HORSE RACING

ROMAN RULER TAKES HASKELL INVITATIONAL

Trainer Bob Baffert won the $1 million Haskell for the third time in five years yesterday, when Roman Ruler took the lead from Sun King in the stretch and ran off to a 1 1/4-length victory in the showcase event at Monmouth Park.

Roman Ruler, once a Kentucky Derby favorite but knocked off the Triple Crown trail by nagging foot problems, won in 1:49.88, well off the stakes record of 1:47. The 3-year-old colt returned $4.20, $3, and $2.40. With Preakness and Belmont Stakes winner Afleet Alex sidelined with a fractured ankle, it marked the second year in a row the leading 3-year-old missed the Haskell.

HOCKEY

REPORT: GRETZKY TO COACH PHOENIX COYOTES

Wayne Gretzky, the NHL’s all-time leading scorer, will be the new coach of the Phoenix Coyotes, the Arizona Republic reported on its Web site yesterday. ESPN.com confirmed the report last night. Gretzky, the team’s managing partner, is expected to be introduced as coach today, multiple NHL sources told the paper. Team spokesman Rich Nairn told the Associated Press he could not confirm the story. There had been speculation for several months that Gretzky would move from the Coyotes’ front office to their bench. But the nine-time MVP had said he would wait until a new collective bargaining agreement was in place before deciding whether to coach.

The newspaper also reported that former Detroit assistant coach Barry Smith would be one of Gretzky’s assistants. Former Coyotes player Rick Tocchet or interim head coach Rick Bowness will be Gretzky’s other assistant, according to the report. Gretzky is a longtime friend of Coyotes GM Mike Barnett.

BASEBALL

CONGRESS EXPECTS PALMEIRO’S TESTING RECORDS

A House committee chairman said yesterday he expects to have all of Major League Baseball’s drug testing records for Rafael Palmeiro by the end of the week as the panel steps up its perjury investigation of the Baltimore Orioles’ star outfielder. Rep. Tom Davis, a Republican of Virginia, chairman of the House Government Reform Committee, said committee attorneys and investigators will begin interviewing potential witnesses once they’ve reviewed the documents, which Palmeiro has agreed to turn over voluntarily. Palmeiro, who swore under oath before the committee earlier this year that he had never taken steroids, was suspended for 10 days by Major League Baseball last month after he tested positive for steroids. Palmeiro has said he does not know how the steroids got into his body.

FOOTBALL

VIKINGS RESTRUCTURE CULPEPPER’S CONTRACT

Daunte Culpepper and the Minnesota Vikings reached an agreement yesterday to restructure the quarterback’s contract, giving the three-time Pro Bowl selection an unspecified raise. Rob Brzezinski, the team’s vice president for football operations, didn’t divulge financial terms, other than to confirm that Culpepper was getting an increase from the framework of the 10-year, $102 million extension he signed in May 2003.

– Associated Press