Horse racing scratched as superstorm nears

(AP) -- With a fierce superstorm bearing down on the East Coast, Suffolk Downs in Boston and Yonkers Raceway in New York have called off horse racing.

Suffolk Downs scratched its card of thoroughbred racing and simulcasting for Monday. Yonkers Raceway called off live trotting and evening simulcasting for Monday and Tuesday nights as Hurricane Sandy made its way up the Atlantic.

Yonkers is just north of New York City, which shut its mass transit system, closed its schools Monday and ordered hundreds of thousands of people to flee their homes. Boston also closed its schools.

Also, the Washington Wizards moved up their departure from 2:30 p.m. to 8 a.m. Monday for their NBA season opener at Cleveland on Tuesday night.

Some Major League Baseball staff left Detroit on Sunday to get back to New York before the storm shut down transportation. MLB said about 25 staffers whose work was completed were carpooling back due to family concerns.