Jul 17, 2018 4 min read

At The Meadows

Prospect Hill captured his second straight stake with a persuasive 1:56.3 score, fastest in Tuesday’s $184,588 Pennsylvania Sires Stake at The Meadows. The event for freshman colt and gelding trotters, known as the Hickory Pride, was contested over four divisions, with White Tiger, Demon Onthe Hill and Mass Fortune K taking the other splits.

A $130,000 yearling acquisition for Stroy Inc., Prospect Hill broke his maiden with a front-end score in a PA All-Stars division. In the Hickory Pride, he quarter-poled to the front for Andy Miller and trainer Julie Miller and was an easy victor from there, downing early leader Amico Mio Bi by 1-3/4 lengths. The first-up Marseille finished third.

Demon Onthe Hill launched his career by breaking in the PA All-Stars, but he was well behaved in the Hickory Pride, saving ground and firing late to score in 1:57 for Mike Milder, trainer Marcus Melander and owner Vicky Trotting Inc. Flippen Creek finished second, beaten 2-3/4 lengths, while Northern Express completed the ticket.

In the $20,000 Preferred Handicap Trot, Call For Justice vaulted over $500,000 in career earnings with a 1:53.3 victory – his second straight – in the Lightning Lane. Swell Chap was second, 1-3/4 lengths back, with early leader Classicality third. Ron Burke trains the son of Justice Hall-Mika’s Mazurka for Burke Racing Stable and Weaver Bruscemi, LLC.

Dave Palone and Brian Zendt each piloted a pair of winners on the 13-race card.

Cardinals

suspend GM Keim

The Arizona Cardinals suspended general manager Steve Keim for five weeks and fined him $200,000 after he pleaded guilty in court Tuesday to extreme DUI following a Fourth of July arrest in a Phoenix suburb.

A Chandler police report shows Keim had a blood-alcohol level of 0.19, more than twice Arizona’s legal limit of 0.08 for drivers.

It wasn’t immediately clear when Keim would be sentenced or if he was facing a jail term.

The Cardinals report to training camp at University of Phoenix Stadium July 27.

Keim has been the Cardinals GM since 2013 and signed a contract extension in February through the 2022 NFL season.

According to the arrest report, Keim told police he only had two beers and ate pizza two hours before he got pulled over around 12:30 a.m. in Chandler.

But officers said they smelled alcohol on Keim’s breath and he had slurred speech.

Keim also refused to take several field sobriety tests, but did consent to have his blood drawn.

“As stated at the time of the incident, this behavior is indefensible and completely unacceptable,” the Cardinals said in a statement Tuesday. “While Steve has accepted full accountability and responsibility for his actions, that does not diminish their gravity nor the severity of the consequences that result from them.”

During his suspension, Keim will be barred from the Cardinals’ facilities and prohibited contact with the team.

He won’t be allowed to return to the team until after he’s completed counseling and evaluation plus a DUI education course.

The $200,000 fine will be donated to the Arizona chapter of Mothers Against Drunk Driving.

Rams sign Cooks

The Los Angeles Rams have agreed to a five-year extension with wide receiver Brandin Cooks.

The Rams traded their first- and sixth-round picks in the 2018 draft to the New England Patriots for Cooks and a fourth-round pick earlier this year.

Before joining the Rams, Cooks played in 58 regular-season games with 46 starts, and had at least 1,000 yards receiving in each of the past three seasons.

The fifth-year pro has 280 receptions for 3,943 yards and 27 touchdowns, and averages 14.1 yards per reception. He had nine 100-plus yard receiving games in 2016 with the New Orleans Saints.