Curlin will be retired, might race once more

Racing fans may get one more look at one of the greatest horses of all time.

In an announcement made late Saturday, Curlin’s majority owner, Jess Jackson, said that the winningest horse in North American history would be retired to stud next year but might race once more before the end of the year “if the right race and right purse was found.”

The most likely race for a Curlin finale would be the Clark Handicap at Churchill Downs the Friday after Thanksgiving. No specifics about any race were included in Jackson’s announcement.

Jackson said that Curlin, who raced this year as a 4-year-old and compiled $10,501,800 in winnings through his fourth-place finish in last month’s Breeders’ Cup Classic, will become a full-time stallion in 2009. Jackson indicated that his Stonestreet Farms near Lexington, Ky., would either stand Curlin at stud, or be open to a buyer.

Curlin won the 2007 Preakness and finished in the money in the other two Triple Crown races. He also won the Breeders’ Cup Classic that year and won the Eclipse Award as the horse of the year. Despite his fourth-place finish in this year’s Classic, he is one of the top contenders for horse of the year again.

Curlin broke his maiden by more than 12 lengths in February 2007 at Gulfstream Park, and currently has a record of 10 wins in 15 starts as a 3- and 4-year-old.

-- Bill Dwyre

MOTOR RACING

Bowyer wins Nationwide title

Carl Edwards won the season-ending Ford 300 on Saturday night at Homestead, Fla., but came up 21 points short in his attempt to overtake Clint Bowyer for the NASCAR Nationwide Series championship.

All Bowyer had to do to keep Edwards from winning a second straight title in the second-tier series was finish in the top eight.

He did that easily, taking fifth to stay on top of the standings, right where he has been most of the year despite winning only one of 35 races.

“We’ve been consistent,” Bowyer said after climbing out of his Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet. “We did the things it takes to win championships.”

Edwards wrested the lead from Kyle Busch late in the race and stayed out front to the end of the 200-lap event. He earned his seventh Nationwide victory and kept Busch from recording a record 11th series win.

Edwards did all he could, other than getting the five-point bonus for leading the most laps, but it wasn’t enough.

It was a disappointing finish for Edwards, who faces even bigger odds today in trying to make up a 141-point deficit against Jimmie Johnson in the Sprint Cup finale. Johnson can wrap up the title by finishing 36th or better, no matter what Edwards does.

TENNIS

Davydenko to face Djokovic in final

Nikolay Davydenko reached the Masters Cup final at Shanghai with a 7-5, 6-2 victory over Andy Murray, who seemed exhausted from his upset of Roger Federer a day earlier.

Davydenko will play for the title today against Novak Djokovic, who earlier rallied to oust Gilles Simon, 4-6, 6-3, 7-5.

Now Davydenko gets another opponent who is less than fresh -- Djokovic needed nearly three hours to defeat Simon.

Murray went all out against Federer even though he already had clinched a spot in the semifinals. He added that he gave 100% against Davydenko, but getting to bed at 2:30 a.m. after defeating Federer didn’t leave much left in his tank.

“I beat probably the best player of all time,” Murray said. “I have no regrets about doing that. To beat him . . . means a similar amount to winning a tournament like this. Ideally, I would have liked to have beaten him easier . . . and given myself a slightly better chance to prepare for this match.”

Murray often looked as if he were trudging through mud.

He had only seven winners to 33 for Davydenko, who last played on Thursday, giving him plenty of time to recover.

GOLF

Sorenstam shoots 67 and trails by one

Annika Sorenstam made up five strokes on leader Angela Stanford in the Lorena Ochoa Invitational at Guadalajara, shooting a five-under 67 to cut her deficit to only a stroke with one round left.

Tournament host Lorena Ochoa celebrated her 27th birthday with her best round of the week, a 70 that left her eight strokes back after three rounds..

Thailand’s Chapchai Nirat shot a six-under 65 today in the completion of the third round of the Singapore Open to take a three-stroke lead.

Nirat had a 10-under 203 total on the Sentosa Golf Club course. Lam Chih Bing, seeking to become the first Singaporean to win the $5-million tournament, was second.

Phil Mickelson finished up his third round today with a 66, putting him at six under. He also was four strokes back.

Erik Compton, playing six months after a second heart transplant, failed to advance by one shot in the second stage of PGA Tour qualifying after he closed with a one-over 73 at Brooksville, Fla.

Among those to advance were former PGA Tour winners Robert Gamez, John Huston, Garrett Willis and Michael Bradley.

ETC.

Steelers to stay in Rooney family

Pittsburgh Steelers Chairman Dan Rooney and his son probably will buy a controlling interest in the team from Rooney’s four brothers.

“It’s not really [that] a deal has been reached, but we’re coming along very well,” Art Rooney Jr., one of the brothers, said.

Dan Rooney was the only person interested in buying the team, which the brothers want to see remain in the family, according to Art Rooney Jr.

American Lindsey Vonn picked up where she left off last season, winning the World Cup slalom opener at Levi, Finland.

Vonn won her first overall World Cup title last season.