As law enforcement officials continued their search for William Michael McCandless, who was indicted Monday in connection with the sponging of horses in Kentucky in 1996 and ’97, racing officials were studying betting patterns in the races to determine if any large tickets were cashed. The federal indictments returned against McCandless, a

Hendersonville, Tenn., resident, cited affecting the outcome of races for gambling purposes as reasons for the sponges to be placed in the nostrils of horses. McCandless, who previously served a federal prison sentence for the 1977 kidnapping of champion mare Fanfreluche from Claiborne Farm, has not been located since being identified as the sponging suspect.