Notes of various kinds have been showing up at the statue of Secretariat and the grave site of Man o' War at the Kentucky Horse Park. Both horses have their fans, and some have chosen to leave small "thank yous" and to share a few memories on paper while at the Games. A few also have left carrots, real and plastic. Secretariat seems to be more favored. The movie based on his life opens nationwide on Friday.

Better safety for horses

The Humane Society of the United States called Tuesday for international equestrian officials to continue improving safety measures in the cross-country phase of eventing.

After last weekend's competition, Humane Society officials met with FEI and U.S. Equestrian Federation officials to discuss concerns.

No horses died during the cross-country competition, but injuries to three horses "illustrate the need for greater safeguards to protect horses in eventing," the Humane Society said in a statement.

During the last two years, the sport of eventing has implemented safety measures such as breakaway fencing after a wave of fatal accidents, including one at the Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event that killed a horse and seriously injured a rider.

At the Games' eventing competition Saturday, 19 of 79 entrees failed to complete the cross-country course due to horses refusing to jump, penalties or falls.

"While improvements have been made and we're relieved no horses perished, the international eventing community must continue to put the welfare of the horse first in the sport, ahead of the goals and pursuits of individual competitors or the success of national eventing teams," said Keith Dane, director of equine protection for the society.

Paint a horse

Breyer has a do-it-yourself souvenir of the Games that was popular with schoolchildren on Thursday. Those 14 and younger may paint a small "Stablemate" horse figure to take home for free. It's at the Breyer booth near the Equine Village. The activity is first-come, first-served as seating is available.

LexTran use high

LexTran ridership to and from the Games might have hit a peak Thursday when visitors returned downtown from the Kentucky Horse Park in late afternoon.

Jill Barnett, a LexTran spokeswoman, said the previous high ridership day was 3,615 on Sunday. She did not have a ridership number for the day on Thursday evening.

LexTran has been offering shuttles to and from the Horse Park every half hour and often more frequently. Shuttles cost $1 each way.

"We have 13 buses on the road right now that are going between downtown and the Horse Park," Barnett said. "We don't want to leave hundreds of people standing" in line at the Horse Park.