- Florida braces for Milton, FEMA head slams 'dangerous' Helene misinformation
- Postecoglou slams 'unacceptable' Spurs after 'terrible' loss at Brighton
- Marmoush double denies Bayern outright Bundesliga top spot
- Rallies worldwide call for Gaza, Lebanon ceasefire
- New 'Joker' film, a dark musical, tops N.America box office
- Man Utd stalemate keeps Ten Hag in danger, Spurs rocked by Brighton
- Drowned by hurricane, remote N.Carolina towns now struggle for water
- Vikings hold off Jets in London to stay unbeaten
- Ahead of attack anniversary, Netanyahu says: 'We will win'
- West Indies cruise to T20 World Cup win over Scotland
- Man Utd fire another blank in Aston Villa stalemate
- Lewandowski treble powers Liga leaders Barca to Alaves victory
- Russian activist killed on front line in Ukraine
- Openda strike briefly sends Leipzig top of Bundesliga
- Goal-shy Man Utd have to 'step up', says Ten Hag
- India bowl out Bangladesh for 127 in T20 opener
- Madueke rescues Chelsea in draw with 10-man Forest
- Beckett's belief rewarded as Bluestocking storms to Arc glory
- Trump on the stump, Harris hits airwaves in razor-edge US election
- Flash flooding kills three in northern Thailand
- Kaur leads India to victory over Pakistan in Women's T20 World Cup
- Juventus held by Cagliari after late penalty drama
- In France's Marseille, teen 'stabbed 50 times' then burned alive
- Ruthless Gauff beats Muchova in straight sets to win China Open
- India restrict Pakistan to 105-8 in Women's T20 World Cup
- England target repeat of Pakistan Test whitewash
- Penrith Panthers win fourth straight NRL title after downing Storm
- Weary Sinner happy for day off after battling into Shanghai last 16
- Pakistan's Masood warns England still a force without Stokes
- Madrid's Carvajal to miss several months after serious knee injury
- Two elephants die in flash flooding in northern Thailand
- Sabalenka targets world number one and Wuhan hat-trick
- Tunisia votes with Saied set for re-election
- Bagnaia sets 'example' with Japan MotoGP win to cut gap on Martin
- Intense Israeli bombing rocks Beirut ahead of war anniversary
- Mozambique vote: no suspense but some disillusion
- Austrian rapper channels anti-racist rage in Romani hip-hop songs
- Ohtani magic powers Dodgers over Padres in MLB playoff thriller
- Five of the best: Pakistan-England Test thrillers
- Man sets arm on fire as marches across US mark Gaza war anniversary
- Vietnam's young coffee entrepreneurs brew up a revolution
- Trump rallies at site of failed assassination: 'Never quit'
- Too hot by day, Dubai's floodlit beaches are packed at night
- Is music finally reckoning with #MeToo?
- Fans hail Trump's 'guts' as he returns to site of rally shooting
- Lebanon state media says Israeli strikes hit south Beirut
- Miami on track for MLS record points after win in Toronto
- Monaco take top spot in Ligue 1 with win at Rennes
- Madrid beat Villarreal to level Liga leaders Barca
- Thuram treble fires Inter past Torino and up to second
Wildfire smog threatens Belmont Stakes and postpones MLB game
Smoke from Canadian wildfires triggered a fresh wave of disruption across American sports on Thursday, forcing more postponements and jeopardizing Saturday's scheduled horse racing showpiece, the 155th Belmont Stakes.
Air quality alerts were raised along the US East Coast as New York's Belmont Park called off Thursday's races and the Washington Nationals postponed their Major League Baseball game against visiting Arizona to June 22 due to "poor air quality."
New York governor Kathy Hochul warned the Belmont Stakes would be canceled if air quality is too unhealthy.
"We hopefully can get this going, but there's no assurance of what the weather is going to be, so it's going to be a last-minute decision, I'm sure," Hochul said.
Hochul said "enhanced measures" have been instituted to protect horses, riders and spectators.
The Belmont Stakes would be canceled if the air quality index at Belmont Park is beyond 200, considered very unhealthy. If the index ranks between 150-200, horses would need to pass a pre-race veterinarian exam to compete.
There were optimistic signs on Thursday as Major League Baseball's New York Yankees played a double-header against the Chicago White Sox after a Wednesday game was postponed due to the smog.
The air quality index at Yankee Stadium on Wednesday had been at 335, a hazardous level.
The New York Racing Association (NYRA) shelved competition at Belmont Park on Thursday after morning workouts were canceled, including those for the nine horses set to race in Sunday's 1 1/2-mile, $1.5 million Belmont Stakes.
"Safety is paramount as we navigate this unprecedented situation," said NYRA president David O'Rourke. "NYRA will actively monitor all available data and weather information as we work toward the resumption of training and racing.
"Based on current forecast models and consultation with our external weather services, we remain optimistic that we will see an improvement in air quality on Friday."
Live racing was planned to resume on Friday but the New York State Gaming Commission later Thursday halted all racing, training and workouts at all tracks until further notice.
"The Gaming Commission continues to monitor air quality and rely on guidance from veterinary expertise to ensure any decision to resume racing is based solely in the best interest of the horse population," a commission statement said.
Horse safety has been under scrutiny during this year's Triple Crown run after the Kentucky Derby was clouded by a spate of deaths at Churchill Downs that included two on Derby day and eight within three weeks.
At last month's Preakness in Baltimore, Havnameltdown suffered a catastrophic front left leg injury during the sixth race of the day and had to be euthanized on the track at Pimlico Race Course.
- NFL practices go inside -
NFL teams were also forced to alter their off-season training workouts due to air quality concerns, with the New York Giants calling off a session in an indoor facility, saying conducting the workout wasn't worth the risk.
The New York Jets, Baltimore Ravens, Philadelphia Eagles and Washington Commanders all moved Thursday practices inside.
On Wednesday, fixtures in MLB, the Women's NBA and National Women's Soccer League were all disrupted.
MLB also postponed Detroit's game at Philadelphia from Wednesday to Thursday.
The NWSL's NJ/NY Gotham FC home match against the Orlando Pride in Harrison, New Jersey, was postponed until August 9 and the WNBA New York Liberty's home game against Minnesota was postponed.
A.F.Rosado--PC