NEW YORK — A former high school classmate of Tim Donaghy pleaded guilty to charges he paid the disgraced basketball referee thousands of dollars for inside betting tips on NBA games.

Thomas Martino, 42, told a federal judge in Brooklyn that Donaghy was involved in a scheme to provide “good picks” on the games “for gambling purposes.”

“If Donaghy’s picks won, he was paid for his information,” Martino said, adding that he had arranged secret meetings with the referee to deliver the payments.

Outside court, defense attorney Vicki Herr said her client had indicated that Donaghy was “pretty accurate” when it came to picking winners.

Martino, who pleaded guilty to conspiracy to defraud the NBA, faces 12 to 18 months in prison when he is sentenced July 11.

Cowboys hire Ford

OKLAHOMA CITY — Travis Ford replaced Sean Sutton when the two were still playing college basketball. He’ll do it again in the coaching profession. Ford agreed to leave his job as Massachusetts’ coach to take over Sutton’s old position at Oklahoma State. A news conference was planned today to formally introduce him.

BASEBALL

Yankees most valuable

NEW YORK — The New York Yankees’ value increased to $1.306 billion over the past year, according to the annual estimates by Forbes magazine, a rise of 9 percent over the past year.

The New York Mets were second at $824 million and the Boston Red Sox third at $816 million, the magazine said. After that, there was a big gap to the Los Angeles Dodgers ($694 million) and the Chicago Cubs ($642 million).

The Yankees were listed by Forbes as having $327 million in revenue last year and a $47.3 million operating loss, up from a $25.2 million loss on revenue of $302 million the previous year. Forbes’ revenue figure is after deducting revenue sharing payments, which the Yankees estimate at about $92 million. The team also paid approximately $24 million in luxury tax, which is reflected in the operating loss.

At the bottom, the three teams with the lowest values were Florida ($256 million), Tampa Bay ($290 million) and Pittsburgh ($292 million).

HORSE RACING

Races expand to Europe

NEW YORK — The Breeders’ Cup Challenge, a series of qualifying races for the Breeders’ Cup, will expand to Europe this year for the first time as part of an expansion of the series to 53 races from 24 races last year.

Three qualifying races will be held at Ascot race course in England on Sept. 27, with the winners advancing to the Breeders’ Cup.

Europe will be the third continent to host a Breeders’ Cup Challenge race. On April 27, Sha Tin Race Course in Hong Kong will hold the Champions Mile.