Off the wire

HORSE RACING Maximum Security defeated

Maximum Security returned to racing for the first time since being disqualified in the Kentucky Derby, and simply got beat. There was no controversy this time. King for a Day stalked Maximum Security from the start, took the lead in the stretch and posted a 1-length victory over the overwhelming favorite in the $150,000 Pegasus Stakes at Monmouth Park on Sunday. It marked the first time Maximum Security has not crossed the finish line first in six career starts. The Jason Servis-trained colt, who went off at odds of 1-20, stumbled at the start, but that didn’t prevent him from leading until late in the stretch. Owned by Gary and Mary West, Maximum Security finished 13/4 lengths in front of Country House in the Kentucky Derby on May 4 but was disqualified by Churchill Downs stewards for interference with eventual Preakness winner War of Will. It marked the first time in the 145-year history of the Derby that the first-place finisher was disqualified for interference. Maximum Security broke from the No. 2 post and quickly took the lead in the field of six 3-year-olds. Jockey Joe Bravo moved King for a Day from the No. 3 post to his flank and the two made this a two-horse race until the Todd Pletcher-trained winner wore down Maximum Security. King for a Day covered the 11/16 mile race in 1:42.59. The son of Uncle Mo paid $13.80, $2.40 and $2.20. Maximum Security returned $2.10 annd $2.10. Direct Order finished third and returned $3.80.

MOTOR SPORTS Bell dominates Iowa track

Christopher Bell won the NASCAR Xfinity series race Sunday at the Iowa Speedway, his fourth victory of the season and second straight in Newton. Bell led 186 of 250 laps to claim his second short track win of 2019 by nearly two seconds. He also won at Bristol in April. Pole-sitter Cole Custer was second, followed by Justin Allgaier and Harrison Burton. Zane Smith was fifth in just his fifth start in the series. Custer briefly stole the lead with 32 laps left on a restart, but Bell quickly grabbed it back as the two cars made contact on Bell’s low pass. Bell then held Custer off on a restart with 10 to go by grabbing the high line. “Man, I got to win at Dover [the week before] Mother’s Day weekend… with my mom there,” said Bell, who won for the 12th time in the series. “Now I just won on Father’s Day weekend with my dad here. It was pretty special.”

Tasca III knocks off Force

Bob Tasca III raced to his first Funny Car victory in nearly seven years, beating 70-year-old John Force on Sunday in the final round of the NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals at Bristol Dragway in Bristol, Tenn. Tasca won for the fifth time and first in 100 races, denying Force his 150th career victory with a 4.008-second pass at 316.23 mph in a Ford Mustang. “It was just a hard-fought effort,” Tasca said. “I knew it would be a

slugfest against Force, but I love racing John. It was probably one of the biggest wins in my career. We had to build this car from scratch, but the chemistry on this team is good and I’ve never had a race car like this. It’s fast and the guys just put me in a position to win.” Mike Salinas won in Top Fuel for his second victory of the year. He beat Steve Torrence with a 3.836 at 325.69 to end the defending series champion’s fiverace winning streak.

GOLF Henderson wins Meijer

Brooke Henderson won the Meijer LPGA Classic to break the Canadian record for tour victories with nine. The 21-year-old Henderson led wire-to-wire for her second victory in three years at Blythefield Country Club, closing with a 2-under 70 in chilly conditions to hold off Lexi Thompson, Nasa Hataoka, Su Oh and Brittany Altomare by a stroke. Henderson broke a tie with Sandra Post for the Canadian record on the LPGA Tour and also moved ahead of George Knudson and Mike Weir for the overall country mark. The KPMG Women’s PGA Championship, the third major championship of the year, is this week at Hazeltine in Minnesota.

Zhang holds off Wu

China’s Xinjun Zhang birdied the third hole of a playoff with Dylan Wu in the Lincoln Land Championship in Springfield, Ill., for his second Web.com Tour victory of the season. Zhang closed with a 6-under 65 to match Wu at 15 under at Panther Creek. The 32-year-old Zhang had already wrapped up a PGA Tour card for next season. He regained the lead in the season standings, with the final top 25 earning PGA Tour cards. Zhang also won the Dormie Network Classic in April in San Antonio. Tag Ridings (Arkansas Razorbacks) won $12,100, finishing four strokes behind Zhang and Wu. Nicolas Echavarria (Razorbacks) was 9 under and won $5,940. Ethan Tracy (Razorbacks) was a stroke behind that at 8 under, winning $4,014.

Garcia outlasts Vekic

Caroline Garcia of France defeated former champion Donna Vekic 2-6, 7-6 (4), 7-6 (4) to win her first title of the year at the Nottingham Open on Sunday. Top-seeded Garcia, who finished her 4-6, 6-3, 6-3 semifinal victory over American Jennifer Brady earlier Sunday, recovered after losing the first set to outlast the 2017 winner over more than 2 ½ hours. It was the 28th-ranked Garcia’s seventh career title and her second on grass after her win in Mallorca in 2016. Both players hit seven aces and Vekic converted all four of her break points, with Garcia going 2-for-2 on break points. The rain finally held off after ravaging much of the rest of the tournament. The opening two days were completely washed out before organizers decided to switch the first and second round matches indoors, while Vekic’s quarterfinal against Kristina Mladenovic started on grass but had to be completed indoors on Friday.