WASHINGTON - Excuse the pun, but most fans are not going to be shattered by the news that six weeks of racing at Laurel Park have been transferred to Pimlico. Many will barely notice the change.

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - When a good horse doesn't run his race, something is usually wrong.

The verity of that racing axiom was certified with the announcement that Congaree had wrenched an ankle while finishing third Saturday as the favorite in the $600,000 Jim Dandy and may be out the remainder of the season.

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - Friends were dumbfounded. The audience was moved. There, standing at the podium accepting his place in the Racing Hall of Fame, the tough, cool-headed man known as Earlie Fires was fighting back tears like a mother at her daughter's wedding.

DEL MAR, Calif. - Frank Deford's earliest recollection of a horse race is cloaked in shades of gray. Native Dancer gray.

It was on May 23, 1953, that Deford and his father attended the Preakness as guests of a Pimlico boxholder. Young Frank had been to a few of the Maryland racing fairs before that particular day. At least, that's what he was told. His memory, though, chose to imprint otherwise, leaving Deford with the indelible recollection of Native Dancer scudding past the stands as his first racing moment.

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - Monday's Hall of Fame induction ceremonies for trainers Richard Mandella and Tom Smith, jockey Earlie Fires, and those crack horses Holy Bull, Paseana, and Maskette serves as another reminder that this industry is fortunate to have an outstanding National Museum of Racing.

The impressive ceremonies, which have drawn crowds of increasing size, depict racing in the best possible light, and the response by the honorees is always moving and frequently uplifting.

So what exactly happened Thursday regarding a possible sale of New York City Offtrack Betting Corporation? Your answer may depend on which New York newspaper headlines you read.

"City sells OTB to Canadian in $389M deal," is what happened according to the New York Daily News. "After more than 30 years, New York City is getting out of the bookie business," the story began. The OTB story was second-billed in the Friday newspaper, behind only "Mariah's Night of Anguish" on the cover.

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - A remarkable equine athlete makes his second New York appearance in Saturday's $600,000 Jim Dandy Stakes for 3-year-olds. If favored Congaree, owned by Stonerside Stable, shows as much verve in the Jim Dandy as he did this spring in winning Aqueduct's Wood Memorial by almost three lengths from Monarchos, then the outlook for the million-dollar Travers on Aug. 25 will narrow perceptibly.

DEL MAR, Calif. - It will be a heartwarming scene, on Monday in Saratoga Springs, when Richard Mandella steps up to the podium at the Fasig-Tipton Sales Pavilion and takes his place in the Hall of Fame.

The moment will be made especially sweet by the presence of his loyal assistants, both present and past. They will gather at his side, eyes aglow with pride, as their mentor is praised to the skies.

DEL MAR, Calif. - Sid Craig knows how Richard Williams must feel, bracing for that inevitable day when Venus and Serena meet on Centre Court for the title at Wimbledon.

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - The spectacular weather is undoubtedly a factor, but it is also evident from the rising figures that Saratoga is firmly established as America's Royal Ascot: the country's most popular course, presenting the finest and most significant racing.