UCLA also have to formally apply to the Big Ten. According to a source, that process is underway.

In the spring of 1921, Texas oil baron William Waggoner offered thoroughbred breeder and racing veteran Samuel D. Riddle $500,000 for his peerless, 4 year old chestnut colt, Man o’ War. Riddle politely turned him down. When on the very next day the oil man raised his offer to $1 million, Riddle was said to have replied, “Mr Waggoner, many men can have a million dollars, but only one can have Man o’ War. I’m not interested in parting with him.” Determined to own the greatest thoroughbred the racing world had ever known, an exasperated Waggoner exclaimed, “Come, Mr. Riddle,...

Secretariat awarded Preakness record at 1:53 after review The Maryland Racing Commission on Tuesday voted unanimously to change the official time of the 1973 Preakness Stakes won by Secretariat from 1:54 2/5 to 1:53, a time that will give the two-time Horse of the Year the record in all three of the Triple Crown races. The commission approved the change after two hours of testimony at a meeting at Laurel Park, the sister track of Pimlico Race Course, where the Preakness is held. Penny Chenery, the late horse’s owner, requested the hearing on the basis of analyses conducted by companies...

THAT he is still causing a fuss more than 74 years after his death shows what a legend Phar Lap was. In the past few days, newspapers in Australia and elsewhere have reported on the extraordinary findings by scientists, who examined tiny hairs from the preserved remains of the antipodes' most famous racehorse, that was allegedly killed by American gangsters in April of 1932. I use the word antipodes advisedly: for all that he was a great Australian hero, Phar Lap was born in New Zealand. Using the latest technology, scientists have found that Phar Lap ingested huge amounts of...

Death ends beefy steer's reign as world's biggest - 16 April 2004 They called him the world's biggest cattle beast and no one ever disputed it. Now the 2000kg South Devon steer is dead. For 14 years, the beast who became a star of screen and print entertained upwards of 150,000 visitors to the Owlcatraz centre at Shannon in Manawatu. "We have done our best by him, but in the end, his heart just didn't take it," Owlcatraz co-owner Janette Campbell said. "He was living the life of Reilly here." Big Red died while undergoing surgery to treat leg complaints....